Wednesday- Improbable wins keep coming

Some things to read while writing a thank you note.

Monday’s win may have been the most important of the season for the Milwaukee Brewers, but Tuesday’s has to be the most unlikely. Playing on the road against a team that’s dominated them in recent years and without Ryan Braun, Aramis Ramirez, Jean Segura or Jonathan Lucroy in the starting lineup, the Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 in 11 innings. Derek Harvey of Brew Crew Ball has a recap, if you missed it. Lucroy, who sat out last night after catching 12 innings on Monday, posted a selfie with the five Brewers pitchers who appeared in the game.

As demonstrated in the picture, several relief pitchers played key roles in extending last night’s game and giving the Brewers a chance to win. Key among them was Tyler Thornburg, credited with the victory after holding the Cardinals hitless in the ninth and 10 innings for his 13th consecutive scoreless appearance (h/t @AdamMcCalvy).

I think the partial face at the back of the picture belongs to Francisco Rodriguez, who recorded the final three outs in the 11th to tie an MLB record with 13 saves before May 1. Tracy Ringolsby of MLB.com has a look at how Rodriguez has gone from being a late offseason pickup to 2014’s best closer.

Lights-out bullpen performances have almost become routine for this Brewers team, which has four relievers with 13 or more appearances and ERAs under 2. Dave Cameron of FanGraphs has the latest reminder that this can’t last forever.

As mentioned above, the Brewers picked up a win last night despite the absence of Braun, Ramirez and Segura from the lineup. Adam McCalvy and Teddy Cahill of MLB.com have the latest on all three players, who remain day-to-day.

Other notes from the field:

• The Brewers have clinched their first series win against the Cardinals since 2012 (h/t @JaymesL).
• Segura was used as a pinch hitter last night in his first appearance since getting hit in the face by Braun’s bat on Saturday. He attempted to bunt for a hit and was thrown out.
• Lyle Overbay singled in the fourth inning to extend his hitting streak to eight games (h/t @AndrewGruman). That’s the longest streak by a Brewer this season.
• The run the Cardinals scored against Will Smith in the seventh inning was the first one he’s allowed all season (h/t @AdamMcCalvy).
• That run also snapped a streak of 28 consecutive scoreless innings for Brewers relievers when protecting a lead (h/t @joe_block).
• The run scored on a triple to right that featured a couple of cringe-worthy defensive moments for Elian Herrera. BrewGIFs captured them both for posterity.
• Cardinals pitcher Tyler Lyons, who has been working as a starter, will skip a turn in the rotation and pitched two innings in relief last night.

Milwaukee will be looking for what would be an amazing sweep in the series finale at 12:45 p.m. today. Matt Garza will take on Shelby Miller, and Adam McCalvy has the MLB.com preview.

The Brewers have a chance today to record their 21st win in April, but even if they drop this game, they’ve had a pretty remarkable month. @joe_block notes that they’re the fourth team since 2003 to start 20-7 or better, and each of the previous three reached the postseason.

Last night’s winning run scored in the top of the 11th when Khris Davis doubled and Lyle Overbay singled him home after a pair of foul bunt attempts. It was the Brewers’ second failed bunt attempt in as many days, and yesterday, Ron Roenicke talked to reporters about wanting his team to get better at sacrificing outs.

One of the night’s other big hits came from Kyle Lohse, who tied the game in the fourth inning with a two-out, two-run single. I don’t think that’s what Steve Engbloom of Call to the Pen was talking about when he said Brewers starting pitchers have been leading the way during their hot start.

Lohse was also featured in Noah Jarosh of Brew Crew Ball’s effort to compare the Brewers to various superheroes. He was paired up with Hawkeye from The Avengers.

In the minors:

• The affiliates went 1-1 yesterday, and the story of the day came from Brevard County, where outfielder Tyrone Taylor hit for the cycle as part of the Manatees’ 20-0 win over Clearwater. Brad Krause of Miller Park Prospects has recaps from all of the day’s action.
• Meanwhile in Nashville, former first round pick Jeremy Jeffress pitched in a game yesterday for the first time since rejoining the Brewers organization. He pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings and allowed a hit and two walks while recording three strikeouts.
• While Jeffress is on his way in, Nashville pitcher Johnny Hellweg is on his way out for a while. He underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday and will miss the rest of the season.
• Shaun P. Kernahan of Grading on the Curve says the Brewers’ NL Central lead “will likely slip away,” and “the reason just may be a lack of quality position players within their minor league system.”
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Sounds manager Rick Sweet.
• The 2014 MLB Draft is a little more than a month away, and Jim Callis of MLB.com has a look at some of the pitchers among this season’s top 100 eligible players.

Closer to home, Brian Anderson is still away covering the NBA playoffs for TBS, and that means Matt Lepay continues to fill in on the FS Wisconsin broadcasts. I’ve been pretty happy with Lepay’s performance to date, and Enrique Bakemeyer of The Brewers Bar used one of my recent tweets as a jumping-off point for a post on his work. Meanwhile, Nicole Haase of Brew Crew Ball would like your help evaluating the Brewers TV team.

If you’d like more Brewers coverage today but you’re sick of reading, I’ll be making my weekly appearance on The Home Stretch with Justin Hull on 95.3 WSCO in Appleton at 4 p.m. today or immediately following the conclusion of this afternoon’s game. I’ll be live in-studio for most of an hour taking your calls, tweets and emails, so listen in and get your voice heard.

Around baseball:

Blue Jays: Released pitcher Mickey Storey. 
Mariners: Released pitcher Ramon Ramirez. 
Marlins: Designated infielder Greg Dobbs for assignment. 
Orioles: Re-signed first baseman/outfielder Steve Pearce to a major league deal. 

Let’s go around the NL Central:

• The Cubs and Reds waited out three separate rain delays en route to a 3-2 Cincinnati victory last night. Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton had three hits, including his first major league home run, and Cubs manager Rick Renteria was ejected in the sixth inning.
• The Brewers, as you’ve likely heard, beat the Cardinals 5-4 in 11 innings to extend their divisional lead.
• The Pirates and Orioles were rained out yesterday and will play a doubleheader tomorrow.

Here are today’s updated standings and probables:

The season is already more or less over for the Cubs, who could fall to 10 games under .500 and 12 games back in the NL Central with a loss today. They’ve lost 96 games or more eight times in franchise history (including last season), but Danny Rockett of Bleed Cubbie Blue is asking if this is the worst Cubs team ever.

Today in former Brewers:

• Prince Fielder had a hit and drove in a run for the Rangers last night but is still batting just .202/.325/.313 (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging) through 27 games this season. Aaron Gleeman of Hardball Talk asks when he’s going to start hitting like Prince Fielder again.
• Meanwhile, Norichika Aoki is continuing to have success against left-handed pitching. Daniel Bailey of Gammons Daily has a look at his reverse platoon splits.
• Bryan Kilpatrick of Rockies blog Purple Row has a look at LaTroy Hawkins’ unusual career path.

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

• 1992-99 Brewers manager Phil Garner, who turns 65. I covered his birthday in Today In Brewer History at Brew Crew Ball three years ago.
• 1961-63 Milwaukee Brave Bob Hendley, who turns 75. 
• Milwaukee native Chet Laabs, who would have turned 102. Laabs played 11 MLB seasons between 1937-47 as a member of the St. Louis Browns and two other teams. His entry in Today In Brewer History came on his 100th birthday two years ago.