Wednesday- Going the distance

Some things to read while not getting a car.

The Milwaukee Brewers hit four solo home runs on Tuesday night and needed all of them. The final blow was a walkoff shot for Jonathan Lucroy in the ninth, his second of the game, to give the Crew a 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Noah Jarosh of Brew Crew Ball has a recap, if you missed it. The Brewers tumblr feed has a gif of the walkoff.

The big night came at a good time for Lucroy, who had been hitting just .164 with a .254 on-base percentage and .309 slugging in his first 15 July games. After the game, he talked to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com about his recent struggles. Jim Caple of ESPN says to believe in both Lucroy and the Brewers.

The Brewers picked up a win despite a bizarre replay call that almost certainly changed the direction of the game in the seventh inning. Reds infielder Zack Cozart squared to bunt, was hit on the hand by a pitch up and in from Jimmy Nelson and was awarded first base. But replay pretty clearly showed the ball hit the bat first and should have been ruled foul. Inexplicably, the umpire charged with reviewing the call in New York confirmed the decision on the field despite clear visual evidence to the contrary. The blown call loaded the bases with no one out, and the Brewers were probably fortunate to escape the inning having only allowed two runs.

With that said, the seventh inning was the only major blemish on Jimmy Nelson’s outing. He pitched six innings (plus four batters in the seventh) and allowed three runs on just four hits, walking one and striking out five, and retired each of the first nine batters he faced. He also only threw 88 pitches in the game.

Nelson got some help from the Brewers bullpen, as Brandon Kintzler, Zach Duke and Francisco Rodriguez combined to allow just one baserunner and strike out four over three scoreless innings of relief. Tommy Rancel of Gammons Daily has a look at how Rodriguez, Duke and Will Smith have solidified the late inning roles.

Duke, by the way, has recorded 12 consecutive scoreless appearances for the second time this season. @joe_block notes that his 1.11 ERA is the lowest of any left-handed pitcher in baseball with at least 25 innings pitched. @Alecdopp has a look at how he’s changed his arm slot this season.

• Jonathan Lucroy’s walkoff home run was the second of his career. Both have come against the Reds (h/t @AdamMcCalvy).
• Scooter Gennett left Tuesday’s game in the fifth inning with tightness in his right quad. He’s day-to-day but is expected to be out of the lineup on Wednesday.
• Jimmy Nelson’s bases-loaded hit batsman was the first by a Brewers pitcher since Tim Dillard did it in June of 2012. It was only the 57th in franchise history.
• He also hit three batters in the game (if you include Cozart), becoming one of just 12 pitchers in franchise history to do that.
• All-Star catcher Devin Mesoraco sat out Tuesday night’s game for the Reds so Brayan Pena could catch Homer Bailey. 
• Zack Cozart also left the game after the aforementioned hit by pitch and underwent X-rays on his right hand, which came back negative (h/t @AdamMcCalvy).
• The Reds have lost five consecutive games for the first time this season.
• The Italian won the Sausage Race.

The two teams wrap up their series today, as Kyle Lohse will take on Mike Leake in a 1:10 p.m. matinee. Manny Randhawa has the MLB.com preview. Today’s game will not be televised on FS Wisconsin but, depending on where you live, it may be available on MLB Network.
 
Looking ahead a day, Matt Garza is scheduled to start when the Brewers open a series with the Mets on Thursday. Tuesday was the first anniversary of the trade that sent him from Chicago to Texas in 2013, and Carrie Muskat of MLB.com talked to Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer about it.

Ryan Braun hit a home run on Tuesday to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, and is hitting .363 with a .426 on-base percentage and .626 slugging in his last 23 appearances. This may seem like a weird time to be questioning his power production, but Buster Olney of ESPN is doing so anyway (most of the article is behind the site’s paywall). The article contains a strong implication that Braun has changed as a hitter since Biogenesis, and conveniently ignores the thumb issue that could also be a factor.

We are now eight days away from the non-waiver trade deadline, so rumors continue to swirl on a daily basis. Yesterday, the topic du jour was Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee, whom the Brewers sent a scout to see on Monday night. Lee will turn 36 in August, has been limited to just 11 starts this season due to injury and is due a minimum of $37.5 million between 2015 and 2016. He would also have to waive his no-trade clause to come to Milwaukee.

Jean Segura went 0-for-2 and was hit by a pitch on Tuesday, but still has five hits in five games since rejoining the Brewers on Friday. Ben Tannenbaum of The Brewers Bar says the Brewers should be looking to upgrade at shortstop in the trade market, and has a look at some possible candidates.

Meanwhile, a bullpen upgrade remains another possibility. Duke Jackson of Bugs and Cranks has a list of five trades to fix contending teams, and proposes the Brewers acquire reliever Jim Johnson and cash from the A’s for a player to be named later. Johnson led the American League in saves in both 2012 and 2013 with the Orioles but has a 6.25 ERA in 37 appearances for Oakland this season. He’ll be eligible for free agency following the season.

Of course, the Brewers’ easiest option continues to be the status quo. Before Tuesday’s game Ron Roenicke told reporters, “I like what we have,” and downplayed the urgency of a potential move.

Not everyone feels the same way about this team, however. Peter Marzano of Call to the Pen says they’re “merely a piece of a four-team divisional race,” and need to go all-in for a title.

In the minors:

• The affiliates went 1-4 on Tuesday with the lone win coming from Nashville, where the Sounds picked up a 7-5 victory over Colorado Springs. You can read about all of the day’s action in today’s edition of Around the Horn at Miller Park Prospects.
• Miller Park Prospects also released an updated list of their top 40 prospects in the Brewers organization on Tuesday. Jimmy Nelson is No. 1, followed by Brevard County outfielder Tyrone Taylor and shortstop Orlando Arcia.
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with rehabbing reliever Jim Henderson.
• Kevin Kimmes of Cream City Cables was with Wisconsin on Monday and talked to manager Matt Erickson about the condition of catcher Clint Coulter, who was hit in the face by a pitch on Sunday. Coulter appears to be doing well and passed all the initial concussion tests.

Around baseball:

Blue Jays: Designated pitcher Brad Mills for assignment.
Cubs: Designated second baseman Darwin Barney for assignment.
Diamondbacks: Placed outfielder Cody Ross on the DL with a calf strain.
Phillies: Placed outfielder John Mayberry Jr. on the DL with wrist inflammation.
Rangers: Placed catcher Geovany Soto on the DL with a groin strain.
Rays: Placed reliever Joel Peralta on the DL with an illness.
Reds: Placed reliever Logan Ondrusek on the DL with a shoulder strain.
Rockies: Placed shortstop Troy Tulowitzki on the DL with a hip strain.
Yankees: Acquired third baseman Chase Headley from the Padres for infielder Yangervis Solarte and a minor league pitcher.

Let’s go around the NL Central:

• The Cardinals gave up five runs in the fifth inning en route to a 7-2 loss to the Rays on Tuesday. Adam Wainwright allowed six runs over just 4 2/3 innings and lost to former Brewers farmhand Jake Odorizzi.
• The Pirates scored four runs in the sixth and four more in the eighth to clinch a 12-7 win over the Dodgers. Pittsburgh reliever Justin Wilson and manager Clint Hurdle were ejected after Wilson hit Dodgers infielder Justin Turner with a pitch in the seventh inning.
• The Cubs held the Padres to just five hits in a 6-0 victory at Wrigley Field. San Diego pitcher Eric Stults picked up his 12th loss of the season and now leads the National League in that category.
• The Brewers, as you’ve likely heard, picked up a 4-3 walkoff win over the Reds.

Here are today’s updated standings and probables:

Meanwhile, a pair of 14-inning games headlined Tuesday night’s action. The Giants beat the Phillies 9-6 in a game that featured Tim Lincecum’s first MLB save, and new Yankee Chase Headley hit a walkoff single to give New York a 2-1 victory over Texas.

Today in former Brewers: The Marlins reiterated again on Tuesday that they have no plans to trade Casey McGehee, who is among the NL leaders in batting average, hits and RBI this season. The Marlins have him under team control for one more season via arbitration.
 
Today in baseball economics:

• The Oakland Athletics are the best team in baseball and it’s showing at the turnstiles, as Lev Facher of Athletics Nation is looking at the possibility that they could sell 2 million tickets for the first time in several years. After long delays, by the way, the A’s appear to have reached an agreement on a new 10-year lease for the O.co Coliseum.
• On the other side of the coin, we have the Atlanta Braves. Despite a successful season their TV ratings are down 32 percent, leading Talking Chop to ask if this team is unlikeable.