Some things to read while paying odd bills.
Baseball is a game of strange turns and unlikely outcomes, and that was clearly evidenced this weekend, as the Milwaukee Brewers completed a three-game road sweep against what’s arguably the National League’s best team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. They wrapped up the perfect weekend with a 7-2 win on Sunday, and Noah Jarosh of Brew Crew Ball has a recap if you missed it.
The Brewers earned three wins with a come-from-behind victory on Friday, and by piling onto Clayton Kershaw on Saturday and Dan Haren on Sunday. Adam McCalvy got a quote from Dodgers manager Don Mattingly for our Tweet of the Day:
Mattingly: “In a sense, they kind of just came in here and said, ‘We think we’re better than you.’ And for these 3g they were.”
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) August 18, 2014
The Brewers didn’t need a big day from Wily Peralta on Sunday but they got it anyway, as he pitched six scoreless innings and allowed five hits and three walks, recording five strikeouts. Peralta is back in a tie for the MLB lead with 15 wins on the season. Tim Brown of Yahoo has a look at how he came to be a baseball player and how he’s improved over the last year.
Peralta provided the latest in a long run of strong outings for Brewers starting pitchers. @MikeVassallo13 notes that the Brewers rotation has a 2.46 ERA in their last 26 games with 22 quality starts.
Of course, beating a fellow playoff contender on the road brings a unique boost of confidence. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel talked to Ron Roenicke and Jonathan Lucroy about the possibility that these two teams could meet again in October.
Other notes from the field:
- Carlos Gomez hit his 20th home run of the season on Sunday and is the only player in baseball with 20 homers and 20 stolen bases this season (h/t @MikeVassallo13).
- Gomez’s long ball came off Carlos Frias, and was only the second all season he’s hit off of a reliever (h/t @alecdopp).
- Jonathan Lucroy hit his 40th double of the season on Sunday and has a chance to be the first catcher since 1900 to lead his league in that category (h/t @Buster_ESPN).
- Aramis Ramirez left Sunday’s game in the fourth inning. It was initially reported as a non-injury situation (h/t @AdamMcCalvy), but we later found out that Ramirez is dealing with slight tightness in his hamstring (h/t @Haudricourt).
- Friday and Saturday’s games were only the second time in 46 opportunities where Dodgers pitchers Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke have started back-to-back games and the Dodgers have lost both of them (h/t @truebluela).
- Elsewhere in firsts, the Brewers were the first team to homer twice in the same game off Clayton Kershaw since the Padres did it in April of 2013.
- Kershaw was the first pitcher to throw a complete game against the Brewers and lose since Ubaldo Jimenez did it for the Rockies in May of 2011.
- Meanwhile, Greinke has still never won a regular season game against the Royals, Angels or Brewers, his three former teams.
- With saves on Friday and Saturday, Francisco Rodriguez tied and passed Rollie Fingers for 11th on the MLB all-time list with 342 saves. Fingers recorded 97 of those saves as a member of the Brewers from 1981-85.
- Rickie Weeks was called for interference on Saturday while trying to break up a double play, but the Brewers disagreed with the umpire’s decision and have filed a report on the matter.
- A day earlier, Jean Segura was also called out for interference and left the game with a contusion on his hand after being hit by a relay throw on Friday. X-rays were negative and Segura returned to the lineup on Sunday.
Fiers has some work to do to repeat his last start, a six-inning, 14-strikeout gem against the Cubs. Paul Swydan of FanGraphs has a look at the unlikely nature of that event, and John Sickels of Minor League Ball asks if it was a fluke.
Happ is left-handed, so the Brewers will likely rest Scooter Gennett again on Tuesday. Gennett has been slowed by a right quad strain but still had three hits in two starts over the weekend and told Adam McCalvy of MLB.com he expects to be back to full speed soon.
The Brewers will face 2012 NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey on Wednesday, and if the trends hold, they should hit pretty well against him. Bill Berg of Reviewing the Brew is the latest to discuss the team’s trend of scoring runs against the game’s best pitchers.
Meanwhile, the Brewers continue to seek help for their overworked bullpen. On Saturday, Mark Attanasio told reporters the Brewers had placed waiver claims on relievers “literally, today,” but to this point we do not have a transaction to report.
Unfortunately, a couple of internal candidates to help out in the bullpen have been officially ruled out for the remainder of the season. Tyler Thornburg and Jim Henderson have both been on the disabled list for several months now and neither will pitch in the big leagues again in 2014. Thornburg recently underwent a platelet-rich plasma injection that the team is hoping will help his sore elbow, and Henderson may require surgery to fix the ongoing weakness in his shoulder.
The news is better for a pair of starting pitchers. On Saturday, Matt Garza played catch for the first time since going on the DL with an oblique strain. At the same link, the Brewers announced that they’ll use this week’s off days to skip Kyle Lohse’s spot in the rotation but he isn’t expected to need to go on the DL.
Mike Fiers has made sure the Brewers don’t miss Garza all that much, but getting him back eventually will still be a nice boost for this team. Anthony Castrovince of Sports on Earth ranked Garza as baseball’s sixth-best injured player.
This week’s Blue Jays series kicks off a homestand in which the Brewers face a pair of playoff-contending teams, with the Pirates coming to town over the weekend. With 37 games left to play, Jeff Passan of Yahoo says the Brewers have the eighth-toughest schedule among the 19 teams in playoff contention.
In the minors:
- The affiliates went 1-6 on Sunday, with the lone win coming from Brevard County, where Taylor Williams allowed a single earned run and struck out nine in seven innings as the Manatees beat Dunedin 3-2. You can read about all the action in the Brewerfan.net Link Report.
- Meanwhile, Wisconsin was shut out and lost both halves of a doubleheader against Kane County. Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has postgame audio and highlights, and Brad Krause of Miller Park Prospects has a photo gallery from that experience.
- Wei-Chung Wang started one of those games for Wisconsin and allowed two runs on four hits over 4 1/3 innings (h/t @Haudricourt).
- The Brewers recently extended their player development contract with rookie-level Helena in the Pioneer League, and Gord Ash told Adam McCalvy he expects the Brewers will reach an agreement to follow Double-A Huntsville to their new ballpark in 2015. The team’s contract with Triple-A Nashville is also set to expire following the season but Ash reported “no news” on that front.
- Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Sounds pitcher Brent Leach.
Closer to home, Saturday was the Brewers’ annual “Field of Sweet Dreams” campout at Miller Park. The Brewers tumblr feed has a photo from the occasion.
Today in power rankings:
- Buster Olney of ESPN has the Brewers as baseball’s fourth-best team.
- Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times has the Brewers fifth in all of baseball, up one spot.
- Tom Haudricourt has the Brewers as the National League’s third-best team.
Elsewhere in rankings: Joe Posnanski of Hardball Talk had Miller Park 16th among the 30 active MLB ballparks.
If you’d like more Brewers coverage but you’re sick of reading, I’ll be making my weekly appearance on The Talking Cheeseheads with Ben Larson this afternoon. Listen in live on Sports Fan 100.5 in Wausau or Sports Talk AM 1090 WAQE in Rice Lake, or follow the above link later for the archived audio.
Around baseball:
Braves: Signed infielder Donnie Murphy to a minor league deal.
Dodgers: Acquired pitcher Justin Germano from the Rangers for future considerations, and placed pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu (glute strain) and infielder Juan Uribe (hamstring strain) on the DL.
Mets: Released outfielder Chris Young.
Pirates: Placed pitcher Charlie Morton on the DL with right hip inflammation.
Red Sox: Designated outfielder Corey Brown for assignment.
Rockies: Placed pitcher Tommy Kahnle on the DL with shoulder inflammation.
Tigers: Designated pitcher Kevin Whelan for assignment.
White Sox: Designated pitcher Charlie Leesman for assignment.
Let’s go around the NL Central:
- The Cardinals took three of four from the Padres, capping off a series win with a 7-6 win on Sunday. St. Louis took a 5-0 lead early but the Padres came all the way back to have the potential tying run on third base in the ninth.
- The Pirates have lost five straight games and wrapped up a dismal weekend with a 6-5, 11-inning loss to the Nationals on Sunday. Pittsburgh scored three runs in the ninth to take a 5-4 lead but Mark Melancon blew the save to send the game to extras.
- The Reds lost three out of four to the Rockies over the weekend, including a 10-9 walkoff loss on Sunday and another game in which Colorado 1B/OF Michael Cuddyer hit for the cycle. The two teams played a getaway-day doubleheader after Saturday’s game was postponed due to a water main break.
- The Cubs avoided a sweep by beating the Mets 2-1 on Sunday. Starlin Castro’s ninth-inning home run was the difference.
- The Brewers, as you likely know, wrapped up a sweep of the Dodgers with a 7-2 win on Sunday.
| Team | W | L | GB | Today | Matchup |
| Brewers | 70 | 55 | — | OFF | |
| Cardinals | 66 | 57 | 3 | vs Reds, 7:15 p.m. | Justin Masterson vs Mike Leake |
| Pirates | 64 | 60 | 5.5 | vs Braves, 6:05 p.m. | Vance Worley vs Ervin Santana |
| Reds | 61 | 63 | 8.5 | @ Cardinals, 7:15 p.m. | Mike Leake vs Justin Masterson |
| Cubs | 53 | 70 | 16 | @ Mets, 11:10 a.m. | Kyle Hendricks vs Bartolo Colon |
Today in former Brewers:
- Jamey Wright allowed all five runs as the Brewers came from behind to win Friday’s game, and Adam McCalvy talked to the veteran reliever about his time as a Brewer before the team’s move to Miller Park.
- Tom Singer of MLB.com talked to John Axford and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle about the veteran reliever’s transition to Pittsburgh following last week’s waiver claim.
Finally, with help from the Baseball Reference Play Index, we’d like to wish a happy birthday today to:
- 2002-03 Brewer Jayson Durocher, who turns 40.
- Marinette, Wis., natve and UW-Oshkosh alum Jim Magnuson, who would have turned 68. Magnuson pitched three MLB seasons between 1970-73 as a member of the White Sox and Yankees.
- Seattle Pilot and 1972 Brewer Mike Ferraro, who turns 70.
- 1972 Brewer Joe Azcue, who turns 75.
- 1970 Brewer Bob Humphreys, who turns 79.
- Emerald, Wis., native and Hall of Famer Burleigh Grimes, who would have turned 121. Grimes pitched 19 MLB seasons between 1916-34 as a member of the Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers) and six other teams (Today In Brewer History).
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m lost.
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.
