Brewers 16, Twins 4: Turning Points
May 20, 2012
1) Ryan Braun's RBI double in the second (.120 WPA)
With the bases loaded following a Nyjer Morgan walk, Braun doubled in two runs and kept runners at the corners. This gave the Brewers a 5-1 lead.
2) Jonathan Lucroy homers in the first (.107 WPA)
The second home run of the first inning for the Brewers gave the team the lead. Despite the Twins scoring first, the Brewers walked out of the first inning with a 2-1 advantage.
3) Corey Hart homers in the first (.105 WPA)
This preceded Lucroy's home run in the first inning. As the lead off hitter for Milwaukee, Hart certainly set a good lead to follow.
4) Corey Hart's RBI single in the second (.089 WPA)
Hart also helped provide the first run of the second inning as he singled in Travis Ishikawa with two outs and runners at the corners.
5) Josh Willingham's RBI single in the first (-.089 WPA)
The first run of the game was scored by Ben Revere as the Twins took first blood against Zack Greinke. That would be the only mark against Greinke's record today, though.
And the next five, just for kicks and giggles:
6) Jonathan Lucroy's RBI single in the second (.060 WPA)
7) Ben Revere doubles in the first (-.040 WPA)
8) Travis Ishikawa singles in the second (.031 WPA)
9) Joe Mauer grounds out in the first (.030 WPA)
10) Cesar Izturis flies out in the second (-.029 WPA)
After the first out in the top of the fifth inning, no play was worth anything more than .001 WPA in either direction, including Jonathan Lucroy's grand slam.
Brewers 16, Twins 4: Cleaning Up
May 20, 2012
Win: Zack Greinke (5-1)
Loss: Jason Marquis (2-4)
HR: Hart (9), Lucroy 2 (3, 4)
MVP: Corey Hart (.193 WPA (This is why I hate WPA (Jonathan Lucroy is easily the MVP of this game but had .166 WPA)))
LVP: Cesar Izturis (-.034 WPA)
Fangraphs Win Expectancy Graph
The Brewers have been having a lot of trouble scoring runs. So, before today's game, Ron Roenicke made some changes to his batting order and lineup. Out were Aramis Ramirez and Rickie Weeks. Jonathan Lucroy moved to the cleanup spot with Taylor Green hitting behind him. Today, the starting infield was Edwin Maysonet, Cesar Izturis, Taylor Green, and Travis Ishikawa.
For a team needing runs, that lineup doesn't exactly instill a lot of confidence.
So the Brewers went out and scored 16 runs, led by the astounding Jonathan Lucroy, who had a record tying day. The Brewers piled it on early, with two runs in the first inning and six in the second inning. The game started out going the Brewers way as Corey Hart led off the first inning with a home run. Jonathan Lucroy followed by hitting his first home run of the day.
The team then batted around in the second inning. After a single and two outs, Zack Greinke extended the inning with a single. Corey Hart then his an RBI single. A Nyjer Morgan walk set up a bases loaded double from Ryan Braun. Taylor Green was then hit by a pitch and Travis Ishikawa singled before Cesar Izturis made the final out.
Milwaukee then took a short rest in the third before putting another two on the board in the fourth inning as Ryan Braun knocked Nyjer Morgan in and scored himself on two sacrifice flies. Zack Greinke would score again in the fifth on a Ryan Braun RBI single.
The seventh inning saw five more runs for Milwaukee. After two singles and a walk, Norichiki Aoki pinch hit for Ryan Braun and singled in a run. With the bases loaded, clean-up hitter Jonathan Lucroy came up. After falling quickly behind to a 0-2 count, Lucroy launched a ball into right center field for the first grand slam of his career.
That grand slam also gave Lucroy seven RBI on the day, tying the Brewers team record. The only other Milwaukee players to drive in that many were Corey Hart, Damian Miller, Richie Sexson, Jose Hernandez, and Ted Kubiak. Overall, Lucroy was 3-5 with two homers, three runs, and the seven RBI.
Corey Hart and Ryan Braun also had three hit days. Hart had a home run, scored three runs, and drove in two. Braun had a double, four runs batted in, and two runs scored. Nyjer Morgan had a hit and two walks and scored each time he reached base.Travis Ishikawa also had a nice day, going 2-3 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.Carlos Gomez pinch hit and played center field after being taken off the DL earlier today. He had a single and scored a run.
Zack Greinke was 2-3 with two runs scored and pitched another fantastic game. He went 6.2 innings and allowed just one run on five hits. He struck out six hitters while walking two.
Juan Perez went .2 innings and allowed a run on two hits and a walk. He's not off to the best start after taking Vinnie Chulk's roster spot.
There wasn't much to complain about in this game from a Brewers fan's viewpoint. However, it was disappointing to see home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt eject Tim Dillard in the ninth inning of a 16-2 game after he accidentally threw a pitch behind Jamey Carroll. This after three Brewers had already been hit today and there was absolutely no reason for Dillard to hit anyone. A stupid ejection, but thankfully it didn't come during a situation where it would have truly mattered. It did force the Brewers to use Kameron Loe on a day they shouldn't have, however.
Hopefully the Brewers can keep this hot hitting up. It will be interesting to see whether Lucroy will remain in the clean up spot when Aramis Ramirez and Rickie Weeks return to the lineup. Perhaps we'll find out tomorrow as the Brewers begin a three game series with the Giants. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 as Madison Bumgarner and Randy Wolf face off.
Gomez returns to crowded outfield
May 20, 2012Outfielder Carlos Gomez returned to the Brewers' active roster right on schedule on Sunday, after being placed on the 15-day disabled list earlier this month with a left hamstring injury.
Brewers discuss moving Hart to first base
May 20, 2012Brewers manager Ron Roenicke and other club officials continued to mull Sunday whether right fielder Corey Hart could be a permanent replacement at first base for the injured Mat Gamel.
Game Thread #41: Brewers (16-24) vs. Twins (14-26)
May 20, 2012Please win.
Current Series
Twins lead the series 2-0
| Fri 05/18 | WP: Scott Diamond (3 - 0) LP: Marco Estrada (0 - 3) |
3 - 11 loss |
| Sat 05/19 | WP: Jeff Gray (3 - 0) SV: Matt Capps LP: Manny Parra (0 - 1) |
4 - 5 loss |
|
Minnesota Twins Sunday, May 20, 2012, 1:10 PM CDT Partly cloudy. Winds blowing from right to left field at 20-25 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 85. |
||
Please.
Todays Matchup: Brewers (Greinke) vs Twins (Marquis)
May 20, 2012
If the Brewers can't win with this pitching matchup, I might give up on them.
Jason Marquis (2-3, 6.68) is not a very good pitcher anymore and has been absolutely dreadful this season. He has only had one season with an ERA under 4.43 since 2005. Six of his thirteen seasons have seen an ERA over 5.00. His career FIP is 4.82. (6.43 this season).
Marquis has always had a fairly high walk rate and a fairly low strikeout rate, but he's taking it to new levels this year. Thus far, he has been walking more hitters than he's struck out with a 3.34 K/9 and a 3.62 BB/9. He has had home run issues in the past, and those appear to have sprung up again considering his 1.95 HR/9.
Marquis does have two quality starts this season, out of six total starts. He has yet to allow fewer than three earned runs. However, he also has yet to allow more than five. Of course, he hasn't been pitching very deep into games. He's also been getting hit very hard, with a 1.76 WHIP.
Marquis throws three pitches: An 89 MPH sinker, an 84 MPH slider, and an 81 MPH changeup.
The veteran righty has faced six Brewers at least ten times. You're not going to get much better results than these:
| Player | PA | Line |
| Aramis Ramirez | 29 | .370/.414/.704 |
| Ryan Braun | 24 | .500/.583/.700 |
| Cesar Izturis | 22 | .409/.409/.591 |
| Rickie Weeks | 21 | .278/.381/.444 |
| Corey Hart | 20 | .368/.400/.684 |
| Nyjer Morgan | 17 | .400/.473/.533 |
Zack Greinke (4-1, 2.88) is having an absolutely phenomenal season thus far. He is currently sporting a 1.71 FIP, a 9.54 K/9 and a 1.80 BB/9--17th best in the MLB. But the best thing about 2012 Zack Greinke? He is not giving up any home runs. Almost literally. This season he has allowed just one home run in fifty innings.
And his stats would look even better if you took out his disaster against the Cubs in his second start of the season. During that game, he allowed eight earned runs in 3.2 innings. You eliminate that and all of a sudden he has a 1.55 ERA. Holy mackerel!
Zack Greinke is doing damn near all he can to help salvage this Brewers season. Remember a couple seasons ago when, if someone were to suggest a move at an every-day spot, the response would be "The hitting is not the problem"? Well, we can't quite turn that around to say starting pitching because of Randy Wolf, and we really can't say it about pitching all together because of the bullpen. But Zack Greinke, Shaun Marcum, and Yovani Gallardo have been phenomenal. I shudder to imaging this team without even one of them.
Greinke has faced five current Twins at least ten times. Here is how they have fared:
| Player | PA | Line |
| Joe Mauer | 47 | .275/.383/.300 |
| Justin Morneau | 30 | .172/.200/.241 |
| Denard Span | 20 | .333/.368/.444 |
| Alexi Casilla | 18 | .188/.222/.313 |
| Jamey Carroll | 13 | .231/.231/.231 |
The lineups, featuring Jonathan Lucroy in the clean up spot!:
And in the bullpen:
Juan Perez pitched 0 innings (9 pitches) yesterday.
Francisco Rodriguez pitched 1 inning (19 pitches) yesterday.
Kameron Loe pitched 0.1 innings (9 pitches) yesterday.
Kameron Loe pitched 0.1 innings (9 pitches) yesterday.
Jose Veras pitched 1 inning (18 pitches) Friday and 0.2 innings (14 pitches) yesterday.
John Axford pitched 1 inning (15 pitches) Friday and 1 inning (12 pitches) yesterday.
Tim Dillard pitched 0.1 innings (6 pitches) Friday.
Around the NL Central: Saturday Wrap-up
May 20, 2012Saturday's Results:
Brewers 4 Twins 5 (11 innings)
Standings:
| Team | W | L | GB | Last 10 | Streak |
| Cardinals | 22 | 18 | - | 3-7 | L3 |
| Reds | 20 | 19 | 1.5 | 5-5 | W1 |
| Pirates | 19 | 21 | 3.0 | 5-5 | W1 |
| Astros | 18 | 22 | 4.0 | 4-6 | W1 |
| Brewers | 16 | 24 | 6.0 | 3-7 | L4 |
| Cubs | 15 | 25 | 7.0 | 3-7 | L5 |
News and Notes:
- With the offseason signing of Ryan Madson the Reds had thought they secured their closer role. After his injury and the up-and-down performance of Sean Marshall manager Dusty Baker may have to make the move to 'Plan C.' The Reds have handled the adversity well, a game over .500 and nipping at the heels of the less than red hot Cardinals for the division lead.
- After officially announcing his retirement yesterday his playing days with the Cubs may be over. That doesn't mean, however, that his role with the club will be. According to Club President Theo Epstein Kerry Wood has a job with the team whenever he is ready to take it.
- In other Cubs news, the club has brought back Catcher Koyie Hill. Chicago will send cash considerations to the Reds in exchange for Hill.
On Tap:
The Brewers look to avoid the sweep at the hand of the Twins by wining this afternoon's 1:10 p.m. CDT game at Miller Park. Zack Greinke (4-1) will take the mound looking to end the Brewers' losing skid. Jason Marquis (2-3) is the scheduled starter for the Twins.
The Astros and Rangers conclude their series in Houston today at 1:05 p.m. CDT. Jordan Lyles (0-0), who has remained with the big league team, will make the start for the Astros. Colby Lewis (3-3) will start for the Rangers.
The Cardinals finish up their west coast road trip today against the Dodgers at 7:00 p.m. CDT. Kyle Lohse (5-1) is scheduled to start for St. Louis. Chad Billingsley (2-3) will start for LA.
The Cubs and White Sox finish up their cross town interleague series with today's 1:20 p.m. CDT game at Wrigley Field. Paul Maholm (4-2) and Jake Peavy (4-1) are the scheduled starters.
The Pirates and Tigers wrap up their series in Detroit with this afternoon's game. Kevin Correia (1-4) will start for Pittsburgh. The Tigers will counter with Max Scherzer (2-3). Game time in Detroit is set for 12:05 p.m. CDT.
The Reds will look to take 2-of-3 from the Yankees with a victory in today's 12:05 p.m. CDT game. Johnny Cueto (4-1) will start for Cincinnati. Former Brewer C.C. Sabathia (5-1) will make the start for the Yankees.
Today In Brewer History: Winning A Wild One
May 20, 2012As has been noted multiple times in the past, the 2012 Brewers' slow start is not unprecedented. At this point last year they were still under .500, although they took a big step in the right direction on this day.
Facing the Rockies at Miller Park the Brewers went back and forth for eight innings, taking a 1-0 lead but falling behind 2-1 before tying the game at 2 in the fourth and 4 in the eighth (on a Casey McGehee home run) that eventually sent the game into extra innings.
After that, however, things got quiet for a while. Neither team scored in the ninth, tenth, eleventh or 12th, before the floodgates opened in the 13th. The Rockies scored a run in the top of that frame on Seth Smith's RBI triple, but the Brewers answered back with Yuniesky Betancourt's solo homer to lead off the bottom half. The Rockies scored again on Dexter Fowler's RBI single in the 14th, but the Brewers answered and sent the home crowd happy with this walkoff blast:
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This is the longest extra inning game the Brewers have played since 2004. It was also the first of six consecutive wins and the start of a 17-5 stretch that pushed the Crew all the way up to 38-28 and first place.
Tonight is also the anniversary of a handful of small other footnotes in franchise history: I collected four of them and looked at them briefly in this space last year.
Brewers 4, Twins 5 (11 innings): Super Late Recap
May 19, 2012
Win: Jeff Gray (3-0)
Loss: Manny Parra (0-1)
Save: Matt Capps (9)
HR: Aramis Ramirez (3), Trevor Plouffe (4)
MVP: Aramis Ramirez (.155 WPA)
LVP: Rickie Weeks (-.241 WPA)
Fangraphs Win Expectancy Graph
Boxscore
Four losses in a row and counting.
At least the Brewers made it close in this one. However, they did spoil six innings of Yovani Gallardo pitching wherein he allowed just one earned run. They also gave Carl Pavano perhaps his best start of the year: 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 K.
Despite falling behind 4-2 after the top of the eighth inning, a two-run Aramis Ramirez home run (please be heating up) pulled Milwaukee back into a tie. That tie was preserved until the eleventh inning when Manny Parra allowed a home run to Trevor Plouffe. I don't know who Trevor Plouffe is or why he's beating the Brewers, but he did. The Brewers couldn't come back from a second deficit.
Rickie Weeks was really, really bad. You know how this has been a difficult season for him? This is a contender for his worst game of the season. If you read my preview, you might know that he came into the game with a .000/.000/.000 line against Carl Pavano. Tonight he went 0-5 with four strikeouts. To top it off, he also made a throwing error. Rickie Weeks is one of my favorite Brewers. I want so badly for him to start doing well again. But he has not shown any signs of coming back to life.
Nyjer Morgan, on the other hand, did. He went 3-5 today with three runs scored. The Brewers 1-5 hitters, by the way, picked up nine hits. The rest of the Brewers lineup? Zero. Ryan Braun and Corey Hart had a couple apiece while Ramirez and Jonathan Lucroy each had one and Morgan picked up his three.
Kameron Loe allowed one run in 0.1 innings, Juan Perez walked the only batter he faced, Manny Parra gave up the game winning home run as his only hit in two innings and Francisco Rodriguez gave up a run on three hits. Jose Veras pitched a clean 0.2 innings and John Axford pitched one clean inning.
I don't know. I'm normally pretty optimistic about the Brewers, even last year when they were struggling. But boy am I losing faith fast.
Gomez set to come off disabled list Sunday
May 19, 2012The Brewers optioned infielder Brooks Conrad to Triple-A Nashville and planned to activate outfielder Carlos Gomez from the 15-day disabled list before Sunday's series finale against the Twins.