Some things to read while holding up your sign.
The Milwaukee Brewers were cruising along through six innings on Sunday but the wheels came off in the seventh as the bullpen gave up three runs in a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, clinching a series loss. Jordan Mader of Brew Crew Ball has a recap, if you missed it.
Matt Garza had thrown just 71 pitches over six shutout innings before being lifted from Sunday’s game with a rib cage injury and it remains to be seen if he’ll be able to make his next start. His early departure, which the Brewers opted not to explain until after the game, raised some eyebrows. Garza had allowed just one hit before leaving the contest, and the bullpen surrendered the lead in their first inning of work.
The Garza snafu was the final moment of a long weekend for Ron Roenicke, who was blamed pretty widely for a collection of decisions that contributed to Saturday and Sunday’s losses. Ryan Topp of Disciples of Uecker has a look back at his “rotten” weekend.
The Brewers had a chance to win Sunday’s game despite playing without both of their regular middle infielders. Scooter Gennett sat out Sunday’s game after reaggravating his sore quad on Saturday, and Jean Segura was also out of the lineup with a quad issue. Elian Herrera started at shortstop on Sunday and went 1-for-3 with a walk, closing out a weekend series in which he was on base six times in 11 plate appearances.
Other notes from the field:
- Mark Reynolds celebrated his 31st birthday on Sunday with his 19th home run of the season, and now leads the Brewers in that category (h/t @MikeVassallo13).
- Carlos Gomez was hit by a pitch on Friday for the 50th time in his career. Plunk Everyone has more on the accomplishment.
The Brewers are off today before returning home to face the Giants on Tuesday. Jimmy Nelson will take on Tim Lincecum in the opener of a three-game series, and Caitlin Sweica has the MLB.com preview.
Nelson was scheduled to start against the Cardinals on Saturday but was bumped back a few days due to a blister on his pitching hand. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel talked to Ron Roenicke about the injury and the benefit of separating Nelson and Wily Peralta, two pitchers with similar repertoires, in the rotation.
Peralta, by the way, is scheduled to pitch again on Thursday. He picked up his 13th win on Friday, and Adam McCalvy of MLB.com talked to him about being tied with several household names for the MLB lead in that category.
With the right-handed Lincecum throwing on Tuesday, the Brewers may take an opportunity to get Gerardo Parra into the starting lineup. The newest Brewer had a quiet debut weekend, striking out in his only at bat after entering as a defensive replacement on Friday and going 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in his first start on Saturday. John Manuel of Baseball America looked back at all of the trade deadline moves and ranked Mitch Haniger, the primary prospect the Brewers traded for Parra, outside the top 10 in his list of top minor leaguers moved (h/t BBTF).
Will Smith made a pair of scoreless appearances over the weekend, including a clean eighth inning in Sunday’s loss. Smith has struggled recently, but Derek Harvey of Brew Crew Ball says the young reliever is not broken. Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs, however, notes that Smith threw the fifth-wildest pitch in all of baseball in the month of July.
Jim Henderson, on the other hand, remains broken. The onetime Brewers closer’s 30-day minor league rehab assignment expired over the weekend but both the team and Henderson agreed he’s not ready to return to the majors, and he’s been sent back to Maryvale to continue to work on strengthening his right shoulder. Henderson hasn’t appeared in a major league game since May 1.
Another member of the Opening Day roster will be in Maryvale with Henderson, as Wei-Chung Wang started a rehab assignment with the Arizona League Brewers on Sunday. Wang was placed on the disabled list on July 11 with shoulder tightness, and is expected to return to a starting role over his time in the minor leagues.
In the minors:
- The affiliates went 1-3 on Sunday with the lone win coming from Arizona, where the AZL Brewers beat the Rangers 9-1 behind a two-hit game for shortstop Jake Gatewood. You can read about all the day’s action in today’s edition of Around the Horn at Miller Park Prospects.
- Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has highlights, postgame audio and a picture of Wisconsin basketball player Sam Dekker throwing out the first pitch before Sunday’s game with Peoria, which was suspended due to rain after nine innings. Brad Krause of Miller Park Prospects was also in attendance and has a photo gallery.
- As of Saturday, four of the Brewers’ U.S.-based affiliates projected to make their leagues’ respective playoffs. JP of Brew Crew Ball has a look at the postseason pictures across the organization.
- If Wisconsin makes the postseason, it will be at least partially because of a strong season from pitcher Taylor Williams. The Brewers’ fourth-round pick in the 2013 draft has a 2.36 ERA for the Timber Rattlers and struck out 11 batters over seven innings of work on Friday.
- The news is not as good for another Williams: Brevard County reliever Mark recently tested positive for amphetamines and has been suspended for 50 games.
- Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Sounds pitcher Michael Blazek.
And in power rankings:
- Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times has the Brewers fourth this week, down one spot.
- Nats Insider also moved the Brewers down one spot, from sixth to seventh.
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 Talking Cheeseheads with Ben Larson. Listen in live on Sports Fan 100.5 in Wausau or Sports Talk AM 1090 WAQE in Rice Lake, or follow that link later for the archived audio.
- Then, I’ll be in studio on The Big One with Marques Pfaff on 95.3 WSCO in Appleton at 4:20 p.m. I’ll be live taking your calls, emails and tweets, so listen in and get your voice heard.
Angels: Claimed infielder Ryan Wheeler off waivers from the Rockies, placed reliever Joe Thatcher on the DL with an ankle sprain and designated pitcher David Carpenter for assignment.
Astros: Placed first baseman Jesus Guzman on the DL with back spasms.
Athletics: Placed infielder Nick Punto on the DL with a hamstring strain and released pitcher Jim Johnson.
Diamondbacks: Placed first baseman Paul Goldschmidt on the DL with a broken hand and acquired outfielder Blake Tekotte from the White Sox for cash.
Dodgers: Placed pitcher Paul Maholm on the DL with a torn ACL.
Giants: Designated second baseman Dan Uggla and outfielder Tyler Colvin for assignment.
Mariners: Placed designated hitter Corey Hart on the DL with a bruised knee.
Marlins: Placed pitcher Henderson Alvarez on the DL with shoulder inflammation.
Orioles: Signed pitcher Joe Saunders to a minor league deal.
Phillies: Re-signed outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. to a minor league deal.
Pirates: Signed infielder Jayson Nix and designated infielder Dean Anna for assignment.
Rangers: Claimed first baseman/outfielder Mike Carp off waivers from the Red Sox and designated pitcher Ryan Feierabend for assignment.
Red Sox: Placed outfielder Shane Victorino on the DL with a back strain.
Reds: Claimed infielder Jake Elmore off waivers from the Athletics and designated pitcher Nick Christiani for assignment. Also, pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith has opted out of his minor league contract and is now a free agent.
Rockies: Designated pitcher Pedro Hernandez for assignment.
Twins: Claimed outfielder Jordan Schafer off waivers from the Braves.
Let’s go around the NL Central:
- The Pirates missed an opportunity to sweep the Diamondbacks, losing 3-2 in 10 innings on Sunday. Pittsburgh outfielder Andrew McCutchen left the game with discomfort in his left side after being hit in the back by a pitch on Saturday.
- The Reds clinched a series win over the Marlins with a 7-3 victory on Sunday. Todd Frazier had four hits in the game.
- The Cubs took two of three from the Dodgers, including a 7-3 win on Sunday. Left fielder Chris Coghlan was on base four times with two hits and two walks.
- The Brewers, as you likely know, lost 3-2 to the Cardinals and dropped a series in St. Louis.
| Team | W | L | GB | Today | Matchup |
| Brewers | 61 | 51 | — | OFF | |
| Cardinals | 59 | 51 | 1 | OFF | |
| Pirates | 59 | 52 | 1.5 | OFF | |
| Reds | 56 | 55 | 4.5 | @ Indians, 6:05 p.m. | Alfredo Simon vs Corey Kluber |
| Cubs | 47 | 63 | 13 | OFF |
As of this writing Baseball Prospectus gives the Brewers a 67.7 percent chance to make the playoffs. Michael Hunt of the Journal Sentinel is more confident, however, saying they will make it. Cory Jennerjohn of Madison.com agrees, saying the division is the Brewers’ to lose. David Schoenfield of ESPN is also predicting a playoff appearance, but he says the Brewers will be a wild card after the Pirates win the Central. Bob Nightengale of USA Today says this race is not one to sleep on.
Today in former Brewers: Michael Trzinski of Reviewing the Brew listed the 2007 Nashville Sounds as the 13th-best minor league team in franchise history. That team featured Ryan Braun, Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra and 11 other players who appeared in the big leagues as Brewers.
At least Astros fans got to experience a nice breeze over the weekend. On Saturday the team opened the roof at Minute Maid Park for an August game for the first time since 2004.
Finally, with help from Brewerfan.net and the Baseball Reference Play Index, we’d like to wish a happy birthday to:
- Brevard County shortstop Orlando Arcia, who turns 20.
- Huntsville Stars pitcher Casey Medlen, who turns 25.
- Hiram Burgos, who turns 27.
- 2007 Brewer Scott Linebrink, who turns 38.
- 1993-94 Brewer Troy O’Leary, who turns 45.
- 1987-95 Brewer B.J. Surhoff, who turns 50 (Today In Brewer History).
- Seattle Pilot and 1970 Brewer Bob Meyer, who turns 75.
- Seattle Pilot Ray Oyler, who would have turned 76.
Today is also the 31st anniversary of the Brewers beating the Indians 9-4 in 1973 as left fielder John Briggs became the first player in franchise history to collect six hits in a game. Follow the link for that event’s entry in Today In Brewer History at Brew Crew Ball.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to add a few more terms (h/t Baseball Musings).
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.
