Monday- Sweepless but successful

Some things to read while
sleeping it off.

The Milwaukee Brewers had a good week at home, but wrapped it up with a missed opportunity for more. They had a shot to beat one of baseball’s best pitchers in Clayton Kershaw but came up short and lost 5-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. Noah Jarosh of Brew Crew Ball has a recap, if you missed it.

Baserunning was one of the stories of the day on Sunday, as the Brewers had a runner thrown out attempting to advance from second to third on a ground ball (Jimmy Nelson), a runner picked off first base (Carlos Gomez), a runner thrown out at third attempting to advance on a wild pitch (Ryan Braun) and a runner doubled off on a botched squeeze bunt attempt (Rickie Weeks out on Jean Segura’s bunt). The baserunning mistakes are starting to pile up on this Brewers team again, but Ron Roenicke told reporters he’s encouraging his team to remain aggressive.

Jaymes Langrehr captured Sunday’s narrative shift nicely in our Tweet of the Day:

Brewers are going to take at least 2 of 3 against the best team in the NL and all anyone is going to talk about for the next day is a bunt.

— Jaymes Langrehr (@JaymesL) August 10, 2014

Meanwhile, the Brewers had a chance to beat Clayton Kershaw at least partially because of the work of Jimmy Nelson, who allowed two runs on eight hits over six innings. @MikeVassallo13 notes that Brewers starting pitchers have a 2.50 ERA and 16 quality starts in their last 19 outings.
 

• Jimmy Nelson doubled off Clayton Kershaw on Sunday and now has a hit in his last three starts. Before that he was 0-for his professional career.
• Carlos Gomez’s first inning walk against Kershaw was the first time the Dodgers ace has walked a batter in the opening frame all season (h/t @AdamMcCalvy).
• Aramis Ramirez went 0-for-4 on Sunday, snapping an 11-game hitting streak. It was the ninth streak of 11 or more games in his career.
• Marco Estrada allowed a home run in relief in the eighth inning, and still leads all of baseball with 28 on the season. The home run was catcher A.J. Ellis’ first of the season (h/t @AdamMcCalvy).
• Jonathan Lucroy started Saturday and Sunday’s games after sitting out on Friday with a sore hamstring. He had three hits on Saturday and told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he has no interest in moving to first base to eliminate some of the wear and tear of catching.
• Nick Schwartz of The USA Today has video of Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig breaking his bat on a check swing without making contact with the ball on Friday (h/t Baseball Musings).
• Also from Friday, the Brewers tumblr has a gif of Rickie Weeks losing his helmet on a swing while hitting a home run.
• The Italian won Friday and Saturday’s Sausage Races, with the Brat winning on Sunday. 
• 43,612 fans paid to see Chorizo lose the Sausage Race on his bobblehead day on Sunday. That’s the fourth-largest home crowd of the season.

The Brewers are back out on the road today and open a series with the Chicago Cubs at 7:05 p.m. tonight. Yovani Gallardo will take on Jake Arrieta in the first contest in a four-game series, and Daniel Kramer has the MLB.com preview.

Wily Peralta is scheduled to pitch on Tuesday and could become just the fourth Brewer since 1993 to win 15 games in a season if he picks up the victory. David Schoenfield of ESPN has a look at the combination of solid pitching and luck that have led Peralta to the top of that leaderboard. Peralta is still several years away from free agency, but Ryan Topp of Disciples of Uecker has a look at what it might cost the Brewers to sign him to an extension at this point and suggests five years, $26.4 million.

The Brewers picked up a win on Saturday behind a strong start from Mike Fiers, and they may need his help for a while: On Sunday Ron Roenicke told reporters that Matt Garza has not resumed throwing and won’t pick up a baseball again until he’s pain-free in his injured oblique. Garza is eligible to come off the DL on August 19 but that appears unlikely to happen.

Fiers is the latest in a collection of starting pitchers to step in and do a good job for the Brewers this season. Mike Bauman of MLB.com says the rotation has been the key to the Brewers’ success this season. 

The Brewers, by the way, optioned Rob Wooten back to Nashville to make room on the roster for Fiers. Wooten appeared in two games during his latest stint with the Crew, working around a walk and recording a single out on Wednesday and allowing a hit to the only batter he faced on Friday. That runner eventually came around to score.

Meanwhile, the Brewers continue to search for new bullpen options. They reportedly pursued former A’s closer Jim Johnson after Oakland released him, but he opted to sign with Detroit instead. 

If the Brewers are going to make another move, they won’t need to free up a spot on the 40-man roster: They outrighted infielder Irving Falu on Sunday. Falu had not played for the Brewers since being reclaimed off waivers from the Padres a few weeks ago.

Unless the Brewers bring in a veteran alternative, though, they’re likely to lean on Jeremy Jeffress as a right-handed option in high leverage situations. Jeffress told Adam McCalvy and Caitlin Sweica of MLB.com that he can envision ending up as a major league closer someday. He has a 1.17 ERA over his first nine appearances back with the Brewers, but has allowed eleven baserunners and recorded just four strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings.

In the minors:

• The affiliates went 4-2 on Sunday and two of the wins came from Nashville, where Jason Rogers homered three times as the Sounds swept a doubleheader with Round Rock. You can read about all of the day’s action in the Brewerfan.net Link Report.
• Tyler Maun of MLB.com has more on Rogers’ big day.
• Sunday’s Wisconsin game featured a rehab start for Wei-Chung Wang, who allowed three runs on four hits over three innings with three strikeouts (h/t @Justin_Felder). Wang is scheduled to pitch for Wisconsin again at home on Saturday.
• Bob Brainerd of Time Warner Cable Sports Channel has a feature on Wisconsin outfielder Omar Garcia.
• Tim Froberg of the Appleton Post Crescent has a profile of Wisconsin shortstop Angel Ortega.
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Sounds reliever Jose De La Torre.

Around baseball:

Cardinals: Placed reliever Jason Motte on the DL with lower back tightness.
Cubs: Acquired pitcher Jacob Turner from the Marlins for two minor leaguers and placed reliever Brian Schlitter on the DL with shoulder inflammation.
Dodgers: Acquired pitcher Kevin Correia from the Twins for a player to be named later or cash, placed shortstop Hanley Ramirez on the DL with an oblique strain and designated pitcher Colt Hynes for assignment.
Giants: Placed first baseman Brandon Belt on the seven-day DL with a concussion.
Indians: Placed first baseman Nick Swisher (knee) and outfielder David Murphy (oblique) on the DL.
Marlins: Placed pitcher Dan Jennings on the seven-day DL with a concussion.
Mets: Released first baseman/outfielder Bobby Abreu and designated outfielder Chris Young for assignment.
Nationals: Placed outfielder Steven Souza Jr. on the DL with a shoulder injury.
Phillies: Claimed pitcher Jerome Williams off waivers from the Rangers and designated pitcher Sean O’Sullivan for assignment.
Pirates: Claimed infielder Tommy Field off waivers from the Angels and designated reliever Ernesto Frieri for assignment.
Rockies: Placed outfielder Carlos Gonzalez on the DL with knee tendonitis and a sprained ankle.
Tigers: Placed pitchers Anibal Sanchez (pectoral strain) and Joakim Soria (oblique strain) on the DL.
White Sox: Placed outfielder Adam Eaton on the DL with an oblique strain.
Yankees: Placed catcher Brian McCann on the seven-day DL with a concussion and signed infielder Scott Sizemore to a minor league deal.

Let’s go around the NL Central:

• The Cardinals avoided a sweep with an 8-3 win over the Orioles, connecting for a season-high 17 hits. Second baseman Kolten Wong had four of them and scored two runs.
• The Pirates lost two of three to the Padres over the weekend, including an 8-2 defeat on Sunday. Pittsburgh right fielder Gregory Polanco went 2-for-4 with a home run that drove in both of the Pirates’ runs.
• The Reds avoided a sweep with a 7-2 win over the Marlins on Sunday, powered by a pair of home runs from catcher Devin Mesoraco.
• The Cubs narrowly avoided getting swept by the Rays at home, winning 3-2 in 12 innings on Sunday. Anthony Rizzo’s walkoff single was the difference in the game.
• The Brewers, as you’ve heard before, took two of three from the Dodgers but lost 5-1 on Sunday.