Some things to read while feeling old.
The Milwaukee Brewers played their first of 20 games in 20 days on Tuesday and didn’t exactly get off on the right foot, losing 6-2 to the New York Mets at Citi Field. Jordan Mader of Brew Crew Ball has the recap, if you missed it.
Marco Estrada was the big story last night, as he continues to be plagued by home runs. The six runs he allowed last night all scored on a pair of long balls, including a grand slam for catcher Taylor Teagarden, who was making his first 2014 MLB appearance (h/t @Todd_Rosiak). Estrada continues to lead all of baseball with 20 home runs this season, and he’s one of just nine pitchers in franchise history to allow at least one homer in 10 consecutive starts:
| Pitcher | Season(s) | Games |
| Jeff Suppan | 2008-09 | 12 |
| Ruben Quevedo | 2002-03 | 11 |
| Danny Darwin | 1985 | 11 |
| Marco Estrada | 2014 | 10 |
| Dave Bush | 2009 | 10 |
| Nelson Figueroa | 2002 | 10 |
| Ben Sheets | 2001 | 10 |
| Mike Caldwell | 1982 | 10 |
| Jim Slaton | 1973 | 10 |
After the game, Ron Roenicke told reporters the Brewers will “have to talk about” Estrada’s ongoing role in the starting rotation (h/t @Todd_Rosiak). Certainly, Tuesday night’s performance isn’t going to stop the fans clamoring to see more of Jimmy Nelson: The Brewers’ top pitching prospect already has one scoreless MLB start under his belt this season and has a 1.51 ERA over 11 appearances for Triple-A Nashville.
Other notes from the field:
- Mike Fiers made his 2014 Brewers debut by pitching a scoreless seventh inning, and took to Twitter after the game to thank the fans who have stuck with him in the year-plus since his last MLB appearance.
- Scooter Gennett singled, walked and scored a run in his first 2014 appearance as a leadoff hitter, making him the sixth different player to bat first for the Brewers this season (h/t @MikeVassallo13). Gennett has started at least one game batting first, second, third, sixth, seventh and eighth this season.
Tyler Thornburg didn’t pitch on Tuesday and remains on the disabled list with elbow soreness, but he did get some good news: The ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow is fine and he won’t need Tommy John surgery. Doctors are still trying to identify the source of his soreness, and we’ll probably know more after he visits a radiologist this week.
Meanwhile, Jean Segura had another rough day. The Brewers’ shortstop was moved down to the eighth spot in the lineup and went 0-for-4 while also hitting into a double play. He has just two hits in his last 25 at bats, lowing his batting line to .252/.281/.324 (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging) on the season.
- The affiliates went 2-1 Tuesday night but the game of the night was played in Wisconsin, where the Timber Rattlers came from behind to force extra innings and played 17 innings before losing 9-6 to Beloit. You can read about all of the day’s action in the Brewerfan.net Link Report.
- @RMarshallSports has a picture of outfielder D’Vontrey Richardson robbing a home run in Huntsville’s game.
- Speaking of Huntsville, two more Stars (outfielder Josh Prince and catcher Shawn Zarraga) have been added to the Southern League All Star Game (h/t @BrewersPD). That gives Huntsville 10 players selected, although many are ineligible to appear because they’ve been promoted to Triple-A.
- The Stars are also the headliners in Caitlin Swieca of MLB.com’s look at the first half highlights from around the Brewers organization.
- Bret McCormick of The Herald (Rock Hill, S.C.) has a story on the decision-making process of Brewers’ 25th-round pick C.D. Pelham, a junior college pitcher who says he’s still waiting for the Brewers’ offer (h/t @Mass_Haas).
- Sam Peterson of Miller Park Prospects has a scouting report for Nashville pitcher Taylor Jungmann.
- Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Brewers scout Corey Rodriguez.
Cubs: Released reliever Jose Veras.
Let’s go around the NL Central:
- The Cardinals scored just one run on three hits Tuesday night but it was enough for a 1-0 victory over the Rays. Adam Wainwright and three relievers scattered eight hits over nine innings to complete the shutout.
- Anthony Rizzo had three extra-base hits (two doubles and a home run) and scored three times in the Cubs’ 7-3 win over the Pirates.
- The Reds also dropped a game on Tuesday, losing 6-1 to the Dodgers. Cincinnati had nine hits but left 10 men on base in the game.
| Team | W | L | GB | Today | Matchup |
| Brewers | 38 | 27 | — | @ Mets, 6:10 p.m. | Wily Peralta vs Jacob deGrom |
| Cardinals | 34 | 31 | 4 | @ Rays, 6:10 p.m. | Michael Wacha vs Erik Bedard |
| Pirates | 34 | 30 | 7.5 | vs Cubs, 6:05 p.m. | Brandon Cumpton vs Jason Hammel |
| Reds | 29 | 34 | 8 | vs Dodgers, 6:10 p.m. | Johnny Cueto vs Hyun-jin Ryu |
| Cubs | 26 | 36 | 10.5 | @ Pirates, 6:05 p.m. | Jason Hammel vs Brandon Cumpton |
Finally, with help from the Baseball Reference Play Index, we’d like to wish a happy birthday today to 1961 and 1965 Milwaukee Brave Frank Thomas, who turns 85 (Today In Brewer History). Plunk Everyone notes that Thomas’ 51 career HBP are the second-most ever for a position player born on June 11.
Today is also the 15th anniversary of the Brewers retiring Paul Molitor’s No. 4 in 1999 and the 44th anniversary of the trade that sent original Brewers outfielder Steve Hovley to the A’s in 1970. Follow the links for those events’ respective entries in Today In Brewer History at Brew Crew Ball.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need more eye drops.
Drink up.
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