Some things to read while taking the long way.
The red-hot Milwaukee Brewers are now winners of their last four games and 14 of their last 17 after a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres Monday night. Derek Harvey of Brew Crew Ball has the recap, if you missed it.
Last night was another big night for the Brewers bullpen, as three relievers combined to pitch 2 2/3 scoreless innings after Will Smith was called in to bail Wily Peralta out of a seventh-inning jam. Tyler Thornburg pitched a scoreless eighth and is riding a 10-outing scoreless streak (h/t @AdamMcCalvy). Paul Noonan of PocketDoppler.com makes the case for Thornburg to start working longer outings. Will Smith has also appeared in 11 of the first 20 games and has yet to allow an earned run. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a story on the relievers’ early success.
The Brewers also won last night in spite of some awful baserunning. They had runners on first and third with one out in the eighth inning when Elian Herrera (running from first) was thrown out trying to advance on a dropped pitch, then Jean Segura was caught in a rundown trying to take home on the play. As you might imagine, TOOTBLAN Tracker had some fun with these developments.
Yesterday was also Jean Segura’s first appearance outside of the No. 2 spot, as he was moved down in the Brewers lineup. He was originally slated to bat seventh, but moved up a spot when things were shuffled before the game.
Other notes from the field:
- Khris Davis was a late scratch from yesterday’s lineup after throwing up on the field during batting practice. He’s been battling a stomach bug and @AdamMcCalvy reports he still didn’t look so good on the way out of the ballpark last night.
- Francisco Rodriguez, who pitched a scoreless ninth last night for his MLB-leading eighth save, was pitching for the fourth consecutive day and fifth time in six days (h/t @AdamMcCalvy).
- Ryan Braun went 1-for-2 with a walk and a sac fly last night and has hits in six consecutive games. He’s now tied for the second-longest streak by a Brewer this season, behind his seven-game streak from April 6-13.
- Braun was also caught stealing in the fifth inning, becoming the first opposing baserunner the Padres have caught in 20 attempts this season (h/t @Haudricourt).
- This is the first of 10 consecutive road games for the Padres.
- The Brat won the Sausage Race.
The series continues tonight when Yovani Gallardo faces Ian Kennedy at 7:10 p.m. Corey Brock has the MLB.com preview.
Today’s big story, though, is expected to be the announcement of discipline for Sunday’s brawl with the Pirates. Major League Baseball was unable to make a decision yesterday because the umpires involved were traveling, but they have collected a statement from Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle and presumably got one from Ron Roenicke as well. As you might expect, we have plenty more on the incident:
- Carlos Gomez has previously said he’ll appeal any suspension from the incident, but has since softened that stance a bit.
- ESPN Milwaukee has a picture of Pirates outfielder Travis Snider’s black eye.
- Grant Brisbee of SB Nation graded the violations of baseball’s unwritten rules.
- Dugout Perspective listed Gomez among baseball’s best bat flippers.
- Tim Brown of Yahoo says Gomez is “just being Gomez.”
- Jason Turbow of The Baseball Codes says, “Getting his (Gomez’s) goat is now officially on the table as a legitimate strategy; don’t be surprised to see it enacted once the games really start do matter down the stretch.”
- Baseball Rules! adds, “it’s time baseball put an end to these foolish displays by imposing serious suspensions and fines for any players leaving the dugouts and bullpens or charging another player.”
- Pirates catcher Russell Martin challenged Martin Maldonado to a fight for charity in the offseason.
Elsewhere in transactions, the Brewers shuffled their bullpen a bit before the game yesterday by returning Rob Wooten to Triple A and recalling Alfredo Figaro. Wooten appeared in four games for the Brewers and allowed four runs (all in one game) over 4 1/3 innings with one walk and five strikeouts. Figaro, who made 33 appearances (five starts) for the Brewers last season, has a 5.00 ERA in seven relief appearances in Triple A. His stay with the Brewers could be brief, as Brandon Kintzler is expected to be ready to come off the disabled list on Friday.
Scooter Gennett moved into the second spot in the lineup and had a pair of hits last night, raising his batting average to .321. He’s likely to get most of the playing time at second base going forward, but Jordan Mader of Brew Crew Ball asks if Jeff Bianchi should replace Rickie Weeks as his primary replacement. Bianchi has drawn attention lately for his excellent defense.
But can Bianchi bunt? Tom Oates of the Wisconsin State Journal says the Brewers need to do a better job of playing small ball.
Matt Garza won’t pitch in the Padres series this week, but is scheduled to work the first game of the Cubs series on Friday. If you’ve noticed that his starts tend to be a little slower, there’s evidence to back that up: Phil Birnbaum reports his outings are an average of seven minutes and 43 seconds longer than the typical MLB game.
Meanwhile, the surprising Brewers remain one of baseball’s top stories. They’re at the top of Mike Oz of Big League Stew’s list of five big things from the weekend, and David Schoenfield of ESPN’s list of 10.
They’re also near the top of this list: Ryan Topp of Disciples of Uecker notes that the Brewers are among the MLB leaders in “well-hit average,” or WHAV.
In the minors:
- The affiliates went 1-3 yesterday, and Brevard County’s 11 hits were not enough in their 2-1 loss to Tampa. You can see details from all of yesterday’s action in the Brewerfan.net Link Report.
- Yesterday’s lone win came from Nashville, where Jimmy Nelson worked seven scoreless innings in the Sounds’ 7-0 win over Omaha. He lowered his ERA to 1.80 for the season.
- Congratulations are due to Brevard County pitcher Jed Bradley, who was named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week following his six shutout innings on Wednesday.
- Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Sounds manager Rick Sweet.
- Lee Warren of Minor League Ball recently scouted Sounds pitcher Johnny Hellweg and says he’s still a “work in progress.”
- Speaking of Minor League Ball, John Sickels is working on finishing his 2014 prospect book and downgraded Huntsville outfielder Michael Ratterree from a C+ to a C.
- @Mass_Haas notes that Buck Rogers, GM of the Huntsville Stars, will move with the team to Biloxi for next season.
If you’re heading to today or tomorrow’s games, you might be interested to know that the Double Clutch stand on the Loge level is serving “blackened shrimp tacos” as their featured item for the Padres series.
Today in power rankings:
- ESPN has the Brewers No. 1 this week.
- Jonah Keri of Grantland has them eighth, among a group titled “B- students.”
If you’d like more Brewers coverage today but you’re sick of reading, I have a pair of options for you:
- My Monday appearance on The Home Stretch with Justin Hull on 95.3 WSCO in Appleton has been archived and can be heard here.
- I also made my weekly appearance with Ben Larson on The Talking Cheeseheads, and you can hear it here.
Around baseball:
Astros: Placed pitcher Scott Feldman on the DL with biceps tendonitis.
Athletics: Claimed infielder Andy Parrino off waivers from the Rangers.
Diamondbacks: Pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith has refused an outright assignment to the minors and is now a free agent.
Padres: Signed pitcher Billy Buckner to a minor league deal.
Pirates: Placed pitcher Wandy Rodriguez on the DL with knee inflammation.
Rockies: Placed outfielder Michael Cuddyer on the DL with a hamstring strain.
Tigers: Placed reliever Luke Putkonen on the DL with elbow inflammation.
White Sox: Placed pitcher Chris Sale on the DL with a flexor muscle strain.
Let’s go around the NL Central:
- The Cardinals had three players pick up multihit games but failed to score a run in their 2-0 loss to the Mets last night. Jennry Mejia kept them off the board for 6 2/3 innings.
- The Pirates walked off with a 6-5 win over the Reds in a game that included Pittsburgh first baseman Ike Davis hitting a broken-bat grand slam.
- The Cubs beat the Diamondbacks 5-1 in a battle of last place teams. Travis Wood pitched seven innings for the victory.
Here are today’s standings and probables:
| Team | W | L | GB | Today | Matchup |
| Brewers | 15 | 5 | — | vs Padres, 7:10 pm | Yovani Gallardo vs Ian Kennedy |
| Cardinals | 11 | 9 | 4 | @ Mets, 6:10 pm | Adam Wainwright vs Dillon Gee |
| Pirates | 9 | 11 | 6 | vs Reds, 6:05 pm | Edinson Volquez vs Johnny Cueto |
| Reds | 8 | 11 | 6.5 | @ Pirates, 6:05 pm | Johnny Cueto vs Edinson Volquez |
| Cubs | 6 | 12 | 8 | vs Diamondbacks, 7:05 pm | Jason Hammel vs Brandon McCarthy |
The Brewers have a four-game lead in the division for the first time since 2011, and they didn’t get there for the first time until Aug. 9 of that season (h/t @joe_block).
Today in former Brewers: Reliever Zach Braddock worked out for the Dodgers yesterday, but I haven’t seen any report on a possible contract offer (h/t @ChrisCotillo).
Finally, with help from Brewerfan.net and the Baseball Reference Play Index, we’d like to wish a happy birthday today to:
- 2013 AZL Brewer Milton Gomez, who turns 20.
- 1989-90 Brewer Terry Francona, who turns 55.
- 1976-85 Brewer Moose Haas, who turns 57. I covered his birthday in Today In Brewer History at Brew Crew Ball two years ago.
Today is also the fourth anniversary of the Brewers beating the Pirates 20-0 in 2010, and the third anniversary of Yovani Gallardo hitting career home run No. 9 in 2011 to set a new franchise record for pitchers. Follow the links above for those events’ entries in Today In Brewer History.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I feel really small.
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.
