Friday- Pharewell Phillies

Some things to read while conducting an experiment.

Just when you think things can’t get any uglier for the slumping Milwaukee Brewers, they find another new low. Matt Garza carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and a shutout into the eighth on Thursday afternoon, yet somehow, the Brewers still lost 9-1 to the Philadelphia Phillies. Derek Harvey of Brew Crew Ball has a recap, if you missed it.

Most of the day’s damage was done in the eighth, when Garza allowed two batters to reach on a double and a walk before being lifted in favor of Will Smith with two outs in the inning. Smith allowed a single, walk, double, intentional walk and double and all five runs (plus two credited to Garza) came around to score, including two that crossed the plate after Brandon Kintzler allowed singles to the first two batters he faced. When Smith allowed his inherited runners to score, I posted the following on Twitter:

Will Smith had a 0.35 ERA on June 2. He has a 5.17 ERA since, not including any earned runs he may allow today.

— Kyle Lobner (@BrewFrostyMug) July 10, 2014

With five earned runs allowed on Thursday, Smith’s ERA is now 8.04 in the latter span.
 
With that said, the Brewers also only scored one run on Thursday, and they’re not going to win very often when that happens. @JaymesL notes that they’ve scored two runs or less seven times in their last 10 games, and are 1-9 over that span.

I’m running out of rays of sunshine to cast upon the Brewers’ recent poor play. Thankfully, Tim Young of Brewer Rat is here to tell us the sky is not falling and give us several reasons why.

• Ryan Braun was back in the starting lineup on Thursday but batted fifth for the first time since September of 2008 (h/t @AdamMcCalvy). He went 1-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts and was able to play all nine innings in the field.
• Things came unraveled for the Brewers in the eighth inning Thursday, but they did have the benefit of a pair of instant replay rulings. The first turned what would have been a two-run double for Ryan Howard into a ground-rule double and (temporarily) prevented a run from scoring, and the second turned an infield single into an out for Cesar Hernandez.
• Matt Garza’s no-hit bit was temporarily extended in the sixth inning when Carlos Gomez held onto a fly ball despite colliding with Ryan Braun. Marc Normandin of SB Nation has the highlight from the play and a gif of Garza’s reaction.
• Phillies starting pitcher David Buchanan picked up the win on Thursday, holding the Brewers to a single run on four hits over seven innings. After the game, he was sent back to Triple-A to make room on the roster for outfielder Grady Sizemore.
• The Brewers wrapped up their season series with the Phillies with a 3-4 record. They won all three games in Philadelphia and lost all four in Milwaukee.
• Back when the Brewers were still leading this game, Polish won the Sausage Race.

The Brewers probably wouldn’t mind a day off at this point, but they’ll jump right back into action tonight when they open a three-game series with the Cardinals at 7:10 p.m. Yovani Gallardo will take on Joe Kelly at Miller Park, and Alex Halsted has the MLB.com preview. Kelly will be back on a big league mound for the first time since straining his hamstring in a game against the Brewers on April 16.

The biggest news of the day Thursday may have come after the game, when the Brewers made a long-awaited move by recalling Jimmy Nelson from Triple-A Nashville and moving Marco Estrada into the bullpen. Wei-Chung Wang was placed on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder tightness to free up a roster spot. Nelson will start Saturday’s game, making the third major league start of his career and his second this season.

Nelson has already accumulated 116 2/3 innings between the minors and majors this season, so he’s actually pitched more than Wily Peralta (111 2/3 innings), Yovani Gallardo (109 2/3) or Estrada (107). His 1.46 ERA is the best in the Pacific Coast League, and he’s striking out 9.2 batters per nine innings. He’s been stretched out for quite some time, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Brewers handle his workload.

Meanwhile, don’t be surprised if we don’t see Wei-Chung Wang again for quite some time. Once his shoulder starts to feel better, the Brewers have the option of sending him on a minor league rehab assignment for up to 30 days. If he rests for about three weeks, then pitches the month of August in the minors, he could rejoin the Brewers when rosters expand on Sept. 1. Wang allowed two runs on a walk and a home run while pitching the ninth inning on Thursday.

On any other day, this might have been the big story: Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina’s thumb injury means Jonathan Lucroy will get to start the All Star Game behind the plate. Lucroy won the players’ vote, and the player who receives that honor is the first alternate when a starter goes down. Lucroy will be making his first All-Star appearance. 

Lucroy’s transition into a starting role will give the Brewers three position players in the lineup when the first pitch is thrown on Tuesday night. Dalton Mack of High Heat Stats, though, says Aramis Ramirez is “the one egregious issue” in the lineup selected by the fans. This is the second time in franchise history (2011 was the other) that the Brewers will have three All-Star starters (h/t @MikeVassallo13).

So the news was good for Lucroy yesterday, but not as good for Carlos Gomez. Rockies shortstop and NL Home Run Derby captain Troy Tulowitzki picked teammate Justin Morneau for the final spot on his team, shutting out Gomez (h/t @AdamMcCalvy). Morneau will likely be popular with the Minnesota crowd, as he won the AL MVP there in 2006 and made four All Star appearances. Gomez’s years with the Twins were less successful.

As long as the Brewers manage to win one of the next three games against the now Molina-less Cardinals, they’ll go into the All Star break with a divisional lead almost none of us would have predicted three and a half months ago. With that said, they still face questions in the second half. Enrique Bakemeyer of The Brewers Bar collected five things we don’t know at this point.

A sixth question probably could and should be, “Will the Brewers make any moves before the trade deadline?” Jerry Crasnick of ESPN says it’s time for Milwaukee and the other NL Central contenders to start shopping.

In the minors:

• The affiliates had a rough day Thursday, going 0-4 with a pair of games suspended due to weather. Mike Fiers had a nice outing, though, allowing a single run on four hits over seven innings in Nashville’s 1-0 loss to Memphis. You can read about all of the day’s action in the Brewerfan.net Link Report.
• On Thursday the Brewers officially confirmed signing Dominican infielder Gilbert Lara for $3.1 million. This is roughly 5 percent more than the Brewers’ allocated international bonus pool, but the penalties for this overage are relatively minor.
• Congratulations are due out today to Fiers, who was a late addition to the Triple-A All Star Game. Fiers has a 2.63 ERA during his time with the Sounds.
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Rick Tomlin, the Brewers’ minor league pitching coordinator.

If you’d like more Brewers coverage today but you’re sick of reading, I’ll be making my weekly appearance on The Sports Den with Downtown Ollie Burrows on Sports Fan 100.5 in Wausau at 5:30 p.m. today. Follow that link to listen in live.
 
Around baseball:

Angels: Placed pitcher C.J. Wilson on the DL with a sprained ankle and designated pitcher Nick Maronde for assignment.
Cardinals: Placed catcher Yadier Molina on the DL with a torn ligament in his thumb.
Dodgers: Designated first baseman Clint Robinson for assignment.
Reds: Designated pitcher Brett Marshall for assignment.
Royals: Placed pitcher Jason Vargas on the DL after an emergency appendectomy.
Yankees: Placed outfielder Carlos Beltran on the seven-day DL with a concussion.

Let’s go around the NL Central:

• The Pirates helped the Brewers out by beating the Cardinals 9-1 to allow the Crew to maintain their two-game advantage. Edinson Volquez pitched a complete game for the victory.
• The Cubs scored a run in the eighth to tie the game and two more in the 12th to win a 6-4 decision over the Reds. Cincinnati pitcher Homer Bailey left the game early with a strained knee but is expected to make his next start.
• The Brewers, as you likely know, lost 9-1 to the Phillies.