Monday- A missed opportunity

Some things to read while breaking the rules.

The Milwaukee Brewers split a four-game series with the New York Mets over the weekend, but had a chance for much more. They took a 2-0 lead into the ninth inning but couldn’t hold it on Friday, and had opportunities but couldn’t push any runs across in a 2-0 loss on Sunday. Noah Jarosh of Brew Crew Ball has a recap of the latter game, if you missed it.

The Brewers couldn’t get enough offense on Sunday to pick up a win for Jimmy Nelson, who was haunted by one mistake in the loss. Nelson allowed two runs on five hits over seven innings, and both tallies against him came on Mets first baseman Lucas Duda’s home run on an 0-2 pitch in the sixth inning. Duda had three home runs in the four-game series, and only Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton (four) has taken the Brewers deep more often this season.

It’s possible the most impressive part of Nelson’s performance on Sunday was his ability to use ground balls to get out of jams. He hit the first batter he faced in the first inning and had a 3-0 count to Mets first baseman Daniel Murphy before getting out of the inning with a popout and double play (h/t @CaitlinSwieca). Then in the second, Jean Segura made an error on what should have been a double-play ball, but Nelson induced another 6-4-3 double play from the next hitter (h/t @joe_block).

Nelson also tried to help himself a bit at the plate, connecting for his first professional hit in the third inning. He had been a combined 0-for-66 in the minors and majors before that moment, so it captured the attention of You Can’t Predict Baseball.

• Aramis Ramirez did not start Sunday’s game, and Ron Roenicke characterized his absence as a “planned day off.” Ramirez did enter the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and popped out. 
• Mark Reynolds hit a fly ball to left in the fourth inning Sunday that hit one of the roof supports high above left field at Miller Park and caromed back into play (h/t @MarcCarig). Umpires ruled the ball foul, but @jh_moore called it “the hardest-hit ball I’ve ever seen.”
• Jack also took a picture of the Brewers shifting with the infield in for Mets outfielder Chris Young in the eighth inning.
• Jimmy Nelson hit the last two batters he faced against the Reds on Tuesday, then opened Sunday’s game by hitting Mets leadoff hitter Curtis Granderson (h/t @AndrewGruman). Despite having made just four starts, Nelson is now tied for the team lead with five hit batsmen this season.
• Tom Gorzelanny recorded just one out and allowed two hits on Sunday, but was still credited with a scoreless appearance. This is the seventh time in franchise history a pitcher has opened a season with 12 consecutive scoreless appearances.
• Zach Duke also extended his streak to 14 consecutive scoreless outings on Saturday. It’s the second time this season he’s done that, and only the 36th time in franchise history a Brewer has done it.
• Ryan Braun went 0-for-4 on Friday to snap a 12-game hitting streak. Rickie Weeks now has the Brewers’ longest active streak at seven games.
• Also on Friday, Rickie Weeks was hit by a pitch for the 123rd time in his career, extending his franchise record. No other Brewer has more than 95 (Geoff Jenkins). Plunk Everyone has more on the accomplishment.
• The Brewers may have gotten a break on Sunday when Mets outfielder Juan Lagares dove headfirst into first base on a close play instead of running through the base. Lagares was out on the play, but a run would have scored if he had been safe.
• Sunday’s game drew 39,040 fans to Miller Park, failing to sell out for Jim Henderson Bobblehead Day. A delivery issue almost prevented the bobbles from making it to the park on time, but the problem was resolved and the dolls were handed out as scheduled (h/t @AdamMcCalvy on both counts).
• The Polish, Chorizo and Italian won the weekend’s Sausage Races, in that order.

After Sunday’s game, the Brewers boarded a plane for Florida, where they’ll open a rare interleague series with the Rays at Tropicana Field tonight. Kyle Lohse will take on former Brewers farmhand Jake Odorizzi in the opener, and Steven Petrella has the MLB.com preview. This is the Brewers’ first trip to St. Petersburg since June of 2005.

Scooter Gennett is expected to be back in the lineup at second base tonight with a right-hander on the mound for the Rays. Gennett is dealing with a quad strain and hasn’t started a game since Tuesday, but was able to pinch hit on Sunday afternoon. With Gennett on the shelf, Rickie Weeks has seen his playing time increase recently and has reached base 12 times in his last seven games.

Khris Davis had two hits and a walk on Sunday, and is now hitting .283 with a .347 on-base percentage and .551 slugging in his last 54 appearances. @alecdopp has a cool graph showing that Davis leads all Brewers in both hard-hit balls and average velocity off the bat.

As I mentioned above, the Brewers took a 2-0 lead into the ninth inning Friday night but couldn’t hold it as Francisco Rodriguez blew his fourth save in 34 opportunities this season. Ryan Topp of Disciples of Uecker has a look at some of the peripheral numbers that suggest Rodriguez will probably give up fewer home runs but allow more hits on balls in play over the remainder of the season. Meanwhile, Roguejim of Brew Crew Ball has some numbers showing that July has been Rodriguez’s worst month in recent years.

Jonathan Lucroy had a rough day on Sunday, going 0-for-4 in the day game following a night game. Lucroy is still a potentially viable MVP candidate, however, and Noah Jarosh of Brew Crew Ball says he’s taken over Ryan Braun’s place as the face of the franchise.

Speaking of Braun, he’s the Brewers’ nominee for baseball’s annual Branch Rickey Award, given out to players for “exceptional community service.” Braun has a pretty notable track record with several charities but it’s hard to believe he’ll win a popularity contest among fans at this point. You can vote for Braun (or someone else, if you’d prefer) by visiting this link.

It remains to be seen, though, if Braun and Lucroy will get any new teammates this week. The non-waiver trade deadline is on Thursday and the Brewers don’t appear to have anything in the works at this point, but Adam McCalvy of MLB.com says history suggests Doug Melvin and company will make a move.

In the minors:

• MLB.com has updated their list of the top 20 prospects in the Brewers organization, and Jimmy Nelson, Tyrone Taylor and Orlando Arcia occupy the top three spots. Perhaps more interesting, though, is the fact that the next three spots belong to 2014 draft picks Kodi Medeiros, Jake Gatewood and Monte Harrison.
• Back on the field, the affiliates went 5-2 on Sunday, and the biggest win came in the desert, where the AZL Brewers got contributions from Medeiros, Gatewood and Harrison in a 12-2 win over the Reds. You can read about all of Sunday’s action in today’s edition of Minor League Notes at Brew Crew Ball.
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has audio from Sounds pitcher Donovan Hand interviewing his pitching coach, Fred Dabney.

And in power rankings:

• Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times has the Brewers holding steady as the third-best team in all of baseball.
• Beisbol’s Org has the Brewers as baseball’s fifth-best team.

If you’d like more Brewers coverage today but you’re sick of reading, I’ll be making my weekly appearance on The Talking Cheeseheads with Ben Larson this afternoon. Listen in live on Sports Fan 100.5 in Wausau or Sports Talk AM 1090 WAQE in Rice Lake or follow the above link later for the archived audio.

Around baseball:

Astros: Placed pitcher Josh Zeid on the DL with a foot injury.
Athletics: Acquired pitcher Deck McGuire from the Blue Jays for cash.
Blue Jays: Designated pitcher Esmil Rogers for assignment.
Cardinals: Signed catcher A.J. Pierzynski to a major league deal and designated catcher George Kottaras for assignment.
Giants: Acquired pitcher Jake Peavy from the Red Sox for two minor league pitchers, placed catcher Hector Sanchez on the seven-day DL with a concussion and designated infielder Nick Noonan and pitcher Jose De Paula for assignment.
Mets: Placed pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka on the DL with elbow inflammation.
Padres: Are expected to place outfielder Carlos Quentin on the DL with knee soreness.
Phillies: Shortstop Jimmy Rollins had his $11 million option for 2015 vest with his second plate appearance on Friday.
Rangers: Placed pitcher Jake Smolinski on the DL with a bruised foot and released pitcher Justin Marks.
Rays: Designated reliever Juan Carlos Oviedo for assignment.

Red Sox first baseman/outfielder Mike Carp is likely to join the transaction list soon, as he’s reportedly requested a trade out of Boston. Carp was a popular first base option for the Brewers during the hot stove season, but has hit just .210 with a .337 on-base percentage and .296 slugging in 40 games for Boston in 2014. Former Brewer Burke Badenhop is another member of the Red Sox that could be available.

Let’s go around the NL Central:

• The Cardinals finished off a series win over the Cubs with a 1-0 victory on Sunday. St. Louis scored a run in the top of the first inning and Adam Wainwright took it from there, working seven scoreless innings for the victory.
• The Pirates avoided a sweep in Colorado with a 7-5 win over the Rockies. Pittsburgh scored two in the eighth to take the lead on back-to-back home runs from outfielders Josh Harrison and Gregory Polanco.
• The Reds dropped to 1-8 since the All Star break with a 4-2 loss to the Nationals on Sunday. Cincinnati has fallen back to .500 for the first time since June 24.
• The Brewers, as you likely know, lost 2-0 to the Mets on Sunday to finish off a four-game series split.

Today in former Brewers:

• Randy Wolf is back in affiliated baseball after signing a minor league contract with the Angels. This is his fifth organization since spring training.
• Six former players and managers were inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame on Sunday, and a cavalcade of the game’s all-time greats were there to welcome them. Former Brewers in attendance included Hank Aaron, Rollie Fingers, Don Sutton, Robin Yount and Paul Molitor.
• Molitor was taking a day off from his coaching job with the Twins. He recently talked to David Laurilia of FanGraphs about his role in helping the team set their infield shifts.
• Michael Trzinski of Reviewing the Brew ranked the 1994 El Paso Diablos as the 14th-best minor league team in Brewers franchise history. That team featured Mark Loretta and Scott Karl in addition to rehab assignments for B.J. Surhoff and Doug Henry.