Wednesday- Unlikely heroes

 
Some things to read while wandering.

The Milwaukee Brewers opened a season-defining stretch with a big win Tuesday night powered by a pair of unlikely heroes. First baseman Matt Clark’s sacrifice fly tied the game in the ninth inning and Hector Gomez’s RBI single gave the Brewers the lead in the 12th as they came from behind to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2. Jordan Mader of Brew Crew Ball has a recap, if you missed it.

Hector Gomez had entered the game as a pinch runner for Jonathan Lucroy in the ninth inning, and his single in the 12th drove home the first run of his career. It was a bloop hit that fell into right field, but Ron Roenicke told reporters the Brewers deserved a break:

RR on the game-winner: “You know something? We deserved a bloop. We did. They [the Cardinals] get bloops to hurt us all the time.”

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) September 17, 2014

Wily Peralta allowed a pair of runs in the first inning Tuesday, but his ability to rebound and keep the Cardinals off the board through the seventh is a big part of the reason the Brewers were able to come from behind. Tim Muma of Brewers Mix asks if the Brewers rotation can return to its early-season form.

Six different relievers followed Peralta to the mound and combined to pitch five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and a walk. Jonathan Broxton worked a perfect ninth on just seven pitches and has now thrown 7 1/3 scoreless innings as a Brewer. He’s the first Brewer to open his time in Milwaukee with seven consecutive scoreless appearances since Will Smith had a 14-game streak in April.

• Carlos Gomez scored the go-ahead run in the 12th inning after walking, then stealing second and third base. It was the first time Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina had allowed two steals in the same game since May (h/t @joe_block), and the first time he’d given up two in the same inning since September of 2012 (h/t @AndrewGruman).
• Carlos Gomez now has 33 stolen bases on the season. The Brewers have only had 19 seasons of 33 steals or more in franchise history, but five have come in the last four seasons.
• All three Brewers runs were driven in by players who weren’t on the 40-man roster on July 30 (h/t @joe_block).
• The Brewers are now 5-60 on the season when trailing after eight innings (h/t @Haudricourt).
• The two teams combined to use 42 players in the game (h/t @joe_block). This was only the 14th time in franchise history the Brewers have used 22 or more players in a game, but the second time this September.
• David Brown of Big League Stew has a story on a Cardinals fan interfering with Gerardo Parra as he tried to catch a ball in foul territory, and Parra responding by returning a few outs later to give the man’s son a ball.
• David Schoenfield of ESPN listed the comeback win among five things baseball fans learned on Tuesday.

The series continues at 7:15 p.m. tonight when Mike Fiers takes on Adam Wainwright. Manny Randhawa has the MLB.com preview.

Francisco Rodriguez recorded his 42nd save in the 12th inning on Tuesday and will almost certainly pitch again tonight if the Brewers take a lead into the ninth inning. Andrew Simon of Sports on Earth notes that Rodriguez is one of just a handful of closers on potential playoff teams who have held the job all season, with seven teams having made a change. Rodriguez also replaced Jim Henderson, but that change doesn’t count here because it was made on Opening Day.

In the minors: Brad Krause of Miller Park Prospects has a recap of the Arizona League Brewers’ 2014 season. That team featured the professional debuts of top draft picks Kodi Medeiros, Monte Harrison and Jake Gatewood.

Elsewhere in the desert, the Brewers have a clause in their lease at their spring training facility in Phoenix that allows them to opt out after the 2015 season. Jeff Grant of the Daily News-Sun in Peoria says the Brewers have talked to officials in that community about possibly constructing a new park, but discussions are still in the early phases.

Around baseball:

Astros: Outfielder George Springer will miss the remainder of the season with a quad injury.
Indians: Outfielder Chris Dickerson has refused an outright assignment to the minors and is now a free agent.
Yankees: Infielder Martin Prado will miss the remainder of the season after an appendectomy.

Let’s go around the NL Central:

• The Pirates gained a game on first place with a 4-0 win over the Red Sox. Charlie Morton and five relievers combined to pitch the shutout in Morton’s first start in over a month.
• The Cubs shut out the Reds 7-0. Chicago pitcher Jake Arrieta did not allow a hit until the eighth inning and pitched a complete game, recording 13 strikeouts.
• The Brewers, as you likely know, beat the Cardinals 3-2 in 12 innings.

Baseball Prospectus gives the Brewers a 28.4 percent chance to reach the postseason as of this morning, which is up almost two points from Tuesday. 
 
Meanwhile, another team ducked out of the playoff race on Monday. The Phillies still technically have an elimination number of one, but Nick Band of SB Nation notes that this weekend’s Brewers/Pirates series assures that at least one playoff contender will win enough games to mathematically eliminate them. The next three teams up for elimination are the Reds, Padres and Rays.

Today in former Brewers:

• His efforts have largely been overshadowed by teammate Clayton Kershaw, but Steven Silverman of Beyond the Box Score has a look at Zack Greinke’s impressive 2014 season with the Dodgers.
• J.J. Hardy will be a free agent this winter coming off a big season with the Orioles, and Tyler Young of Camden Chat asks if Baltimore can afford to let him leave.

Earlier, I mentioned that Mike Fiers will start for the Brewers tonight in his first appearance since hitting Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton in the face with a pitch on Thursday. Stanton is recovering from his injuries and there’s still an outside shot he could play again this season, but the photos he shared on Instagram on Tuesday are not for the faint of heart.

Today in baseball economics:

• The Braves’ new ballpark for 2017 will be named SunTrust Park, the first time in franchise history the team’s stadium has had a corporate-sponsored name.
• Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk notes that Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon’s current seven-game suspension could impact his ability to reach the appearance numbers needed to trigger his 2016 vesting option.
• On Tuesday, the Astros unveiled renovation plans for the club level and upper deck areas of Minute Maid Park for the 2015 season, seeking to “elevate the quality of concessions and food service available in the ballpark.” This season is the Astros’ 15th in the facility, and they currently rank 12th out of 15 American League teams in attendance.

Finally, with help from Brewerfan.net and the Baseball Reference Play Index, we’d like to wish a happy birthday today to:

• 2014 Brevard County Manatee Victor Roache, who turns 23.
• 1981 Brewer Thad Bosley, who turns 58 (Today In Brewer History).

Today is also the third anniversary of the Brewers scoring nine unanswered runs in a 10-1 win over the Reds in 2011 and the 31st anniversary of Don Money appearing in his final MLB game in 1983. Follow the links for those events’ respective entries in Today In Brewer History at Brew Crew Ball.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I can’t stop singing.

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.