Some things to read while finding a dry place to sit.
The Milwaukee Brewers had to compete against both the Chicago Cubs and the elements on Monday, but the rain held off long enough for Yovani Gallardo and the Crew to pick up a 3-1 victory. Noah Jarosh of Brew Crew Ball has the recap, if you missed it.
Gallardo might have had a short night if the game had been delayed by rain during a downpour in the fourth inning, but the two teams played through it and his strong outing was left uninterrupted. He allowed a single run on six hits over seven innings, walking none and striking out six. @AdamMcCalvy notes that this was only his fifth start without a walk this season, and @MikeVassallo13 notes that Brewers starting pitchers have a 2.44 ERA and 17 quality starts in their last 20 games.
Meanwhile, the first of the Brewers’ three runs scored on a Mark Reynolds blast to left field, his 20th home run of the season. Reynolds now has at least 20 home runs in seven consecutive seasons (h/t @MikeVassallo13). The ball almost cleared the Wrigley Field bleachers but was caught at the back wall by an elderly gentleman who nearly fell over a ledge reaching for it, then threw a different ball back on the field.
Other notes from the field:
- Francisco Rodriguez worked around a hit to record his 36th save on Monday, and now leads the majors in that category (h/t @MikeVassallo13).
- Rodriguez is now tied for the seventh-highest single season total in franchise history, and is ten away from tying John Axford’s franchise record of 46.
- Brewers pitchers combined to record nine strikeouts on Monday, and Cubs batters have now struck out 53 times in their last four games.
- I’ve already mentioned that Yovani Gallardo did not walk a batter, but the Brewers relievers that followed him didn’t give out any free passes either. @AdamMcCalvy notes that the Brewers are 9-4 in the 13 games where they haven’t walked a batter this season.
- Brewers TV analyst Bill Schroeder left the game early to get medical attention for an infection on his right index finger. He’s expected to be fine and could rejoin the team as soon as today.
The series continues tonight at 7:05 p.m. when Wily Peralta takes on Kyle Hendricks. Daniel Kramer has the MLB.com preview.
Monday night was a pretty good time for a fair number of Brewers, but not necessarily for Carlos Gomez and Jonathan Lucroy. The pair went a combined 1-for-8 just a few hours after Noah Jarosh of Brew Crew Ball asked if either or both of them are candidates to be the National League’s Most Valuable Player. The pair’s most viable competitor for the award may be Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, and Dodgers Digest has a look at his case (h/t BBTF).
Gomez has just two hits in his last four games, but he did hit the ground ball that led to a game-changing moment on Friday. Adam Wieser of Disciples of Uecker has a look at how Gomez’s ability to foul off bad pitches makes up a bit for his tendency to swing at lots of offerings.
Lyle Overbay drew a walk as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning Monday, making just his 25th plate appearance in the Brewers’ last 21 games. Overbay’s role with the team has diminished while Mark Reynolds’ bat has heated up, but he told Adam McCalvy of MLB.com he’s not concerned about it.
Overbay has been a large part of a Brewers bench that, all told, hasn’t contributed much to the team’s success this season. August Fagerstrom of FanGraphs has a graph showing that the Brewers’ non-starters have been slightly below replacement level this season as a group.
Looking ahead a couple of days, Mike Fiers is scheduled to start the final game of the Cubs series on Thursday. Fiers was dominant in his first MLB start of the season on Saturday, and Ryan Topp of Disciples of Uecker asks if he should remain in the rotation when Matt Garza returns from the disabled list. Topp suggests Jimmy Nelson could move to the bullpen instead. In a related post, FanGraphs user M.S. Solstice asks if the vertical movement on Fiers pitches is enough to make him a strikeout pitcher in the majors.
In the minors:
- The affiliates went 0-2 on Monday but that wasn’t 2014 top draft pick Kodi Medeiros’ fault. He allowed two hits and an unearned run over five innings with no walks and seven strikeouts in the AZL Brewers’ 4-3, 10 inning loss to the Reds. You can read about all of the day’s action in the Brewerfan.net Link Report.
- The Brevard County Manatees’ blog has a look at pitchers Hobbs Johnson and Damien Magnifico throwing back-to-back complete game shutouts in a doubleheader against Clearwater on Saturday.
- Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Sounds manager Rick Sweet.
In power rankings:
- Jonah Keri of Grantland has the Brewers sixth, up one spot from last week.
- ESPN has them seventh, down one spot.
- Call to the Pen has the Brewers as baseball’s eighth-best team.
Around baseball:
Mets: Placed pitcher Jacob deGrom on the DL with rotator cuff tendonitis.
Padres: Designated outfielder Jeff Francoeur for assignment.
Pirates: Placed outfielder Andrew McCutchen on the DL with a fracture in his rib cage.
Royals: Acquired outfielder Josh Willingham from the Twins for a minor league pitcher.
Tigers: Released pitcher Casey Crosby.
Let’s go around the NL Central:
- The Pirates have moved back into second place, and they kept pace with the Brewers Monday night with an 11-6 win over the Tigers. Pittsburgh beat Detroit ace Justin Verlander, who pitched just one inning and allowed five runs.
- The Cardinals dropped a game in the standings after a 6-5 loss to the Marlins. Giancarlo Stanton hit a pair of home runs for Miami to pull into a tie for the MLB lead with 31 on the season.
- The Brewers, as you likely know, beat the Cubs 3-1.
- The Reds were off on Monday.
| Team | W | L | GB | Today | Matchup |
| Brewers | 66 | 53 | — | @ Cubs, 7:05 p.m. | Wily Peralta vs Kyle Hendricks |
| Pirates | 63 | 55 | 2.5 | vs Tigers, 6:05 p.m. | Edinson Volquez vs Robbie Ray |
| Cardinals | 62 | 55 | 3 | @ Marlins, 6:10 p.m. | Adam Wainwright vs Jarred Cosart |
| Reds | 60 | 58 | 5.5 | vs Red Sox, 6:10 p.m. | Mat Latos vs Joe Kelly |
| Cubs | 50 | 67 | 15 | vs Brewers, 7:05 p.m. | Kyle Hendricks vs Wily Peralta |
The Brewers have gained ground on each of their divisional rivals during a recently concluded 4-2 homestand, which saw them take two of three games from a pair of very good teams. Nick Michalski of The Brewers Bar says taking two out of three should be the Brewers’ new mantra.
Meanwhile, an unexpected and exciting race is developing over in the AL Central. The Royals are winners of eight straight and 16 of their last 19 to go from 48-50 on July 21 to 64-53, and are now leading the division in August for the first time since 2003 (h/t You Can’t Predict Baseball).
Today in baseball economics: Major League Baseball is being sued over their blackout policies for “local” television broadcasts, which feature very large exclusive broadcast territories. The state of Iowa, for example, is mapped out as the home territory for six MLB teams, who all have backout restrictions on their broadcasts there as a result. The suit is headed to trial, and Wendy Thurm of FanGraphs has a look at what that means.
Finally, with help from Brewerfan.net and the Baseball Reference Play Index, we’d like to wish a happy birthday today to:
- Brevard County pitcher Mark Williams, who turns 25.
- Brevard County pitcher Austin Ross, who turns 26.
- 1999 Brewer Reggie Harris, who turns 46.
- 1953-62 Milwaukee Brave Bob Buhl, who would have turned 86.
Plunk Everyone notes that Buhl’s 37 career hit batsmen are the fourth-most ever for a pitcher born on August 12.
Today is also the fourth anniversary of Casey McGehee going 4-for-4 against the Diamondbacks in 2010, collecting hits in his sixth, seventh, eighth and franchise record ninth consecutive at-bats, and the 15th anniversary of the Brewers firing manager Phil Garner in 1999. Follow the links for those events’ respective entries in Today In Brewer History at Brew Crew Ball.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to make some new friends.
Drink up.
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