Some things to read while establishing a new standard.
Despite striking out 14 times, the Milwaukee Brewers were able to keep it close for eight innings on Tuesday night before losing 5-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays. Jordan Mader of Brew Crew Ball has a recap, if you missed it.
It’s likely safe to assume Carlos Gomez won’t DH for the Brewers today, and we may have seen the last of him in that role for the foreseeable future. Gomez started at DH for the first time in his MLB career on Tuesday and went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.
Of course, Gomez isn’t the only Brewer hitter to struggle recently. @joe_block notes that this is the first time in a year the Brewers have been held to two total runs over a three-game span.
Today also could be an off day for Will Smith, whose MLB-leading 55th appearance of the season was a disaster Tuesday night. Smtih retired just one batter while allowing four runs on two hits and three walks in the eighth inning, and @AlecDopp notes that opposing batters are hitting .563 on balls in play against him in July.
Other notes from the field:
- The Brewers’ lone run on Tuesday scored after a Mark Reynolds sacrifice bunt, which drew the attention of You Can’t Predict Baseball. It was only the third sac bunt of his career and his first since 2008.
- The Brewers still have never won a series with the Rays.
The series wraps up with an early matinee today, as an 11:10 a.m. start will feature Yovani Gallardo taking on David Price. Alex Halsted has the MLB.com preview of the Brewers’ final interleague road game of the 2014 season. Here’s the Brewers lineup:
Today’s #Brewers lineup vs. Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field. First pitch 11:10am CT on @fswisconsin and @620wtmj. pic.twitter.com/b4Z32TVQaL
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 30, 2014
Hopefully by game time, they’ll move one of the two catchers to first base.
Meanwhile, off the field, rumors continue to swirl as Thursday’s non-waiver trade deadline approaches. On Tuesday Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (via MLB Daily Dish) reported that the Brewers were one of four teams most likely to acquire Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester at this point, and Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com also has them on his list of interested parties. Last night, however, @Ken_Rosenthal reported the Brewers were “not on” the veteran lefty.
If Lester is indeed off the table, the Brewers have about 36 hours to move on to other possibilities. Ben Tannenbaum of The Brewers Bar suggests they go after Padres reliever Joaquin Benoit. Ryan Topp of Disciples of Uecker also has a look at some players the Brewers could consider. Grant Brisbee of SB Nation left the Brewers off his list of four teams that should go nuts at the deadline.
At least one player we’ve consistently discussed appears to be staying put: The Rockies are planning on keeping reliever LaTroy Hawkins and exercising his club option for 2015. On the other hand, the price may be going down for another name we’ve kicked around: Chris McShane of Amazin’ Avenue asks if the Mets should cut first baseman/outfielder Bobby Abreu.
If the Brewers do opt to make a major move this week, there’s a chance Jimmy Nelson could be one of the players involved. He talked to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com about tuning out the rumors and getting ready for his next scheduled start, against the Cardinals on Saturday.
After Thursday, we should have a pretty good idea of what the stretch run Brewers are going to look like. They still have some work to do to make the playoffs, but Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asks if this team is built for a long October run.
In the minors:
- The affiliates went 3-2 on Tuesday behind a big game from Huntsville pitcher Jed Bradley, who pitched six shutout innings and hit a two-run single in the Stars’ 2-0 win over Chattanooga. You can read about all of the day’s action in the Brewerfan.net Link Report.
- Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has highlights, postgame audio and more from Wisconsin’s 3-2 win over Kane County. Wisconsin is one of four teams within a game of the final playoff spot in the Midwest League Western Division with 33 games left to play.
- Congratulations are due out to Helena pitcher Brandon Moore, who was recently named the Pioneer League’s Player of the Week. Moore made two relief appearances between July 21-27 and pitched six scoreless innings. Moore was the Brewers’ 17th-round pick in the 2013 draft.
- Meanwhile, off the field, Brevard County pitcher Jorge Lopez is going through a tough time. His son, Mikael, needs an intestinal transplant and the team is holding a charity golf outing on Friday, Aug. 8. If you’re not able to attend, Caitlin Moyer has more on what you can do to help.
- Looking ahead, the Arizona Fall League opens play in the desert on Oct. 7. The Brewers will be one of six teams to send prospects to form the roster for the Glendale Desert Dogs, and Huntsville pitching coach Chris Hook will be on the coaching staff.
- Andrew Gruman of FS Wisconsin has a profile of recent international signee Gilbert Lara, a multi-millionaire hitting upper-deck home runs in batting practice at age 16.
Around baseball:
Braves: Placed pitcher Shae Simmons on the DL with a shoulder strain.
Cardinals: Released catcher George Kottaras.
Cubs: Placed reliever Neil Ramirez on the DL with triceps soreness.
Dodgers: Designated reliever Scott Elbert for assignment.
Giants: Designated infielder Tony Abreu for assignment.
Padres: Designated pitcher Jason Lane for assignment.
Reds: Placed outfielder Jay Bruce on the bereavement list.
Meanwhile, Tuesday’s biggest transaction may not have involved a player. During the second inning of their game against the Braves, the Dodgers announced that legendary broadcaster Vin Scully will return for his 66th season with the team in 2015. Scully is 87 years old.
Let’s go around the NL Central:
- The Pirates have passed the Cardinals and moved into second place in the division after a 3-1 win over the Giants. Josh Harrison and Travis Snider homered for Pittsburgh, and Francisco Liriano struck out 11 batters for the victory.
- The Cardinals dropped into third place with a 3-1 loss to the Padres. Tyson Ross and three relievers combined to record 11 strikeouts for San Diego.
- The Reds kept pace with a 3-0 win over the Diamondbacks. Mike Leake pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings for the victory.
- The best and perhaps worst game of the night was played in Chicago, where the Cubs beat the Rockies 4-3 in 16 innings. Chicago catcher John Baker was the winning pitcher, and the two teams set a Cubs franchise record by playing for 6 hours and 27 minutes.
Here are today’s updated standings and probables:
| Team | W | L | GB | Today | Matchup |
| Brewers | 59 | 49 | — | @ Rays, 11:10 a.m. | Yovani Gallardo vs David Price |
| Pirates | 57 | 49 | 1 | @ Giants, 2:45 p.m. | Charlie Morton vs Tim Lincecum |
| Cardinals | 56 | 49 | 1.5 | @ Padres, 9:10 p.m. | Joe Kelly vs Jesse Hahn |
| Reds | 53 | 53 | 5 | vs Diamondbacks, 11:35 a.m. | Alfredo Simon vs Wade Miley |
| Cubs | 44 | 61 | 13.5 | vs Rockies, 7:05 p.m. | Travis Wood vs Brett Anderson |
In addition to passing the Cardinals, the Pirates have also moved into sole possession of the NL’s second Wild Card spot.
Today in former Brewers:
- Travis Ishikawa is back in the big leagues, having been recalled by the Giants. He was a regular for San Francisco in 2009 and 2010 before playing for the Brewers, Orioles, Yankees and Pirates between 2012-14.
- Scott Weber of Lookout Landing says it’s time for the Mariners to move on from Corey Hart, who has hit just .211 with a .288 on-base percentage and .327 slugging since coming to Seattle.
- Mike Petriello of FanGraphs has a look at onetime Brewers farmhand Jake Odorizzi and his role in an offseason trade between the Rays and Royals.
- Elsewhere in Brewers draft picks, infielder Josh Murray never advanced past High-A in the Brewers organization, but the second-round pick in the 2002 draft has a new claim to fame as a recent winner of The Bachelorette.
Finally, with help from Brewerfan.net and the Baseball Reference Play Index, we’d like to wish a happy birthday today to:
- Wisconsin Timber Rattler Clint Coulter, who turns 21.
- Wisconsin Timber Rattler Dustin DeMuth, who turns 23.
- Huntsville Star D’Vontrey Richardson, who turns 26.
- 2004 Brewer and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers manager Matt Erickson, who turns 39.
- 1992 Brewer Scott Fletcher, who turns 56.
Today is also the second anniversary of the Brewers firing bullpen coach Stan Kyles in 2012, the 13th anniversary of the Brewers trading pitcher David Weathers to the Cubs for Ruben Quevedo in 2001 and the 25th anniversary of Robin Yount going 0-for-3 in 1989 to snap a 19-game hitting streak, the longest of his career. Follow the links for those events’ respective entries in Today In Brewer History at Brew Crew Ball.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to sing again.
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.
