By Eric Nehm
Some things to read while figuring out why the substitute teacher keeps mispronouncing your name.
After losing two in Toronto, the Milwaukee Brewers weren’t able to get much of anything going over the weekend as they dropped two of three to the Cincinnati Reds. After Matt Garza dominated on Saturday to get the Brewers their lone victory in the last six games, the Brewers dropped Sunday’s series finale 4-2, as Will Smith was unable to keep the Reds off the scoreboard in the eighth inning. Noah Jarosh of Brew Crew Ball has the recap if you missed it.
This season, Smith has limited left-handed batters to a .143 average, but he made a mistake against Jay Bruce, resulting in a two-run homer. Although Smith left a fastball up in the zone on a 0-2 count, he didn’t question his decision to throw the pitch as he told reporters in the postgame press conference that he just didn’t make a good enough pitch in the situation.
The Brewers were without Ryan Braun for a second straight day as he continued to battle back spasms that started to plague him during batting practice on Saturday in Cincinnati. Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel spoke with Braun about the injury, and Braun seems hopeful that it should not sideline him for long. Unlike Saturday, Ron Roenicke knew of Braun’s absence prior to the game, which allowed him to create a lineup he liked with Jean Segura hitting second and Logan Schafer eighth in the lineup.
Other notes from the field:
- Jay Bruce was in a 0-for-26 slump before his eighth-inning home run off of Will Smith (h/t @AdamMcCalvy).
- In one of the weirder plays in recent memory, Hector Santiago hit what was ruled at the time as an inside-the-park home run in the second inning on a fly ball to right field. Schafer was in position to rob the home run at the wall, but a fan reached over the wall in an attempt to steal it from Schafer. The ball fell to the ground on the warning track, but instead of throwing it in, Schafer held onto it and looked up to the fan in the stands, which allowed Santiago to round the bases. A review concluded there was fan interference and Santiago was called out. You can watch the whole sequence on MLB.com.
- The Brewers didn’t get a hit off of Mat Latos until the fifth inning when Aramis Ramirez singled to center field. Unfortunately, Ramirez was thrown at second by Billy Hamilton as he tried to stretch the hit into a double (h/t @johnfayman).
- After a rocky start to the day, Yovani Gallardo used 95 pitches to get through seven innings before being pinch hit for in the top of the eighth with the Brewers threatening. Rickie Weeks tied the game at 2-all on a single that scored Schafer from second.
- Schafer had a very productive start filling in for Ryan Bruan, as he scored two runs and added two extra-base hits (double and triple).
Although the Brewers didn’t enjoy the outcome of Sunday’s game, they likely enjoyed the outcome of All-Star voting, as they will send four players to the All-Star game in Minnesota July 15. Of the four players, center fielder Carlos Gomez and third baseman Aramis Ramirez were voted in by the fans to start the game, making the Brewers the only National League team with more than one starter.
In addition to their two starters, the Brewers will also be sending closer Francisco Rodriguez and catcher Jonathan Lucroy. Both players were elected to the game by their fellow players. Lucroy was actually the leading vote-getter (420 votes) among the players, edging out the National League’s starting catcher and St. Louis Cardinal, Yadier Molina (348 votes). Francisco Rodriguez was second among NL relievers with 138 votes from the players, while Atlanta’s Craig Kimbrel garnered 190 votes (h/t @Haudricourt).
David Schoenfield of ESPN’s SweetSpot questioned the selection of Ramirez, naming him the National League’s worst starter and arguing Todd Frazier, Matt Carpenter and Anthony Rendon would all be better starters than Ramirez. He also honored Brewers fans as the National League’s best ballot-stuffers, which should come as no surprise. Just ask Jim Caple.
With his spot on the All-Star team now official, Gomez may make his campaign for the Home Run Derby official. Over the weekend, Adam McCalvy reported Gomez started trying to convince Troy Tulowitzki, the NL’s Home Run Derby captain, to put him on the team when the Brewers played the Rockies two weeks ago. For what it’s worth, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke didn’t seem too concerned with the notion that Gomez’s participation would affect his swing in the second half, as Gomez takes a ton of swings every day and already uses a violent, aggressive approach.
Noah Jarosh at Brew Crew Ball quickly recapped the Brewers on the All-Star roster and also looked at a few others that might have had an argument to go to Minnesota. He mentioned Kyle Lohse as a possible snub, but found it hard to be angry at his exclusion because of the National League’s excellent starting pitching. Jarosh also mentioned Zach Duke as a possible snub, but knew the likelihood of him making the squad was low as a non-closer.
With Duke and Smith in the bullpen, the Brewers employ one of the best 1-2 left-handed punches in the league, but the Brewers’ right-handed relievers leave a bit to be desired. Adam Wieser of Disciples of Uecker put together a status report of how the Brewers’ right-handed relievers are doing and what they may be able to do better going forward.
In the minors:
- The affiliates had a rough day on Sunday as they went 2-4. The AZL Brewers beat the AZL Reds, and the Sounds downed the Round Rock Express. You can read about all the action in the Brewerfan.net Link Report.
- In Nashville, Sean Halton went 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs as the first-place Nashville Sounds won 10-6 in their series finale against Round Rock.
- Jim Henderson was solid in Maryvale for the AZL Brewers, pitching a scoreless 1 1/3 innings. Henderson struck out three and even pitched around a little trouble, as two first-inning errors allowed a runner to advance to third.
- The Timber Rattlers lost both games of their double header against Quad Cities, with the second loss coming in excruciating fashion on a walkoff grand slam.
- Brevard County’s game was suspended in the third inning, but not before the Phillies’ Cliff Lee threw two scoreless innings on a rehab start in Florida.
Let’s go around the NL Central:
The Pirates won their third straight game behind eight strong innings from Jeff Locke as they beat the Phillies 6-2 in Pittsburgh on Sunday. While the Brewers have had a bit of a rough patch, the Pirates have played well and now find themselves in second place in the NL Central trailing by just 4.5 games.
The Cardinals fell to the Marlins 8-4 as they lost two of three against Miami in St. Louis over the weekend. The Cardinals’ second straight loss puts them five games behind the Brewers in third place in the NL Central.
The Reds ended a good weekend as they secured a series victory over the Brewers with a 4-2 victory over the Brewers. Though in fourth place in the NL Central, the win Sunday brought the Reds within six games of the Brewers.
The Cubs eked out a 2-1 victory in a pitcher’s duel against the Nationals. Even with the victory, the Cubs remain in last place in the NL Central, trailing the Brewers by 12 1/3 games.
This week is a big week for the three teams chasing the Brewers, as each team is scheduled to play two NL Central opponents before the All-Star Break. The Pirates have a four-game series against the Cardinals and then three games against the Reds. The Cardinals start the week with four games against Pittsburgh and then three games against the Brewers. Finally, the Reds have five games against the Cubs (doubleheader Tuesday) and three games against the Pirates. The standings could look a lot different by the time the All-Star Game begins next Tuesday.
Jeff Samardzjia would have pitched in his first All-Star Game as a Cub, but his trade to the Oakland Athletics has taken him off of the National League squad and out of the game. Over the weekend, the Cubs sent Samardzjia and RHP Jason Hammel to Oakland for top shortstop prospect Addison Russell, center fielder Billy McKinney and RHP Dan Straily. The blockbuster trade gives Oakland two pitchers to add to the top of their rotation, while Cubs GM Theo Epstein was able to add another top-notch prospect to an already very-talented farm system.
Around baseball:
Angels: Activated RHP Fernando Salas from the 15-day DL.
Blue Jays: Edwin Encarnacion strained his right quad and will miss at least two weeks. An official DL move has not yet been made.
Cardinals: Activated 2B Kolten Wong from 15-day DL.
Diamondbacks: Traded RHP Brandon McCarthy to the Yankees for LHP Vidal Nuno.
Indians: Placed CF Michael Bourn on the 15-day DL with a left hamstring strain.
Pirates: Placed SS Clint Barmes on the 15-day DL with a left groin strain. Retroactive to June 30.
Phillies: Sent LHP Cliff Lee on a rehab assignment to the Class A Clearwater Threshers, where he threw two scoreless innings against Brevard County.
Yankees: Designated LF Alfonso Soriano for assignment.
Finally, with help from Brewerfan.net and the Baseball Reference Play Index, we’d like to wish a happy birthday to:
- Alfredo Figaro, who turns 30.
- 2009 Brewer R.J. Swindle, who turns 31.
- 2004 Brewer Dave Burba, who turns 48.
- 1978-79 Brewer Tim Nordbrook, who turns 64.
- Bill Melton, 2003 inductee into the Appleton Baseball Hall of Fame, who turns 69.
Today is the sixth anniversary of the Brewers’ acquiring C.C. Sabathia, the 28th anniversary of an epic pitching duel between the Angels and Brewers, and the 36th anniversary of Mike Caldwell pitching a complete–game shutout against the Yankees in 1978. Follow the links for those events’ respective entries in Today In Brewer History from Kyle at Brew Crew Ball.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get a haircut.
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.
