Some things to read while staying angry.
Finally, today, the Milwaukee Brewers can take a deep breath. They wrapped up a stretch of 16 games in 16 days with a 5-2 win over the San Diego Padres Wednesday night, and Noah Jarosh of Brew Crew Ball has the recap, if you missed it.
The Brewers won last night on one of the season’s more unlikely events: A three-run home run from Jean Segura. It was his first since July (h/t @AdamMcCalvy) and comes during a stretch in which he’s been widely criticized for failing to make solid contact and/or elevate the baseball. @NPetrashek and @D_J_Harvey note that all of Segura’s balls in play were hit in the air last night.
Khris Davis also had a pair of hits in the game, including his second home run of the season. Before the game, Derek Harvey of Brew Crew Ball had a look at what’s changed for Davis as he’s struggled a bit in his second MLB season. It’s possible that Davis is heating up again, though: He has seven hits in his last four games, including a double and those two home runs.
Last night, the Brewers also got a solid outing from Kyle Lohse, who held San Diego to two runs (one earned) on just five hits over seven innings. Padres manager Bud Black referred to his performance as “Pitching 101” (h/t @AdamMcCalvy). Lohse’s outing gave the Brewers their 17th quality start in 22 games this season (h/t @AndrewGruman) and their 13th in their last 15 games.
No one will welcome today’s off day more than the bullpen, which used three pitchers (Tyler Thornburg, Will Smith and Francisco Rodriguez) to record six outs again last night. The Brewers have five pitchers on pace to appear in 80 or more games this season, but also have four with season ERAs under 1.00 (h/t @joe_block on both counts).
Other notes from the field:
- The Padres had their outfield move toward right field during Ryan Braun’s at bats in the series, but @alecdopp has a graphic showing it didn’t really make sense to do so.
- MLB.com has video of Ron Roenicke’s postgame comments.
- The Chorizo won the Sausage Race.
The bullpen will also have a familiar face back for tomorrow night’s game: Brandon Kintzler is expected to be activated off the disabled list after missing two weeks with a strained rotator cuff. @AdamMcCalvy reports that Alfredo Figaro’s bags were packed in the clubhouse after last night’s game, so it’s likely he’ll be returned to Triple-A Nashville to open up a roster spot. Figaro made his only MLB appearance of the season on Tuesday, pitching three innings in the loss.
Carlos Gomez will likely be back in the lineup tomorrow night as he awaits the appeal of his suspension for his role in Sunday’s brawl. Noah Jarosh of Brew Crew Ball wonders if the appeal will be delayed long enough for outfielder Logan Schafer to return from the DL and take Gomez’s place in center field. Schafer is currently sidelined with a hamstring strain but is eligible to return on May 3.
If Gomez does miss time, there’s a chance Scooter Gennett will move into the top spot in the Brewers lineup. Adam McCalvy talked to him about moving up from the eighth to the second spot to replace Segura. Gennett had five hits, including a triple and a home run, while batting second during the Padres series.
Gennett has only drawn three walks in 70 plate appearances this season, though, and the Brewers are 14th out of 15 NL teams with 53 on the season. Jonathan Judge of Disciples of Uecker has a look at how the Crew’s impatience has paid off to this point.
Aramis Ramirez has five walks, but also leads the team with 26 hits. He has three home runs on the season and 357 for his career, leading Cory DiBenedetto of Gammons Daily to list him as an active player with a chance at reaching 500. Ramirez turns 36 in June, though, so he’d probably need to play well past 40 to reach that mark. Prince Fielder is also on that list, and with 287 home runs before his 30th birthday, he seems like a safer bet.
Lyle Overbay started last night’s game at first base and went 1-for-2 with a walk, scoring a run on Segura’s homer. The Brewers are still likely monitoring the market for opportunities to upgrade at the position, and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports lists them as one of four teams that could sign Kendrys Morales after the MLB draft in June. Any team signing him before then would have to forfeit one of their top picks.
In the minors:
- The affiliates went 2-1 in yesterday’s games and were led by Huntsville pitcher Brent Suter, who carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning in the Stars’ 4-1 win over Mobile. Brad Krause of Miller Park Prospects has short recaps from all of yesterday’s action.
- Yesterday, the Brewers announced they’ve released pitcher Eric Semmelhack. The Oak Creek native and UW-Milwaukee alum was the organization’s 12th round pick in the 2012 draft and had a 5.03 ERA over two professional seasons.
- Jay D. of Reviewing the Brew has a look at the shortstop position throughout the organization.
- Tim Van Vooren of Fox 6 News has a story on 2011 Brewers outfielder Jeremy Reed and his transition from playing to his new role as the Brewers’ minor league hitting coordinator.
Continuing with day-themed events, yesterday Brewers bullpen catcher Marcus Hanel announced the debut of #wcww, or “Wei-Chung Wang Wednesdays.” Follow that link for video of Wang dancing to “Everybody Have Fun Tonight.” Wang, of course, did not actually get to pitch in last night’s game.
Today in power rankings: TSN.ca has moved the Brewers up 10 spots from No. 12 to No. 2.
If you’d like more Brewers coverage today but you’re sick of reading, my Wednesday appearance on The Watercooler with Jimmie Kaska on Sports Radio 1400 in Eau Claire has been archived and can be heard here. Starting next week, we’re moving to Tuesdays and should have a recurring timeslot settled.
Around baseball:
Padres: Pitcher Josh Johnson needs Tommy John surgery and will miss the 2014 season.
Pirates: First baseman Travis Ishikawa refused an outright assignment to the minors and is now a free agent.
Rangers: Placed pitcher Pedro Figueroa on the DL with elbow soreness and acquired outfielder Dan Robertson from the Padres for cash.
Let’s go around the NL Central:
- Matt Carpenter and Yadier Molina combined for seven hits, but it was not enough, as the Cardinals lost 3-2 to the Mets in New York.
- Andrew McCutchen’s third home run in three games also was not enough, as the Reds beat the Pirates 5-2 in Pittsburgh. The Pirates are 4-11 in their last 15 games.
- The Cubs celebrated Wrigley Field’s 100th anniversary yesterday, but the Diamondbacks spoiled the party, scoring five runs in the ninth inning to steal a 7-5 victory. Arizona second baseman Aaron Hill had four hits in the game, including a triple that plated the winning run.
Here are today’s updated standings and probables:
| Team | W | L | GB | Today | Matchup |
| Brewers | 16 | 6 | — | OFF | |
| Cardinals | 12 | 10 | 4 | @ Mets, 12:10 pm | Lance Lynn vs Bartolo Colon |
| Reds | 10 | 11 | 5.5 | @ Pirates, 11:35 am | Tony Cingrani vs Brandon Cumpton |
| Pirates | 9 | 13 | 7 | vs Reds, 11:35 am | Brandon Cumpton vs Tony Cingrani |
| Cubs | 7 | 13 | 8 | vs Diamondbacks, 1:20 pm | Edwin Jackson vs Mike Bolsinger |
As I mentioned above, yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the first game at Wrigley Field. @JaymesL and @timcyoung have a vision of what Miller Park’s 100th anniversary might look like.
Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole is scheduled to pitch again tomorrow when Pittsburgh opens a series in St. Louis against the Cardinals. Gregg Doyel of CBS Sports asks how he can get away unscathed after his comments to Carlos Gomez sparked Sunday’s brawl (h/t BBTF). Tom Singer of MLB.com talked to Cole about the incident.
Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda, however, almost certainly will be suspended after being ejected from last night’s game for having pine tar on his neck. You may recall that photos also showed a large smear of pine tar on the palm of his pitching hand in another recent start.
Today in former Brewers:
- Zack Greinke pitched eight innings, struck out a season-high 11 batters, hit a double and scored a run in the Dodgers’ win over the Phillies last night.
- Chris Capuano has made nine scoreless relief appearances for the Red Sox, and Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times has a look at how he’s remained effective after being discarded by the Dodgers.
- Craig Brown of Royals Review has a look at Alcides Escobar’s offensive resurgence. He’s batting .407 in his last 11 games.
- Chris Teeter of Beyond the Box Score confirms something you may have already expected: Ben Sheets’ pace on the mound was among the fastest in all of baseball from 2008 to present.
The Brewers will enter play tomorrow batting .258 as a team, and that’s currently the third-best mark in the National League. Jonah Keri of Grantland notes that the MLB-wide batting average dipped below .250 this week, and is the lowest it’s been at this point in the season since 1972.
Finally, with help from the Baseball Reference Play Index, we’d like to wish a happy birthday today to:
- 2001 Brewer Will Cunnane, who turns 40.
- 1989-90 Brewer Bill Krueger, who turns 56.
Today is also the 16th anniversary of Geoff Jenkins homering in his major league debut in 1998 and the 27th anniversary of Teddy Higuera setting a franchise record by winning his fourth consecutive start to open the 1987 season. Follow the links for those events’ respective entries in Today In Brewer History at Brew Crew Ball.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I should probably eat something.
Drink up.
Don’t forget to follow Kyle on Twitter @BrewFrostyMug, and check out and “like” the Mug’s new Facebook page. The Frosty Mug runs mornings Monday-Friday and is brought to you by Legends of the Field, a sports memorablila company you can trust.
