CC Sabathia had himself his shortest start of 2008 on Sunday, but he was good enough to put his team in a position to win their 76th game.  He hurled 6.0 innings, gave up 1 run on 8 hits, struck out five, and didn’t walk a batter.  He was briefly in line for his 9th win, but the Crew pen coughed up the lead.  Pirates ace Paul Maholm pitched his heart out, giving up a whopping 12 hits in 6.0 innings, but only gave up 2 runs, as the Brewers stranded 8 runners with him on the mound (twice they failed to score with the bases loaded and less than two outs).  But Mike Cameron turned in one of the finest games of his career with five hits, one of which scored Corey Hart from second to tie the game 1-1.  Ned Yost then pinch hit for Sabathia with “Captain Clutch,” Gabe Kapler, who immediately drove in Bill Hall to put his club ahead.  David Riske blew the slim lead in the seventh, however.  With two outs in the eighth, Cameron struck again, crushing a majestic homerun that seemed to seal the victory.  But Salomon Torres was unlike himself, and he blew the save by giving up a tying single to Nate McLouth.  It took three more frames.  Carlos Villanueva pitched himself into a world of trouble in the top of the twelfth, loading the bases with none out.  But Guillermo Mota, in what was undoubtedly his best performance as a Brewer, induced a popout to center, struck out Chris Gomez, and retired Luis Rivas himself, keeping the game tied, and receiving a roaring ovation from the 40,000+ fans.  With one out in the Milwaukee twelfth, Rickie Weeks walked.  With J.J. Hardy batting, he stole second with ease.  Then on his bobblehead day, the beloved shortstop hammered a ball into center for a single, and Weeks flew around third to clinch the series sweep.

Offensive MVP: Mike Cameron (5-5/1R/1HR/2RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Guillermo Mota (1IP/0H/0ER/0BB/1SO/0HR/Win-4th)

Alex’s Take:

This was a sloppy win, but a fun one nonetheless.  Guillermo Mota may be turning the corner late in the season for Milwaukee, and if he could continue to control that blazing fastball and nasty changeup of his, he could turn into a very capable reliever in close games, where he struggled often earlier on.  Mike Cameron started off the year so slowly, but has been on an absolute tear in August, when his team truly needs him for their playoff push.  He is hitting .360 in 75 August at-bats, with 8 round-trippers and 16 RBIs.  I guess this is what Ned Yost was talking about when he said that Cameron can carry an offense when he’s on.  The good news is, the other Brewers are hitting well enough that Mike doesn’t have to do it all by himself.

Jeff Suppan pitched another good game, going 7.0 innings and only gave up 3 runs.  He struck out 3, didn’t walk a batter, and surrendered 8 hits.  Up 6-2 when he exited in the eighth, the bullpen allowed one Suppan-charged run to score (on a groundout), but nothing else in a solid 6-3 victory.  Ryan Braun paced the offense with two hits and three runs batted in.  But Prince Fielder initiated the scoring in the bottom of the first with an RBI single, bringing in his good friend Rickie Weeks.  Then, Corey Hart, still looking for that elusive 20th homerun of the season, did drive in his 79th run of 2008 with a sac fly.  Braun crushed a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth, but in the next inning, the Crew jumped all over Pirates’ starter Tom Gorzelanny, and knocked him out of the game.  With two outs, Weeks walked, Hardy singled, and Braun came through again with a two-run double.  He later scored on Fielder’s second RBI single of the game.  Brian Shouse handled the eighth, and Salomon Torres nailed down the ninth for his 25th save of the year.

Offensive MVP: Ryan Braun (2-4/2R/12B/1HR/3RBI/0BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: Jeff Suppan (7.0IP/8H/3ER/0BB/3SO/Win-9th)

Alex’s Take:

It is great to see Ryan Braun mashing the ball again.  It appears as though he is feeling little to no residual effects from his earlier back and side problems, and this should come as a big relief to the Brewers, as they close in on a possible postseason berth.

Dave Bush continued to prove that he is a very good bottom-of-the-rotation pitcher with another strong outing that gave him his 8th win of the year.  He threw 7.0 3 run innings on Friday, on 7 hits, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts.  By the time he left, the bullpen had very little to worry about.  Zach Duke, the Pirates starter, started strong, pitching a scoreless game through three, but he unraveled in the fourth and fifth frames.  Down 2-0, the always-resilient Crew bit Duke hard for 3 runs thanks to some tricky infield hits and defensive blunders by Pittsburgh.  Ryan Braun led off with a single, but the ball was thrown away from first-baseman Adam LaRoche and Braun got to second.  Prince Fielder then walked, and Corey Hart delivered with a booming two-run double.  He ended up on third on another error, this time by right fielder Jason Michaels.  Bill Hall drove him in with a sac fly.  J.J. Hardy made history in the fifth when he belted his 20th homerun of 2008, a solo shot that put him in very elite company.  Only two Brewers shortstops had ever hit 20 or more homeruns in back to back seasons: Jose Hernandez and the great Robin Yount.

The offense exploded in the seventh, when Milwaukee sent nine men to the plate.  Pinch-hitter Laynce Nix walked and was tripled in by Rickie Weeks, who scored on a Hardy double right after.  Hardy was driven in by Braun, who hit a ground-rule double.  Braun then stole third and scored on a weird play.  Prince Fielder chopped out to second baseman Freddy Sanchez, but Sanchez took his time on the play, making a lackadaisical throw to first.  Braun smartly bolted for home as the flip to first was made, and he scored easily.  Corey Hart was then hit by a pitch, sending Mike Cameron to the plate.  He drilled a two-run, opposite field homerun that collided with the right field foul pole and extended the Brewers lead to 10-3.  Eric Gagne surrendered one run in the eighth, but Seth McClung tossed a scoreless frame in the ninth to seal the emphatic victory.

Offensive MVP: J.J. Hardy (2-5/2R/12B/1HR/2RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Dave Bush (7.0IP/7H/3ER/1BB/2SO/1HR/Win-8th)

Alex’s Take:

It is a good sign that Milwaukee jumped all over a struggling pitcher and ball club.  Earlier on in the year, it seemed as though the Crew would often play down to the level of teams with far worse records than they, but on Friday, everything played out correctly and then some.  I’m going to single out fan-favorite shortstop J.J. Hardy for today.  Earlier in the year, I did not want him in the starting lineup, but he has bounced back so well that I have to admit I was wrong before.  He is becoming a very reliable piece to the offensive puzzle, setting the table for the big boys and driving in a bunch of runs on his own, and he deserves a little more credit than he gets, what with stars like Braun, Fielder, and Hart usually stealing the spotlight.

Dave Bush choked immediately against Los Angeles, always a tough customer for opposing pitchers.  He gave up the lead before recording an out in the first inning, when he surrendered a two-run shot by right-fielder Andre Ethier.  The pitch was low and off-speed, normally a difficult pitch to drive, but Ethier crushed it as well as anyone possibly could have, and the game looked ominous from the onset.  Bush, however, managed to settle down nicely and turn in one of his finest bounce-back performances.  After the first inning, he threw 6.0 scoreless and only gave up three hits and one walk in those final frames (he struck out three).

The Crew scratched across a run against an uncharacteristically shaky Derek Lowe, who did not walk a batter, but was struggling with command of his fastball in all of his 7.0 innings of work.  To lead off the second, Prince Fielder grounded out to first.  But Corey Hart came right back and singled to left.  He made it to third on veteran third-baseman Craig Counsell’s 1,000th career base hit, and scored on a Mike Cameron play that was originally ruled an error on Dodgers’ shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, but was later changed to an RBI infield single.  Whatever it was, it cut the L.A. lead to 2-1.  Milwaukee had leadoff runners in almost every inning after against Lowe, but whether it was a rally-killing double play or just the wrong end of the lineup coming up, they simply never could get the game tied up.

To keep the deficit right where it was, Milwaukee’s outfield shone brilliantly, making amazing play after amazing play.  Here’s the recap.  In the bottom of the second, third-baseman Casey Blake crushed a pitch out to the gap in right field.  Utilizing his lanky frame, Corey Hart charged the ball down at a perfect angle, lunged out for the catch, crashed into the wall, and hung on to save sure extra bases.  Initially, I thought that that would surely be the top defensive play of the night.  Thank goodness Gabe Kapler and Mike Cameron were there to prove me wrong.  The Gold Glove center-fielder made a diving catch on a James Loney sinking line drive for out number 1 in the seventh.  Although it was one of Cameron’s best plays as a Brewer, it was nothing compared to what Kapler did next.  All Star catcher Russell Martin, one of the greatest catchers and hitters alike in the Major Leagues, unloaded on a pitch from Bush and sent it whizzing out to deep left.  The fans exploded as the ball cleared the wall easily, and the stadium was electrified…for about .5 seconds.  The reason: Gabe Kapler, leaping head first into the stands, brought the ball back for the greatest catch of his career, and possibly one of the greatest homerun robs of 2008 throughout all of Major League Baseball.   Pumping his fist emphatically, Dave Bush was inspired to retire his last batter a lot more easily, which he did (he struck out Garciaparra on three pitches).  Then it became offense’s turn.

All of the offensive struggles for Milwaukee changed in the eighth inning, when a familiar face showed up in the right-hand batter’s box.  Ryan Braun was back, and he chipped in immediately against one of the toughest lefties in baseball.  Hong-Chih Kuo has a fastball that tops out in the upper 90s, and is complimented by nasty breaking stuff.  Braun’s bat did not leave its moorings until the fourth pitch of the at bat, in which he took a nice cut on a 2-1 fastball and fouled it away.  On 2-2, he hit another fastball and deposited it in no-man’s land behind first base.  By the time the Dodgers fielded it, he was settling in at second with a pinch-hit, lead-off double.  Ray Durham hit an opposite field fly ball to right that got Braun to third easily.  Then with one out, slumping J.J. Hardy got hold of a slider over the plate, and neither he, his teammates, or any Brewers’ fans would be disappointed.  His clutch homer gave Milwaukee a slim lead.  That set things up for a finish that could have given the most stoic fan stomach ulcers.

Still 3-2, Brian Shouse, the reliable lefty specialist, was inserted into the game to take on the lefty Andre Ethier.  Although it is not normal for more than one pitcher to throw the ninth when you have a reliable closer, which the Brewers have in Salomon Torres, but the logic behind it was obvious.  The move instantly backfired, when the athletic outfielder took first base on a walk.  Yost then made the call for Torres, who struggled with his command for the entire inning.  Battling back from being behind the dangerous second-baseman Jeff Kent 3-1, Torres got him on a full count to ground to the always-dependable shortstop Hardy.  Only, he was not dependable on this play.  Looking to turn the double play, he was preparing for the flip to Durham before he brought the ball in, and it trickled past him, igniting the fiery crowd of 52,889.  Now with runners on the corners and nobody out, Torres somehow managed to get the new L.A. left-fielder, Manny Ramirez, to fly out.  Unfortunately, Corey Hart was unable to throw out the speedy Ethier, and the game was tied 3-3.  Things did not look good when Russell Martin hit an infield, two-out single off the glove of a diving Counsell, and looked even worse when Torres lost his command again to pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney (a former Brewer).  Enter Casey Blake.  He had torched the Crew in Friday’s loss, and looked to give his club their third walk-off win in four games.  But the resilient Torres barely retired the man on a tricky pop-out that Ray Durham expertly tracked down to get the game to the 10th.

Against the Dodgers’ closer Jonathan Broxton, Jason Kendall lined out and Ryan Braun struck out on a high 97 MPH fastball.  That put the game in the hands of Durham, who worked a walk.  Then Hardy, looking for vindication, found it.  Durham stole second barely, putting a ton of pressure on Broxton.  Then, off a 2-2 count, Hardy lined a hit to right field.  Durham, running on contact because of the two outs, scored uncontested, though the shortstop was caught in a rundown between first and second.  Up 4-3, onlookers probably expected Torres to reenter the game and lock it down.  He would have, had he not left the game due to an unknown injury or ailment.  As bad as the news was to the Milwaukee club, there was still a ballgame to win.  David Riske struck out the first man to greet him, Pablo Ozuna, but then gave up a hit to center-fielder Matt Kemp.

Then disaster struck…the Dodgers.  In one of the worst base-running blunders I’ve ever seen, Kemp only reached second on a definite double by Andre Ethier.  How did this happen?  The ball sailing towards deep center, and briefly appeared to carry out for a game-winning home run, but Mike Cameron’s unsuccessful leap at the wall produced only a single for Ethier.  Thinking the outfielder was going to pull it in, Kemp paused between first and second, and by the time the ball had been collected by Cameron, he could only touch second.  He would have probably tied the game if he had made a better read.  Luckily, the mistake gave Riske new life, and he got the second out on a nice little hopping catch by Durham at second that speared a Jeff Kent line drive.  Then the future Hall of Famer Manny Ramirez strutted to the plate.  Jason Kendall set up high and away continuously to Manny, a gutsy move to work up to the former Red Sox star, but it paid huge dividends.  Seemingly off balance, Ramirez silenced the crowd as he came up empty on a mighty cut at a high fastball that gave the courageous Riske his third strike and the Brewers the 4-3 victory.

Offensive MVP: J.J. Hardy (3-5/1R/1HR/3RBI/0BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: David Riske (1IP/2H/0ER/0BB/2SO/Save-2nd)

Alex’s Take:

Unbelievable.  Incomprehensible.  Ridiculous.  Thrilling.  Awe-inspiring.  Just a few adjectives that fit Saturday’s 4-3 Brewer win in Los Angeles.  The game seemed destined to end up in another Dodgers walkoff more than once, and early on, seemed destined to end up in another boring Brewers loss.  Gabe Kapler, Mike Cameron, and Corey Hart proved to me that the 2008 edition of the Milwaukee Brewers defense truly is worthy of recognition.  Cameron had baffled me all year with his slew of strikeouts and was not even that impressive out in center, although he played relatively error-free.  But against the Dodgers, he made TWO diving catches in center!  Although Hart’s running grab was impressive, I have never seen a catch greater than the one made in left by Kapler.  As for Braun’s return…he seemed as strong as ever.  As for Hardy’s nearly losing his club the game and battling back to give them the win…WOW!  Though there is a lot of 2008 remaining, I mark this as the one game that proved to me that the Milwaukee Brewers are truly a team deserving of the playoffs.

The imposing left hander threw 7.0 one-run innings despite giving up 9 hits, and struck out 8 to clinch his 7th victory as a Milwaukee Brewer.  The offense was led by Prince Fielder and Corey Hart.  Fielder hit a solo homerun to give the Crew an early lead.  Hart later tripled with the bases loaded in the fifth inning to widen the spread.  The Padres hit Sabathia hard, but he was able to escape any real damage time and time again, most notably when he pitched himself into a bases loaded, no out jam, but got out of it without any runs scoring.

Offensive MVP: Corey Hart (3-5/1R/13B/3RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: CC Sabathia (7.0IP/9H/1ER/1BB/8SO/Win-7th)

Alex’s Take:

It is very nice to see Milwaukee playing this well on the West Coast, because they have had a lot of trouble doing so the past few seasons.  Early on in the season, August was supposed to be the month where the Brewers struggled mightily due to the heavy road schedule, but somehow, the Crew has exorcised the road demons.  They will definitely play teams a little tougher than the Padres on the road soon, though, and that is where the real test will begin.

Dave Bush followed in his fellow starting pitchers’ footsteps with a very good start against Washington on Monday afternoon.  He pitched 6.1 innings, giving up a single run on five hits, two walks, and six strikeouts.  The offense was boosted by a leadoff homerun by Rickie Weeks, who had yet to homer in Miller Park in 2008, which tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the first.  The game remained knotted up until the fourth inning, when Corey Hart blasted a homerun to score Prince Fielder and himself.  Next inning, Fielder doubled in Gabe Kapler with two outs to pull his club ahead 4-1.  In the seventh, the Crew capped off their scoring witha a two-run, two out double by struggling backup infielder Craig Counsell (he hit a looping line drive that was almost brought in by a diving try, but trickled past Willie Harris) to score Kapler and Fielder.  Later on, Bill Hall drew a bases loaded walk to get an RBI the easy way.  Brian Shouse, David Riske, and Seth McClung teamed up to finish the game for Milwaukee.  The 7-1 victory sealed a 4 game sweep of Washington for the Crew.  They also pull to 17 games over .500, the highest such mark since the days of Yount and Molitor.

Offensive MVP: Corey Hart (2-4/1R/1HR/2RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Dave Bush (6.1IP/5H/1ER/2BB/6SO/Win-7th)

My Take:

Ned Yost commented that this series was a lose-lose situation for Milwaukee.  If they swept, they were supposed to; if they failed to sweep, what’s up with those Brewers?  But thankfully, they swept.  Bottom line: Milwaukee had to prove they could play winning baseball at home again and they did.  Dave Bush looked like an awfully good #5 starter, and the bullpen was strong.  The offense collected quite a few runs with two outs, and the Crew is now 17 games over .500!

Manny Parra bounced back from his string of mediocre starts with a strong outing on Sunday at Miller Park.  He limited the Washington Nationals to 1 earned run on 6 hits in 7 innings.  He struck out 9 and walked none.  The Crew fell behind in the sixth inning, when Parra yielded a run-scoring single to Lastings Milledge with two outs that scored shortstop Christian Guzman and gave Washington a 1-0 lead.  But thanks to a Bill Hall sacrifice fly to score Gabe Kapler in the bottom of the sixth, the game was knotted up right away.

Neither offense made a move until the top of the eighth inning, when the Nats pounded recently-reliable reliever Eric Gagne for 3 runs off of a double and back-to-back homeruns.  Ryan Zimmerman (the Washington third-baseman) fought back from down 0-2 to a 3-2 count, and on the 12th pitch of the battle, he doubled down the left field line.  Austin Kearns, also down 0-2 to Gagne, fought back and hit a booming homerun to put his club ahead.  The next batter, Lastings Milledge, also went deep to swell the Milwaukee deficit to 4-1.  In the bottom of the eighth, Prince Fielder walked with one out (a very unselfish approach considering his hit streak was on the line), Corey Hart struck out looking on a very close call, Bill Hall hit an single that Ryan Zimmerman could do no more with than keep it in the infield, and then Mike Cameron walked to load the bases.  After a pitching change brought the talented Joel Hanrahan into the game, backup catcher Mike Rivera sent a pitch to the left field wall that unloaded the bases and sent the sellout crowd into a frenzy.

With the game tied, the Brewers could not finish the game in their half of the ninth, tenth, eleventh, or twelfth innings.  They managed to draw a season-high 13 walks on Sunday, but stranded a whopping 16 baserunners.  Thanks to solid performances from relievers Salomon Torres, who pitched the ninth and tenth innings, Carlos Villanueva, who pitched the eleventh and twelfth, and Guillermo Mota, who threw a scoreless thirteenth, the Crew was afforded a lot of time to get their act together.  Gabe Kapler was facing an 0-7 day at the plate in the thirteenth, but he wasted little time in clinching victory for the Brewers and the largely reduced crowd.  He hit a walk-off homerun to left for the first such homerun of his career and the first walk-off round-tripper by Milwaukee this season.  Thanks to a St. Louis loss, the Brewers climbed to 3.0 games ahead of Tony La Russa’s ballclub.

Offensive MVP: Mike Rivera (2-3/0R/12B/3RBI/3BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Manny Parra (7IP/6H/1ER/0BB/9SO/0HR)

Alex’s Take:

This one sure took long enough.  The fact that Milwaukee is now up 3-0 in the series against a very beatable opponent shows that perhaps they have turned their home struggles around.  Sweeping the series would be very nice, but it should be considered a successful series regardless of Monday’s outcome.  The Brewers patience at the plate was extremely encouraging, but their nasty habit of stranding runners hurt them all day long.  They could have just as easily lost this game if one of the relievers had slipped up.  But thankfully, no one did except Eric Gagne in the eighth, and it turned out to be a very exciting 67th 2008 win for the Crew.

Ben Sheets had not won a game since CC Sabathia’s arrival to Milwaukee, but he broke out of his mini-slump Saturday evening with a dominant showing against the Washington Nationals.  He hurled 9 shutout innings and struck out 6 en route to his 11th win of 2008.  He even chipped in at the plate with an RBI single to bring in Jason Kendall in the bottom of the eighth inning on a two-strike count.  The hitters just kept on hitting…they have been ever since the dugout scrap during the Reds’ series.  Though Ryan Braun gave all Brewers’ fans a great scare by leaving the game due to lower back tightness, his comrades didn’t miss a beat.  Gabe Kapler drove in Ray Durham (who had reached earlier on a leadoff double) in the third to give the Crew a 1-0 advantage.  Corey Hart, who had been robbed of a possible homerun the night before, was retired on a gorgeous grab at the wall by Lastings Milledge that did allow J.J. Hardy to double the lead to 2-0.

Inauspicious was the start of the Milwaukee fourth, but the recently acquired Ray Durham brought the crowd to its feet with a rocket to right field that carried out for his first homerun as a Brewer.  Hardy followed him up with his second homer in as many nights, and the score was then 4-0.  When Corey Hart hit a booming shot to dead center in the fifth inning, onlookers were probably worried for a second that the Nationals would steal yet another extra-base hit from the lanky outfielder, but this time, Hart was not to be denied.  The third Milwaukee round-tripper of the game put them up 5-0, which was more than enough run support for Sheets.  Coupled with a Cubs’ loss earlier in the day, the 6-0 victory places Ned Yost’s club 4.0 out of 1st place in the Central.  They are also 2.0 games ahead of St. Louis for the Wild Card lead.

Offensive MVP: Ray Durham (2-4/2R/12B/1HR/1RBI/1BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Ben Sheets (9IP/5H/0ER/0BB/6SO/0HR/Win-11th)

*Gold Glove Play of the Game: Corey Hart was robbed of another extra-base hit thanks to a crashing catch at the wall by Nationals’ center-fielder Lastings Milledge.

Alex’s Take:

Take this icepack, Washington, because you just felt the 1-2 punch of CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets.  When both of these starters are on, there are few, if any teams in the Major Leagues that can stand up to the might of the hard-throwing lefty and righty.  It was puzzling that Sheets had been struggling since Sabathia arrived.  I would have thought that the southpaw would have taken some pressure off of the Milwaukee incumbent ace, but it was not really the case.  Whatever troubles Big Ben had been having, they seemed to have been put on hold tonight.  The Brewers offense once again turned in a big day at the office, and though they stranded 8 runners, they did collect two two-out RBIs and managed to bring in half of their 6 runs without the long ball.  The Nationals are not a very good baseball team, however, and have had their share of injuries (the saddest of them being Dmitri Young’s ongoing battle with diabetes), but these two wins are a good sign considering how badly Milwaukee had been at home of late.

CC Sabathia won his 6th game as a Milwaukee Brewer on Friday evening.  A twelfth consecutive sellout crowd at Miller Park (43,209) was captivated throughout the entire game thanks to strikeouts aplenty, two Brewers’ homeruns, and ultimately, a nice bounce-back win at home for the Brewers (losers of 6 out of 7 on their last homestand).  Milwaukee scored in the first when Rickie Weeks reached first via a walk, got to second on a wild pitch from Nationals rookie Collin Balester, reached third by barely evading a tag from third-baseman Ryan Zimmerman (who had to throw to first to retire a hustling Braun on a play that probably should have been a double play), and scored on a Prince Fielder bullet up the middle for a single.  Mike Cameron his 18th homerun in the second inning (a solo shot that put Milwaukee up 2-0).

The third proved to be a wild half-inning for the Crew’s offense, and they took advantage of an error by Balester, who was trying to pick off J.J. Hardy at second and threw it into the outfield grass, allowing Hardy to reach third and Ryan Braun to reach second.  Balester struck again two pitches later, as he bounced a curveball that catcher Jesus Flores probably should have corralled, and it ricocheted away while Hardy pranced home.  Corey Hart promptly hit the next pitch to deep center and Braun scored the fourth run of the game after tagging up from third.  The scoring was capped off by a Hardy homerun to right center field in the seventh.  The game was never in doubt thanks to CC Sabathia, who twirled another incredible game in a Brewers uniform.  He collected his fourth complete game victory as an N.L. pitcher and now leads the league in C.G.s.  He also fanned struck out 9 and walked 1.

Offensive MVP: J.J. Hardy (2-4/2R/1HR/1RBI/0BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: CC Sabathia (9IP/5H/0ER/1BB/9SO/0HR/Win-6th)

*Gold Glove Play of the Game:  Corey Hart was robbed of a homerun (or at least extra bases) in the sixth inning thanks to a leaping catch by Washington left-fielder Willy Harris

My Take:

This was a good win that Milwaukee sorely needed.  They had been struggling at home of late, but played much better in all facets of the game than they had on the previous homestand.  Defensively, they did make two errors in the ninth inning, but one of them was on a difficult double play that J.J. Hardy was trying to turn.  It’s getting to the point where I expect Sabathia to throw a great game every time he steps on the mound, and though he’s most likely going to have another down game sooner or later, it appears as though Doug Melvin definitely got his money’s worth on that pickup.

Seemingly the darkest chapter of the 2008 Milwaukee Brewers began yesterday once tensions rose to the point where Prince Fielder and Manny Parra were shoving and yelling at each other in the dugout.  Time will tell whether the altercation will bring the team a little closer together or focus them a little more.  Tuesday evening was a good start, however.  Behind a spectacular start by Dave Bush (7 innings, 1 run, 7 strikeouts) and plenty of timely hitting by the offense (4-11 with runners in scoring position or a .364 clip), the Brewers downed the Reds 8-1.  Bush ran into trouble in the first inning after being spotted a two-run lead, but he settled down and didn’t surrender a run after Edwin Encarnacion’s RBI infield single.  He had entered the game with atrocious numbers on the road and Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark, but he bested both of those personal demons this time around.

Milwaukee started scoring when Corey Hart pounded a two-run, two-out triple in the first.  Mike Cameron knocked Hart in during the fourth inning, and he later scored on a double by catcher Jason Kendall.  Hart hit a sac fly in the fifth that scored J.J. Hardy (who broke out of his offensive funk on Tuesday with a 2-4 performance).  Up 5-1, Prince Fielder was at the plate with the shortstop Hardy on first.  On the second pitch of the at bat, the ball flew dangerously close to his head.  On the third pitch, another sinister pitch forced him to hit the dirt.  On the fourth pitch, the ball sailed out of Nick Masset’s hand and brought the count to 3-1.  On the fifth pitch, the ball sailed out over the center field wall where it was caught not by Reds’ center-fielder Corey Patterson, but by a fan about ten rows back.  Milwaukee 7, Cincinnati 1.  In the eighth, the scoring was capped by another Jason Kendall clutch RBI hit that scored Mike Cameron.

Offensive MVP: Corey Hart (2-3/1R/13B/12B/3RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Dave Bush (7IP/3H/1ER/2BB/7SO/0HR)

My Take:

This is only one game, but there was more than one good sign that came out of it.  The Brewers cashed in almost every one of their scoring opportunities on Tuesday, and only stranded 5 runners as well.  It was against a struggling Edinson Volquez (who has not been nearly as effective after the All Star Game), but it was in a stadium that has given Milwaukee fits for years.  The best news?  Bill Hall hasn’t even played in this series yet…look for him to make his presence felt, as he usually does against the Reds, tomorrow if in the starting lineup.