Tuesday- A rare road rout

Some things to read while getting what you paid for.

The Milwaukee Brewers got their West Coast road trip off to a nice start on Monday, scoring 10 runs for the first time in more than a month and beating the San Diego Padres 10-1 at Petco Park. Jordan Mader of Brew Crew Ball has a recap, if you missed it.

Ryan Braun was one of the Brewers’ top performers on Monday, going 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored. He also left the game early, however, with a left quad contusion suffered during a play at first base during the first inning. Braun is day-to-day and told reporters he hopes to be back in the lineup tonight.

Jean Segura was back in the starting lineup Monday night after being held out on Saturday and Sunday, and went 1-for-3 with a single and a pair of walks, just the fifth multi-walk game of his career. Segura’s struggles at the plate have been well-documented this season, but Noah Jarosh of Brew Crew Ball says there’s not much out there in terms of options to replace him.

With Monday’s win, the Brewers are now 13-9 in August. They need one more win against the Padres or Giants to clinch their third winning month of the season, joining March/April (20-8) and June (18-10). They went 13-15 in May and 9-16 in July. They’re also one win away from matching last season’s total (h/t @MikeVassallo13).

• After nearly two weeks off due to a sprained ankle, Kyle Lohse returned to acion on Monday and allowed a single run on four hits over six innings with just 90 pitches (h/t @Todd_Rosiak).
• Gerardo Parra entered Monday’s game late as a replacement for Ryan Braun but still collected three RBIs for the first time since Opening Day (h/t @AndrewGruman).
• Lyle Overbay collected his 10th pinch hit of the season on Monday and his .476 batting average in that role is the best in all of baseball (h/t @AdamMcCalvy).
• Aramis Ramirez had a single, double and home run on Monday for the 28th time in his career. He’s still never hit for the cycle, though (h/t @AdamMcCalvy). 
• Ramirez also has seven home runs against left-handed pitchers this season, the second-highest total in all of baseball among right-handed hitters (h/t @alecdopp).
• Ramirez’s three hits on Monday raised his batting average to .427 in August (h/t @joe_block). He also has a .466 on-base percentage and .610 slugging in the month.

The series continues with another late night tonight. Jimmy Nelson will face 2014 All Star Tyson Ross when the two teams take the field at 9:10 p.m., and Cody Ulm has the MLB.com preview.

With a nine-run lead, the Brewers didn’t need Francisco Rodriguez to pitch the ninth inning on Monday. K-Rod still leads the National League with 39 saves this season and is 11th all-time with 343 for his career, but he told Susan Shemanske of the Racine Journal Times he’s more interested in his team’s results.

Mike Fiers is scheduled to pitch in this weekend’s Giants series, and he’s likely shown enough in his first four starts to merit an ongoing opportunity in the majors. Jack Moore of Beacon Reader and Adam Wieser of Disciples of Uecker are the latest to look at his surprising success and ask if he can keep up this level of performance. 

If Fiers remains in the rotation and the Brewers aren’t willing to go to six starting pitchers, though, then Jimmy Nelson could get demoted to the bullpen. Nelson has made just five appearances as a reliever in the last four seasons, but told Adam McCalvy of MLB.com he’s willing to make that move. Nelson was also recently named to the All-Pacific Coast League team for his work with Triple-A Nashville.

Elsewhere within the organization, the Brewers could consider calling up several relievers and other players when rosters expand next week. Derek Harvey of Brew Crew Ball has a look at four more players the team could call up or recall, in addition to the eight players Noah Jarosh listed on Saturday.

While the Brewers look at internal candidates to pitch out of the bullpen, they could also still be looking at potential trades as well. Astros reliever Chad Qualls was claimed off trade waivers on Monday, and @Haudricourt notes that the Brewers have been interested in his services previously. Qualls has a 3.07 ERA and 14 saves for Houston this season. If appears a deal won’t happen this time, though, as Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk reports the Tigers are the team that claimed him.

Carlos Gomez had three hits Monday night and posted a picture to Instagram after the game. Fans have voted Gomez as the Brewers’ “Most Valuable Tweeter” and nominated him to attend the team’s Social Media Night on Monday, Sept. 8. Tickets are still available.

Gomez also seems like a shoo-in to be named the Brewers “High Energy Player of the Year,” but the voting is closer than you might expect. Jonathan Lucroy has made a late charge and is just 1 percentage point behind Gomez in the voting, which was updated on Monday. Follow the link to see how you can cast your vote.

In the minors:

• Arizona Fall League rosters are expected to be announced today, and one of the Brewers’ top prospects is expected to be among the organization’s contingent: Adam McCalvy says Brevard County outfielder Tyrone Taylor is one of the outfielders being considered to play for the Glendale Desert Dogs. Taylor was the Brewers’ second-round pick in the 2012 draft, is still only 20 years old and has played in 127 games for the High-A Manatees this season.
• Back on the field, the affiliates went 2-3 yesterday, and one of the wins most certainly did not come from Nashville, where the Sounds allowed multiple runs in the second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth innings of a 20-1 loss to Sacramento. You can read about all of the day’s action in the Brewerfan.net Link Report.
• Chris Mehring has video highlights and more from Wisconsin’s 7-3 win over Beloit. 
• Marcus Young of Miller Park Prospects has a look at the playoff hopes for teams in the Brewers organization from before Monday’s action.
• Congratulations are due out to Nashville first baseman Matt Clark, who was recently named the Pacific Coast League’s Player of the Week. Clark had at least one hit in each of the Sounds’ seven games this week, scoring nine runs and driving in nine.
• Clark, by the way, is one of 26 players in the organization who will be minor league free agents this winter if the Brewers don’t opt to add them to the 40-man roster. Brewerfan.net has the full list, headlined by former Brewers Tim Dillard, Taylor Green and Donovan Hand.
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Sounds manager Rick Sweet.
• Speaking of Nashville, the Brewers don’t have a player development contract with their top affiliate beyond the end of this season. The Mets are one of several teams that could consider moving their Triple-A team into the Sounds’ new facility, but MetsBlog is reporting they’re likely to stick with their existing affiliate in Las Vegas.

In power rankings:

• ESPN has the Brewers seventh, holding steady from last week.
• Jonah Keri of Grantland has them eighth, down three spots.

Around baseball:

Pirates: Designated infielder Jayson Nix for assignment.

Let’s go around the NL Central:

• The Cardinals scored three runs in the seventh inning to come from behind and pick up a 3-2 win over the Pirates. Matt Holliday had two hits and drove in two runs in the game.
• The Brewers, as you likely know, routed the Padres 10-1.
• The Reds and Cubs were off on Monday.

Today in former Brewers: Reliever Mike Adams hasn’t pitched a full major league season in two years with the Phillies and told reporters he feels like he’s “stealing money” from the team.

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