If the Milwaukee Brewers can play this well on the road, the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs may be a little hesitant to find out what Ryan Braun and his club can accomplish at home.  Thursday’s game was very similar to the first two of the series: the Brewers were down 2-0 early and struggled offensively, stranding 11 more base runners.  And just like Games 1 and 2, there was a dramatic home run late that cut Tony La Russa and his bullpen down to the core.  The only difference?  Ryan Braun, not Bill Hall, was the man who delivered when the Brewers needed it most.

Few position players chipped in in the clutch on Thursday, and Corey Hart had a horrific day.  He went 0-5 and squashed more than one rally.  He did ground into a force out that scored a critical run, but he also grounded into two double plays, committed an error in right field when he let a ball squirt past his glove, allowing Ryan Ludwick to rumble all the way around the bases to score.  Hart is playing like a zombie right now, but Brewers fans need not worry too much; he is most likely just fighting off a cold or some other minor illness.  Jason Kendall walked with bases loaded in a wild fourth inning that included Ben Sheets hitting a two-out, bases loaded looping line drive to center field that was played incredibly by Ryan Ludwick, who made a diving catch to prevent probably two Milwaukee runs from scoring.

Ben Sheets struggled early, but relaxed to pitch seven quality innings, allowing only 2 earned runs and four hits.  He was in line for the loss, but after Eric Gagne pitched a solid eighth inning to hold the deficit at 2-3, the Brewers offense blew away the St. Louis bullpen for the third time in the four game series…well, Ryan Braun blew away the St. Louis bullpen anyway.  After Ray Durham, making his first start for Milwaukee (he went 0-5), struck out, J.J. Hardy kept the game and his torrid hitting alive by reaching first on a single.  Braun took a strike down the middle and with a powerful swing of the bat, he completely ruined closer Ryan Franklin’s day.  The score was 4-3, Busch stadium had been silenced for the fourth straight day, and the Brew Crew had visibly stolen all the momentum away from the dejected Redbirds.

In 1987, Robin Yount and Paul Molitor lead what is known as “Team Streak” to a 13 game winning streak to start off the season.  It was one of the best seasons in Brewers’ history, but amazingly enough, the American League ball club never swept a road trip as long as 7 games.  Neither did the A.L. Champion 1982 Brewers accomplish the feat.  Salomon Torres sealed that piece of history with his dominant ninth inning of work.  He fanned Troy Glaus; he caught Ryan Ludwick looking; and for good measure, he whiffed Jason LaRue to complete the 4 game sweep, the 7 game sweep of the road trip, and the eighth straight victory for Ned Yost’s Brewers overall.

Offensive MVP: LF Ryan Braun (4-4/1R/1HR/1RBI/1BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: CP Salomon Torres (1IP/0H/0HR/0ER/0BB/3SO)

My Take:

The Brewers offense looked a little sloppy today, but when you consider the fact that they swept the Cardinals in St. Louis, it really doesn’t matter.  The bullpen looked as solid as ever, and Ben Sheets really did a nice job of keeping his club in the game, which is a good sign considering he has been struggling of late.  The upcoming homestand could be one of the most important of the year, but if Milwaukee plays with as much passion as they showed in St. Louis, look for them to gain some significant ground on the Chicago Cubs or even pass them up for the divisional lead.