Some things to read while losing the argument.
The Milwaukee Brewers lost their fourth consecutive game Tuesday night, falling victim to a complete-game shutout from Julio Teheran in a 5-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Noah Jarosh of Brew Crew Ball has the recap, if you missed it.
The big story from the game, though, was the early departure of Yovani Gallardo. He was already having a rough outing when he sprained his left ankle attempting to field a ground ball in the fourth inning. The Brewers are listing him as day-to-day, and his ability to make his next scheduled start on Sunday is definitely in question.
After Gallardo’s departure, Tyler Thornburg saved the bullpen in a big way by pitching 3 2/3 innings in relief (h/t @Haudricourt). It was the longest outing by a Brewers reliever since Alfredo Figaro worked four innings last August.
The Brewers probably would have gotten Rule 5 pick Wei-Chung Wang into Tuesday night’s game if he hadn’t thrown 40 pitches in a rough outing the night before. Tom Haudricourt talked to Ron Roenicke about trying to find more opportunities to use Wang, while Enrique Bakemeyer of The Brewers Bar wonders if the Brewers are hurting his development by keeping him around but not using him.
Other notes from the field:
- Last night’s game was overshadowed a bit by a scary moment in the stands as a Carlos Gomez foul line drive struck a young fan. As of this morning, I haven’t seen a report on the fan’s condition.
- Braves pitcher Julio Teheran threw 128 pitches in last night’s game (h/t @keithlaw), tying him for the second-most any MLB pitcher has thrown in a game this season.
- The Braves won a challenge in the fourth inning when umpires called shortstop Andrelton Simmons out attempting to stretch a single into a double, but reviewed and reversed the call.
- The Brewers tumblr has a gif of Carlos Gomez throwing out a runner at third from center field.
Every day is a new opportunity to stop the losing streak, and Kyle Lohse and the Brewers will get another chance to do that at 6:10 p.m. tonight against Ervin Santana and the Braves. Joe Morgan has the MLB.com preview.
Rickie Weeks was not in the lineup for the Brewers last night, with Scooter Gennett batting second and going 1-for-4 in his place. Weeks has been red-hot lately, and Ben Tannenbaum of The Brewers Bar is the latest to examine how his recent performance could impact his trade value.
The Brewers managed to fill 4 2/3 innings with their bullpen Tuesday night without having to send another position player to the mound, at least. Lyle Overbay recorded the final out in the eighth inning on Monday after volunteering to pitch when he heard Jeff Bianchi asked to catch Martin Maldonado.
They also needed significant relief innings on Sunday after Marco Estrada completed just five innings. Jordan Mader of Brew Crew Ball has a look at Estrada’s assertion that he’s been struggling to command his changeup.
Recent history would suggest Estrada might get some extra strike calls due to the pitch-framing ability of Jonathan Lucroy. The Brewers catcher is frequently cited at one of the best in the game at getting extra strikes, and Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs notes that two of his pitchers, Yovani Gallardo and Matt Garza, are among the leaders in that statistic this season.
With all of their recent struggles, it’s easy to forget that the Brewers still have the National League’s second-best record at 27-19 and still lead the Cardinals by 2 1/2 games in the NL Central. Terence Moore of MLB.com says the Brewers are “defying the odds” by holding on to a division most expected the Cardinals to win.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have Ryan Topp of Disciples of Uecker. He’s asking if it’s time to panic.
It’s time for our daily update on the progress of two rehabbing relievers: Jim Henderson threw another successful bullpen session on Tuesday and is expected to report to Huntsville for a rehab assignment on Friday, and Ron Roenicke told reporters that Tom Gorzelanny’s rehab is expected to advance from Brevard County to Nashville (h/t @Haudricourt).
The numbers probably went down a little bit Tuesday night, but Bill Chuck of Gammons Daily notes that the Brewers are in roughly the middle of the pack as a team hitting against right-handed pitchers. They’re now 20-15 against right-handed starters this season and 7-4 against lefties.
On Tuesday, Chuck also ran a piece looking at hitters who take and/or swing at the most pitches. Perhaps not surprisingly, Carlos Gomez is among the MLB leaders when it comes to swinging at the first pitch. He’s hitting .500 when he puts the first offering in play. Gomez went 1-for-5 with four strikeouts and a single in a four-pitch at bat Tuesday night.
Elsewhere in the minors:
- The affiliates went 1-3 on Tuesday, and the toughest loss came from Brevard County, where Jed Bradley pitched nine shutout innings but it was not enough in the Manatees’ 1-0, 11-inning loss to Palm Beach. You can read short recaps of all of yesterday’s games at Miller Park Prospects.
- Wisconsin split a doubleheader with Kane County on Tuesday, winning the first game 11-1 before the offense dried up, and they lost the second seven-inning contest 1-0 in nine innings. I was in attendance and wrote a story on second baseman Chris McFarland and a game recap for Brew Crew Ball.
- Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio also has highlights and more from Wisconsin’s games, and Brad Krause of Miller Park Prospects has a photo gallery.
- Before last night’s events, Ryan Topp of Disciples of Uecker asked if the Brewers need to make room for Nashville pitcher Jimmy Nelson. There’s a strong chance Nelson could be called up if Yovani Gallardo needs to miss a start or more.
- John Manuel of Baseball America has the Brewers selecting Vanderbilt pitcher Tyler Beede with the No. 12 overall pick in the June draft. The Brewers haven’t drafted a player from Vanderbilt since talking outfielder Jonathan White in the seventh round in 2007.
- Wisconsin manager Matt Erickson was the guest sportscaster on Local 5 News in Green Bay last night (h/t @Mass_Haas).
Around baseball:
Angels: Reliever Brandon Lyon has opted out of his minor league deal and is now a free agent.
Mariners: Placed DH Corey Hart on the DL with a hamstring strain and signed reliever Todd Coffey to a minor league deal.
Phillies: Placed pitcher Cliff Lee on the DL with an elbow strain.
Red Sox: Signed shortstop Stephen Drew to a one-year deal.
Reds: Signed pitcher Jair Jurrjens to a minor league deal.
White Sox: Placed reliever Matt Lindstrom on the DL with a dislocated tendon in his right ankle.
- Adam Wainwright pitched a complete game and allowed just one hit as the Cardinals beat the Diamondbacks 5-0 in St. Louis. It was his first career one-hitter.
- The Reds gave up seven runs in the sixth inning en route to a 9-4 loss to the Nationals. Washington center fielder Denard Span went 5-for-5 in the game.
- The Pirates gave up four home runs, including three by Chris Davis, in a 9-2 loss to the Orioles in Pittsburgh. They’ve lost six of their last eight games.
- The Cubs became the first MLB team to beat Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, plating four runs against him in a 6-1 win at Wrigley Field. Before the game, the Cubs presented Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter with the No. 2 from the Wrigley Field scoreboard.
| Team | W | L | GB | Today | Matchup |
| Brewers | 27 | 19 | — | @ Braves, 6:10 p.m. | Kyle Lohse vs Ervin Santana |
| Cardinals | 24 | 21 | 2.5 | vs Cardinals, 7:15 p.m. | Michael Wacha vs Brandon McCarthy |
| Reds | 20 | 24 | 6 | @ Nationals, 3:05 p.m. | Alfredo Simon vs Tanner Roark |
| Pirates | 18 | 26 | 8 | vs Orioles, 6:05 p.m. | Wandy Rodriguez vs Chris Tillman |
| Cubs | 16 | 27 | 9.5 | vs Yankees, 1:20 p.m. | Jeff Samardzija vs Chase Whitley |
Today in former Brewers: Latroy Hawkins is 41 years old and in his 20th MLB season, but yesterday, he told Jon Morosi of Fox Sports (via Call to the Pen) that he’s planning on pitching in 2015 if he’s healthy.
- 2013 AZL Brewer Felix Paulino, who turns 23.
- 1996 Brewer Bryce Florie, who turns 44. I covered his birthday in Today In Brewer History at Brew Crew Ball last year.
Today is also the fifth anniversary of the Brewers trading outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. to the Padres in 2009 and Geoff Jenkins hitting three home runs in a game against the Padres in 2003. Follow the links for those events’ respective entries in Today In Brewer History.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I feel like I’m being watched.
Drink up.
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