Some things to read while staring into space.
The Milwaukee Brewers picked up their third win in four tries in Phoenix on Thursday, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-1 behind a strong start from Yovani Gallardo. Derek Harvey of Brew Crew Ball has the recap, if you missed it. With Thursday’s win, the Brewers won the season series with the Diamondbacks 4 games to 3. Barring an unlikely playoff run for Arizona, the two teams will not meet again until 2015.
Thursday’s win is even more impressive when you consider the fact that Ryan Braun and Jonathan Lucroy both had the day off. Lucroy has appeared in 68 of the Brewers’ 74 games this season, which is tied for the most in all of baseball among players who have made at least 50 percent of their appearances at catcher. Nonetheless, Noah Jarosh of Brew Crew Ball wonders if Lucroy’s chances of making the All-Star game have actually diminished since the Brewers released an “attack ad” for him earlier this week. Maybe the Brewers should’ve stuck to posting childhood pictures.
Carlos Gomez did play on Thursday, though, going 1-for-4 with three strikeouts. He’s matched a career-high with hits in 15 consecutive games and has reached base safely in 32 consecutive ones, which is tied for the sixth-best streak in franchise history. He’s also having a lot of fun at the ballpark:
Carlos Gomez: “We’ve got the feeling like every time we get to the ballpark we’re going to win. That’s really fun.”
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) June 19, 2014
Other notes from the field:
- The Brewers have tied a season-high by reaching 14 games above .500, and are the first team in the National League to 44 wins.
- Yovani Gallardo pitched seven innings Thursday and allowed a single run on five hits with no walks and four strikeouts. He’s thrown at least seven innings in three consecutive starts, which is tied for the second-longest such streak of his career. He did it in six straight starts in 2012.
- Thursday’s win was Gallardo’s 86th as a Brewer, and he’s now tied with Ben Sheets for the fifth-most in franchise history (h/t @KenSpindler).
- Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt had a hit while Jonathan Lucroy had the day off on Thursday, so Goldschmidt moved into sole possession of the NL lead with 90 hits on the season.
- Khris Davis was hit by a pitch Thursday for the 10th time in his young career. Plunk Everyone has more on the accomplishment.
- The Brewers and Diamondbacks’ 4-1 game was actually one of Thursday’s higher-scoring contests. David Pinto of Baseball Musings cataloged a slow day for offense around baseball.
Estrada will get another chance tonight to prove he deserves to remain in the Brewers rotation despite leading all of baseball with 23 home runs allowed on the season. Fred Hofstetter of Brew Crew Ball has a look at Estrada’s unusual campaign.
Meanwhile, Bergman is unlikely to be the only inexperienced pitcher (or the only one named Christian) the Brewers face in Denver this weekend. The Rockies are expected to call up lefty Christian Friedrich from Triple-A Colorado Springs to start Saturday’s game, which would be his first MLB appearance since posting a 6.17 ERA over 12 starts in 2012. Friedrich has struggled in Triple-A this season, and has a 7.89 ERA over 13 appearances.
Ryan Braun will likely be in the lineup tonight after getting the day off on Thursday, meaning tonight’s game would be his 1,000th appearance as a Brewer. He’ll be the 12th Brewer to reach that mark, joining teammate Rickie Weeks.
The Brewers were guilty of a bad out on the bases Thursday when Lyle Overbay was picked off first base. Overbay’s teammates Carlos Gomez, Jean Segura and Ryan Braun are among the league leaders in baserunning gaffes this season, but Scott Lindholm of Beyond the Box Score has numbers showing that the good outcomes they create through aggressive running may outweigh the bad.
In the minors:
- The U.S.-based affiliates went 0-4 on Thursday, with the biggest loss coming from Helena, where the rookie Brewers lost 16-7 to Billings to fall to 1-3 on the year. You can read about all of yesterday’s action in today’s edition of Around the Horn at Miller Park Prospects.
- Wisconsin was scheduled to open the second half of the Midwest League season Thursday night, but they were rained out in Burlington and will play a doubleheader tonight.
- Nashville pitcher Hiram Burgos’ season is likely to be over after he had shoulder surgery on Thursday. The team characterized the procedure as a “clean up” to help resolve lingering issues from the last couple of seasons. Burgos was limited to four appearances for the Sounds in 2014.
- Even with Burgos on the shelf, though, the Brewers have successfully produced an interesting collection of options to fill in if a starting pitcher should need to come out of the rotation. Ryan Topp of Disciples of Uecker has a look at the pitching depth the Brewers have been able to build.
- Jeff Moore of Baseball Prospectus has an eyewitness scouting report from Brevard County pitcher Jorge Lopez’s strong outing on Tuesday (h/t @Alecdopp).
If you’d like more Brewers coverage today but you’re sick of reading, I have a pair of options for you:
- First, I’ll be making my weekly appearance on The Watercooler with Jimmie Kaska on Sports Radio 1400 in Eau Claire this afternoon, whenever Jimmie can squeeze me in around his interview with former WCW World Champion Diamond Dallas Page. Follow the @BrewFrostyMug Twitter feed for an update on when my segment will run.
- I’ll also 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:
Padres: Placed first baseman Yonder Alonso on the DL with wrist tendinitis and signed third baseman Chris Nelson to a minor league deal.
Rangers: Released reliever Daniel Bard.
Rays: Placed outfielder David DeJesus on the DL with a fractured hand.
Twins: Placed infielder Eduardo Nunez on the DL with a hamstring strain.
Let’s go around the NL Central:
- The Cardinals dropped their second consecutive game on Thursday, losing 4-1 to the Phillies. Philadelphia starting pitcher David Buchanan, who entered the game with a 5.97 ERA, held St. Louis to a run on four hits over 7 2/3 innings.
- The game of the day around the division was played in Pittsburgh, where the Reds scored in the ninth to force extra innings but the Pirates won 4-3 in the 12th on a rally that included a single, a balk, an intentional walk, a hit batsman and a walkoff walk.
- The Brewers, as you likely know, beat the Diamondbacks 4-1 to finish off a series victory.
- The Cubs were off on Thursday.
| Team | W | L | GB | Today | Matchup |
| Brewers | 44 | 30 | — | @ Rockies, 7:40 p.m. | Marco Estrada vs Christian Bergman |
| Cardinals | 39 | 34 | 4.5 | vs Phillies, 7:15 p.m. | Jaime Garcia vs A.J. Burnett |
| Reds | 35 | 36 | 7.5 | vs Blue Jays, 6:10 p.m. | Mat Latos vs Liam Hendriks |
| Pirates | 35 | 37 | 8 | @ Cubs, 3:05 p.m. | Charlie Morton vs Edwin Jackson |
| Cubs | 30 | 40 | 12 | vs Pirates, 3:05 p.m. | Edwin Jackson vs Charlie Morton |
Earlier this week in the Pirates-Reds series, Cincinnati benefited from an overturned out call at the plate after umpires concluded that Pittsburgh catcher Russell Martin illegally blocked home on a force play. Major League Baseball has since come out and apologized for a call they decided was incorrect. The Reds were up 5-0 at the time of the call and went on to win 11-4, so the game’s outcome likely would not have changed.
Yesterday, we mentioned Clayton Kershaw’s no-hitter for the Dodgers, and there’s a debate going on regarding its potential status as the greatest single-game pitching performance of all time. In addition, however, it might have had a lasting impact on one of baseball’s most prevalent superstitions: Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully said “no-hitter” repeatedly throughout the game and did not “jinx” Kershaw into blowing it.
Today in former Brewers:
- David G. Temple of NotGraphs responded to (and may have read too much into) Zack Greinke’s role in the celebration of Kershaw’s no-hitter.
- MLB Trade Rumors has Nelson Cruz sixth in their power ranking of this winter’s pending free agents.
Martin Maldonado caught Thursday night’s game for the Brewers, and is one of just 13 Puerto Rican players to appear in an MLB game this season (teammate Irving Falu is one of the others). Puerto Rico used to be a baseball hotbed, but fewer prospects have come from the island since players there became eligible for the MLB Draft in 1990. In response to that decline, MLB and the MLBPA are teaming up to create the Puerto Rican Summer League to give players between the ages of 14 and 17 more opportunities to play the game (h/t BBTF).
Finally, with help from Brewerfan.net and the Baseball Reference Play Index, we’d like to wish a happy birthday today to:
- Helena Brewer Jorge Ortega, who turns 21.
- Helena Brewer Jack Cleary, who turns 24.
- 2005-06 Brewer Carlos Lee, who turns 38 (Today In Brewer History).
- 2002 Brewer Paul Bako, who turns 42.
- Marshfield, Wis., native and UW-Oshkosh alum Gary Varsho, who turns 53. Varsho pitched eight seasons in the majors as a member of the Pirates and three other teams.
- 1993 Brewer Dickie Thon, who turns 56.
- 1972-73 Brewer Ray Newman, who turns 69.
- FS Wisconsin broadcaster Davey Nelson, who turns 70.
- 1978 Brewer Andy Etchebarren, who turns 71.
Today is also the 32nd anniversary of outfielder Ben Oglivie hitting three home runs in a game in the Brewers’ 7-5 win over the Tigers in 1982. Follow the link for that day’s entry in Today In Brewer History at Brew Crew Ball.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to send this back.
Drink up.
Don’t forget to follow Kyle on Twitter @BrewFrostyMug, and check out and “like” the Mug’s Facebook page. The Frosty Mug runs mornings Monday-Friday and is brought to you by Legends of the Field, a sports memorabilia company you can trust.
