Thursday- Foiled by Former Fausto

Some things to read while working for the man.

The once red-hot Milwaukee Brewers have lost eight of their last nine games and the slide continued Wednesday night, as they managed just three hits in a 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. Jim Hoehn of MLB.com has a recap, if you missed it.

The Brewers were stymied by Roberto Hernandez, the pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona, who came into the game with a 5.04 ERA since the start of the 2011 season. Hernandez held the Brewers to the aforementioned three hits and needed just 84 pitches to complete eight innings. That was enough to attract the notice of You Can’t Predict Baseball.

The Brewers played Wednesday’s game without Ryan Braun, who remained out of the lineup with back spasms, and Jonathan Lucroy, who received a relatively rare day off. Lucroy started 82 of the Brewers’ first 91 games, including 77 at catcher.

Jean Segura was one of several Brewers held hitless Wednesday night, and has just eight singles (no extra base hits) in his last 56 at bats. Before the game, Ron Roenicke talked to reporters about Segura’s struggles to find consistency at the plate.

The last 10 days or so haven’t been much fun for the Brewers, but if you were thinking of panicking, then you may need to read Joe Robinson’s Tweet of the Day:

Hey #Brewers fans:
2013 Red Sox lost 9 out of 11.
2012 Giants lost 7 of 9.
2011 Cardinals lost 8 out of 9.
All won the World Series.

— Joe Robinson (@JoeDRobinson4) July 10, 2014

• Jimmy Rollins’ two-run home run off Kyle Lohse in the sixth inning was his first homer off a curveball since April of 2008 (h/t @alecdopp).
• Lohse, by the way, retired 13 consecutive batters at one point between Chase Utley’s first inning home run and the sixth (h/t @Haudricourt).
• Lohse also committed an error in the game for the first time since 2010 (h/t @joe_block).
• Lyle Overbay drove in the Brewers’ only run on Wednesday and is now batting .375 with runners in scoring position this season (h/t @joe_block).
• With Braun and Lucroy both getting the day off, Scooter Gennett batted third on Wednesday for the fifth time this season (h/t @MikeVassallo13). He went 0-for-4 but, in all fairness, so did most of his teammates.
• Jonathan Papelbon recorded the final three outs Wednesday for his 22nd save, and his third in three games in this series. David S. Cohen of The Good Phight says Papelbon is having one of the greatest relief seasons ever.
• At least Wednesday’s loss was over quickly: At 2 hours and 15 minutes, it was the second-fasted Brewers game of the season. They beat the Pirates 4-1 in 2:11 on April 13.
• The Chorizo won the Sausage Race.

The Brewers will look to salvage one win in the four-game series when they send Matt Garza to the mound to take on David Buchanan at 1:10 p.m. today. Erik Bacharach has the MLB.com preview.

The Brewers are also hoping to have Ryan Braun back in the lineup today after he’s missed parts of four of the last five games with back spasms. Before Wednesday’s game, Ron Roenicke told reporters Braun was available to pinch hit if needed (h/t @AndrewGruman).
 
Another day, another collection of notes on Marco Estrada and Jimmy Nelson. Derek Harvey of Brew Crew Ball is the latest to call for Estrada to be moved into the bullpen, while Jonathan Judge of Disciples of Uecker would like to consider moving to a six-man rotation.

It’s also worth noting that things could be much worse for Estrada. Chris Teeter of Beyond the Box Score noted that the gap between Estrada’s ERA and his Fielding Independent Pitching, another measure of pitching effectiveness, is one of the largest in all of baseball. Wily Peralta’s gap is also among the largest.

Elsewhere in statistical notes, David Pinto of Baseball Musings used average Game Score to make the case that the Brewers have faced one of 2014’s weakest schedules to this point. The Reds and Pirates are both near the other end of that spectrum.

And there’s also this: David Schoenfield of ESPN has separated the NL (mostly) into two groups: the eight playoff contenders and the six bad teams. The Brewers have just 19 games remaining against the bad teams, which is the second-least among the contenders.

The Brewers didn’t see Francisco Rodriguez Wednesday night, and he’s still pitched in just one game (and has yet to record a save) in July. Steven Jewell of Reviewing the Brew has a look at the Brewers closer’s season to date.

Meanwhile, trade rumors continue to swirl around this team. An unlikely name came up yesterday when the Brewers were tied to Mariners pitcher Erasmo Ramirez, a 24-year-old Nicaragua native who has a career 4.35 ERA over parts of three major league seasons.

One of the biggest challenges in making a trade this season might be finding a match among the relatively limited collection of teams that are ready to sell. Jordan Mader of Brew Crew Ball suggests that the Brewers may need to find an opportunity to trade strength for strength instead of prospects for veterans.

In the minors:

• The affiliates went 2-2 on Wednesday with one of the wins coming from Brevard County, where Tyler Wagner allowed a single run on five hits over 8 1/3 innings in the Manatees’ 3-1 win over Lakeland. You can read more about all of the day’s action in the Brewerfan.net Link Report.
• The single run Wagner allowed, by the way, snapped a 27 1/3-inning scoreless streak.
• Jason Mast of Grading on the Curve said Wagner was “begging for a promotion” in his roundup of the Florida State League.

Today in power rankings: Nats Insider moved the Brewers down from second to fourth.

If you’d like more Brewers coverage today but you’re sick of reading, my weekly appearances on The Home Stretch with Justin Hull on 95.3 WSCO in Appleton and with Ben Larson of Talking Cheeseheads have both been archived and can be heard at their respective links.
 
Around baseball:

Pirates: Placed outfielder Starling Marte on the bereavement list and designated pitcher Duke Welker for assignment.
Red Sox: Designated catcher A.J. Pierzynski for assignment.
Yankees: Placed pitcher Masahiro Tanaka on the DL with elbow inflammation.

Let’s go around the NL Central:

• The Cardinals continued to close the gap behind the Brewers with a 5-2 win over the Pirates. St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina left the game early with a sprained thumb and underwent an MRI.
• The Reds are winners of five straight after beating the Cubs 4-1. Alfredo Simon won his 12th game, but outfielder Billy Hamilton (hamstring) and second baseman Brandon Phillips (thumb) both left the contest early.
• The Brewers, as I’ve told you previously, lost 4-1 to the Phillies.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to tone down my language.

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.