Manny Parra was knocked around by the Mets on Tuesday, and although he made a big contribution with the stick, his rocky start made it an uphill climb for the Crew, and they eventually fell to New York again.  Rickie Weeks led off with a homerun and Milwaukee scored four in the fourth to tie the game (Parra hit a two-run double), but they managed nothing against the Mets pen, and guaranteed the Mets a series victory.  Endy Chavez hit a go-ahead sac fly off Salomon Torres in the tenth.  The Brewers were stung by a couple close plays, one in the fourth when Hardy was gunned down trying to score, and in the eighth, when Weeks tried to stretch a single into what looked to be a clean double, but was called out.

Offensive MVP: Mets CF Carlos Beltran (2-3/2R/1HR/3RBI/1BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Mets CP Luis Ayala (1IP/1H/0ER/1BB/2SO/Save-5th)

Alex’s Take:

This one was ugly.  The Brewers stranded 11 baserunners, executed some questionable base-running, and suffered yet another bullpen letdown.  Though Salomon Torres has been dependable this year, an error on Jason Kendall set him up for a bad tenth inning, and it cost the Crew the game.  They are now 0-2 in September following a 20 win August, and though they do play somewhat easier opponents than the 1st place Mets, they have a bear of a road trip coming up that will take them to Philly, Chicago, and Cincinnati.  The way they’ve been playing contenders recently, starting with being swept at home by the Cubs in late July, it appears as though that trip could squash Milwaukee’s postseason dreams.  Even so, they could make the playoffs if the other contenders continue to falter, but they will get NOWHERE in the playoffs if they can’t find a way to beat good teams.

Jeff Suppan tossed another great game on Saturday evening in Pittsburgh, but Corey Hart and the offense stole the spotlight.  With his 20th homerun of 2008 in the second inning, Hart became the first Brewer in history to have two 20 homerun, 20 steal seasons.  Mike Cameron unloaded on his 24th round-tripper of the year, driving in three runs off of it, in the sixth.  Jason Kendall and Rickie Weeks hit RBI doubles in that inning as well, to put the Crew up 7-0.  They just kept pouring it on the Pirates bullpen, and finished with 11 runs on 16 base hits.  Suppan threw 7.0 2-run innings, striking out 2, walking 2, and giving up only 3 hits.

Offensive MVP: Mike Cameron (2-4/2R/2B/HR/4RBI/0BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: Jeff Suppan (7.0IP/3H/2ER/2BB/2SO/1HR/Win-10th)

Alex’s Take:

August has been a great month for Brewers baseball.  They’ve won 19 games, with one very winnable match-up to go.  Although it appears Chicago is simply too good to be caught at the top of the NL Central, the Crew have managed to solidify their Wild Card lead this month, and as it stands now, they are up 5 and 1/2 games on their St. Louis rivals.  Though there are 6 remaining games against the Cubs, it would take a monumental collapse for the Brewers to vault into first.  But the good news: they will get to the playoffs anyway, as long as they can fend off Tony La Russa’s Redbirds and the Phillies and Mets for the next thirty days or so.  Mike Cameron deserves a lot of credit for what he has done this month.  He’s hit .360 in 89 at-bats, with 9 homers and 22 RBIs.  Add that to the superb defense he brings every day, and that is one heck of a month.  Oppositely, Prince Fielder did very little in August, hitting a mere .219 with 6 homeruns and 19 runs batted in.  If Fielder can heat up in September, and Cameron and the rest of the Crew keep hitting the way they’ve been hitting, postseason baseball should become a reality for Milwaukee.  Oh, and by the way, the pitching has been stellar too…just ask the “bottom of the rotation,” Jeff Suppan and Dave Bush, who’ve gone a combined 9-0 this month.

Manny Parra was extremely good, but his bullpen was the exact opposite, as Milwaukee fell 5-3 to the Cardinals on Wednesday.  The Brewers staked a 3-0 lead off of Adam Wainwright thanks to a J.J. Hardy two-out single in the third, a Mike Cameron double in the fourth, and a Jason Kendall single in the fourth.  But the Cards pounded David Riske in the eighth for four runs.  Ryan Ludwick hit a solo homer off of Parra in the sixth.  Chris Perez got the save.

Offensive MVP: St. Louis OF Ryan Ludwick (3-4/2R/2B/HR/2RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: St. Louis CP Chris Perez (1IP/1H/0ER/0BB/3K/Save-6th)

Alex’s Take:

This was a pretty sloppy game that revealed an all-too obvious weakness of Milwaukee.  Their bullpen really cannot be trusted with any size lead on any given day, and this is not good considering the critical month of the season is coming up.

Ben Sheets pitched quite well, well enough to tie his career high for wins in a season with 12, but the story of Tuesday night was definitely the Milwaukee offense.  They pounded out a stupendous dozen runs in their biggest victory in St. Louis in history, and everybody pitched in.  Each starting position player had at least one hit, and a handful had many hits.  Prince Fielder knocked in Ray Durham in the first inning for a 1-0 lead (Durham left the game due to a seemingly minor injury later on).  In the third, J.J. Hardy tripled to start things off and Fielder drove him in on an RBI groundout with one gone.  In the fifth, Albert Pujols made a rare error that allowed Durham to sprint home to stretch the lead to 3-0.  Two more runs were tacked on in the seventh when Ryan Braun hammered his 33rd homerun of 2008, but the big blow to the Redbirds came in the ninth.  Eleven Brewers batted, and some of the memorable hits included a Jason Kendall bases-clearing double and a two-run homer by Bill Hall.  Sheets threw 6.0 good innings, and relievers Brian Shouse, David Riske, and Eric Gagne picked up where he left off.  Todd Wellemeyer was saddled with the loss, but his teammates did most of the damage, giving up 7 runs in relief.

Offensive MVP: Ryan Braun (3-5/2R/1HR/2RBI/1BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Ben Sheets (6.0IP/5H/0ER/2BB/4SO/0HR/Win-12th)

Alex’s Take:

Year after year after year the Cardinals totally dominated Milwaukee.  It seemed as though the Cards were always gunning for the division and the Brewers were cellar-dwellers, but apart from a few exceptions, Tony La Russa’s clubs ALWAYS had Milwaukee’s number.  Not so in 2008, when the Crew needs to fight off the historical rivals to get into the postseason.  Milwaukee is 6-0 against the Redbirds in their last 6 games, and are in a position to sweep them for the second straight time at Busch Stadium tomorrow.  The Crew is playing spirited baseball this August, when they crumbled so badly last year, and it is very encouraging.  If they can keep this success on the road against Wild Card contenders going, there is really no reason why Wisconsin won’t have meaningful October baseball again.

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.

Chad Billingsley threw 7.0 three run innings, striking out five, walking two, and only surrendered 5 hits.  The Brewers offense did nothing after Gabe Kapler hit a two-run blast in the first inning and Jason Kendall singled in a run in the second.

Offensive MVP: Dodgers 3B Casey Blake (3-4/1R/12B/1HR/2RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Dodgers SP Chad Billingsley (7.0IP/5H/3ER/2BB/5SO/1HR/Win-11th)

Alex’s Take:

It isn’t the greatest sign that the Crew fell flat so quickly to a good team.  Although they have recently beaten up on bad ones, the season will only be a success if they can outplay teams that are on or above their level.

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.

Jeff Suppan was strong on Wednesday against the Reds.  He threw 7 strong innings, giving up 3 runs early but was perfect from then on.  The Brewers offense continued to perform well in the clutch, going 5-11 with runners in scoring position (a .455 average).  After going 10 for their last 104 at bats (a .095 average) in their 13 games prior to yesterday’s 8-1 victory, and having a well-documented dugout brawl between Manny Parra and Prince Fielder, Ned Yost’s club has bounded back strongly, and although it is but a two day sample, they’re hitting .410 in the clutch.

The scoring started in the first inning, when Cincinnati’s Jay Bruce hit a run-scoring groundout.  Down 1-0, Bill Hall worked a one-out walk and scored the tying run off a Mike Cameron double.  Backstop Jason Kendall then reached first via another Homer Bailey walk (a promising, but mightily struggling young Reds’ starter).  Suppan executed a perfect sacrifice bunt, putting runners on second and third for lead-off man Rickie Weeks.  Weeks had 4 hits in Wednesday’s game, and his biggest one was right there, scoring both Cameron and Kendall without trouble.  Cincinnati did manage to tie it up, when Bruce struck again.  He hit an absolute moonshot to straight-away center to score Joey Votto and himself.  In the fifth, Ryan Braun hit a tough pitch from Bailey to the opposite field.  He ended up on second and Rickie Weeks motored around to score and put his club in the lead.

The Crew tacked on some key insurance in the sixth when Kendall hit a hard grounded to Bailey’s left side.  The pitcher could do no more than deflect the ball and it rolled slowly out of the infield, bringing in two more huge Brewer runs.  Brian Shouse, Eric Gagne, and Salomon Torres hurled the final 2 innings and gave up no runs.  Gagne has been very good since returning from the disabled list, giving up only 1 earned run in his last 7 appearances.  Torres earned his 22nd save of the year.

Offensive MVP: Rickie Weeks (4-5/1R/2RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Jeff Suppan (7IP/7H/3ER/0BB/3SO/1HR/Win-7th)

My Take:

The Brewers looked very good again.  They scored 6 runs without hitting a single home run, held the lead without much excitement, and locked up another winning road trip.  They have won 32 games on the road already in 2008.  Last year, they only managed 32 the entire season.  If Milwaukee can keep this road success going, they will be in good shape for August, as most of their games this month are away from Miller Park.  Come September, however, they will have to find their home magic again.  Milwaukee is coming off a 1-6 homestand, but will get a chance to right the ship a little with a 4 game set against the struggling Washington Nationals.  Make no mistake, regardless of the fact the Nationals have about 10 more losses than the Brewers have wins, it will be a very, very important series.  Milwaukee will HAVE to prove that they are the better team, and if they play down to the level of the Nationals and fail to win the series, it will be a major warning flag that the Brewers are not championship caliber.  For now, I am enjoying another great road trip!

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.

CC Sabathia has been generally brilliant since arriving in Milwaukee, and on Saturday afternoon against the Atlanta Braves…more of the same.  The big lefty hurled 8.1 innings, giving up only 2 runs on 6 hits, a walk, and 9 strikeouts.  He won his 5th game as a Brewer (against 0 losses).  The offense was baffled early on by a less-than-spectacular pitcher in Charlie Morton, and he had a one-hit shutout going through the first 6 innings.  But first-baseman Prince Fielder continued his recent power binge with a game-tying shot off Morton’s first pitch in the seventh.  Corey Hart proceeded to reach first via a bunt single, and was moved to second on a Craig Counsell groundout.  After Mike Cameron popped out, it looked as though the game would remain tied 1-1, but catcher Jason Kendall smoked a double down the third base line that scored Hart with ease.  Up 2-1, Rickie Weeks worked a leadoff walk in the 8th, and after Hardy and Braun were retired, Fielder took hold of another pitch (this time from Rafael Soriano) and smashed it to right center-field for his second home run of the game.  Sabathia tried for the complete game victory, but gave up a double to lead things off, so Salomon Torres entered the game and recorded the final two outs for his 21st save and Milwaukee’s 62nd victory of 2008.

Offensive MVP: Prince Fielder (2-3/2R/2HR/3RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: CC Sabathia (8.1IP/6H/2ER/1BB/9SO/0HR/Win-5th)

My Take:

This was a good game, and Milwaukee was more able to score runs in the clutch, which is a tremendous sign.  Sabathia has been phenomenal since being traded, and his great effort should not come as a surprise to anyone.  The Brewers will need to continue winning these winnable games because they return home to Miller Park in two days to tackle the Washington Nationals for a 4 game set.