What We Learned: It's a winning series against the Astros.

This Weekend's Results

Brewers 6, Astros 4

For most of the game, this was a smooth ride for the Brewers. Scooter Gennett and Chris Carter homered in the first to build a 3-0 lead, and Ryan Braun also added a two-run home run. Meanwhile, Chase Anderson had a nice debut, pitching five shutout innings. However, in the ninth inning, the Astros put together a rally. They cut the lead to 6-3 on a Tyler White home run, and Preston Tucker had an RBI double to make it 6-4. With the winning run at the plate, a ground ball from Jose Altuve turned into an automatic double play that ended the game when Colby Rasmus over-slid second base, violating the new slide rule.

Astros 6, Brewers 4

It's only two games, but concern has to be creeping in a little for Wily Peralta. It was another disaster start as he allowed six runs in 4.1 innings. The Brewers offense did rally and get the score back to 6-4, and had the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth. However, the Astros bullpen shut them down and held on for the win.

Brewers 3, Astros 2

What started out with an ugly first inning ended up turning into a nice pitcher's duel. The Brewers were behind 1-0 after one pitch, but took the lead in the bottom of the first with two runs. The pitchers settled in after that, with each team collecting only one more run. In the end, the Brewers came out on top with the 3-2 win.

Brewers News & Notes

Links from BCB

• In the 20th edition of the mailbag, Derek covered topics such as the state of the DL, players not meeting expectations, and plans to eliminate three states.
• With the Astros in town, Carlos Gomez was a focus for the media in his return to Milwaukee. He didn't disappoint, saying that he would like to retire as a Brewer.
• What is Wily Peralta at this point in his career? Stavid Dearns breaks down Peralta's pitch arsenal to figure out what Peralta is at this point in his career.
• In a potential new Sunday feature, eddiematthews recapped some of the big storylines from the first week of the Brewers season.

Other Brewers News and Notes

• It was a warm homecoming for Carlos Gomez this weekend. Mike Bauman of MLB.com wrote about the Astros fondness for Gomez and Gomez's thoughts on being back in Milwaukee.
• Carlos Gomez isn't the only former Brewer in town. Mike Fiers also came back with the Astros, but did not pitch in the weekend series. Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel spoke with Fiers about life following his no-hitter last season.
• In the first week of the season, two games (including the Astros-Brewers game on Friday) were ended by the new slide rule. Mike Bauman of MLB.com writes that, while both calls were correct, it's not what MLB intended with this new rule.
• One source of success for the Brewers this year has been a new patient plate approach. Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com looked at the stats from the first week of the season, which feature 29 walks in six games.
• Another area of success has been the bullpen, which has covered for the loss of Will Smith well so far. Adam McCalvy looks at Blazek's composure during a tough situation in Sunday's game, and Todd Rosiak notes that Tyler Thornburg is healthy and looking to get back to where he was in 2014.
• Center field has been a revolving door this season, and it's not going to change anytime soon. Andrew Gruman of MLB.com writes that manager Craig Counsell is playing matchups for now as he puts out the best fielder for each day's game.
• It's a critical year for the Brewers as they need to start the rebuilding process properly. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel looks at what led up to the rebuild this season.
• \With Gomez back in town, Brad from The View From Bernie's Chalet counted down his top five moments in Brewers history.

Minor League Update

News & Notes

• The Brewers made a few minor-league roster moves this weekend. Ariel Pena cleared waivers after being designated for assignment, and has been assigned to Triple-A Colorado Springs. In addition, Cody Ponce was placed on the disabled list at Brevard County with right forearm fatigue.
• Saturday's Timber Rattlers game was postponed due to snow. The Rattler Radio blog has pictures from Friday night as the Timber Rattlers attempted to get the field playable for Saturday's game.
• Over on Disciples of Uecker, Jake Covey has a list of sixteen prospects that could hit the majors in 2016.

NL Central Update

This Weekend's Division Games

• Pirates @ Reds
  Friday: Pirates 6, Reds 5 
  Saturday: Reds 5, Pirates 1
  Sunday: Reds 2, Pirates 1
• Cardinals @ Braves
  Friday: Cardinals 7, Braves 4
  Saturday: Cardinals 12, Braves 2
  Sunday: Cardinals 12, Braves 7
• Cubs @ Diamondbacks
  Friday: Diamondbacks 2, Cubs 1
  Saturday: Cubs 4, Diamondbacks 2
  Sunday:Cubs 7, Diamondbacks 3

Today's Division Games

• Pirates (Jon Niese) @ Tigers (Justin Verlander) - 12:10 pm
• Reds (Brandon Finnegan) @ Cubs (Jon Lester) - 7:05 pm

Around Baseball

Roster News

• The Angels claimed RHP Danny Reynolds from the Astros.
• The Braves re-signed utility player Emilio Bonifacio to a minor-league deal.
• Cubs outfielder Kyle Schwarber will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL and LCL.
• The Dodgers placed outfielder Carl Crawford on the 15-day DL with a sore back and signed LHP Sean Burnett to a minor-league deal.
• The Giants signed first baseman Brandon Belt to a five-year, $72.8 million contract extension.
• The Padres claimed LHP Brad Hand off waivers from the Marlins and placed pitcher Tyson Ross on the 15-day DL with inflammation in his right shoulder.
• The Rangers outrighted outfielder Justin Ruggiano.
• The Reds outrighted first baseman Brandon Allen to Triple-A.
• The Twins recalled outfielder Max Kepler and placed utility player Danny Santana on the 15-day DL.
• The Yankees signed outfielder Nick Swisher to a minor-league deal.

Today's Action

The Brewers travel to St. Louis for their first road trip of the season. It is the home opener for the Cardinals today, though rain may end up putting that in jeopardy. Scheduled starters for today are Taylor Jungmann and Michael Wacha. First pitch is at 3:15 pm.