The winning streak was snapped; the home run streak was snapped; but the streak of games in which the Brewers were atrocious with runners in scoring position continued.  Manny Parra tight-roped out of danger many times, and had a 1-0 lead going into the seventh inning, but he loaded the bases on a walk, an infield single, and a sacrifice bunt that Jason Kendall fielded and he went to third in an attempt to gun down the lead runner, but the throw was too high.  David Riske came into the game in a very tough spot, and failed to strand any of his three inherited runners.  Former Brewer Mark Loretta hit a sacrifice fly, as did Kazuo Matsui on the next at bat.  Then Riske walked struggling Houston lead-off hitter Michael Bourn and surrendered an RBI single to Lance Berkman that gave the Stros a 3-1 lead.

Offensively, Milwaukee stranded 7 more base runners, and their only run came off of a Mike Cameron double in the second inning that scored Corey Hart from second.   Hart had an encouraging day at the office, going 2-4 with a run scored, and not only that, but he gunned down Kazuo Matsui from right field when he tried to score from second in the sixth inning off of a Carlos Lee single.  Perhaps his cold-like symptoms are dissipating, which would be great news for Ned Yost, as Hart is one of the best clutch hitters on the team when he’s on.  Carlos Villanueva came in and pitched 2 shutout innings, but Astros reliever Chris Sampson did the same (1.2 innings to be exact) and lefty Wesley Wright retired Prince Fielder on a broken bat groundout to end the Brewers’ eighth.  Hart doubled off of Astros’ closer Jose Valverde with no outs in the ninth, but was eventually stranded on third.  A very frustrated Manny Parra got the loss.

Offensive MVP: (Astros)  1B Lance Berkman (2-3/0R/0HR/1RBI/1BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: (Astros) SP Wandy Rodriguez (6IP/3H/0HR/1ER/3BB/7SO/Win-6th)
My Take:

I wouldn’t read a whole lot into this one.  The Brewers returned home from an extremely emotional series in St. Louis, and maybe they were a little worn out.  It is actually a good thing for them to work out the bugs now against Houston than when the Cubs roll into town.  By the way, they lost on Friday too, 3-2.

2004 marked something of a turning point in Milwaukee baseball, as the Brewers found themselves four games over .500 at the All Star break, and although they endured a horrendous second-half collapse that left them in dead last at 67-94, they did manage to sweep a road series.  Three largely successful seasons (without a single three or four game road sweep) later, they found themselves in a position to finish the job versus the struggling San Francisco Giants.  Don’t get me wrong…sweeping a team on the road is a very difficult task regardless of who you are playing, but three years is a long time.  Many Parra and Ryan Braun made sure the Brewers could finally dust off their traveling brooms and brush the Giants away.

Outstanding youngster Tim Lincecum was on the mound and a good crowd of 37,507 was on hand to watch San Francisco fend off the hard charging Milwaukee Brewers (winners of three straight coming into the series finale on Sunday afternoon).  Milwaukee southpaw Manny Parra another brilliant, albeit much less touted, young pitcher tossed 7.2 innings of two-run baseball, striking out a career high 9, and pitching the deepest he ever has into a game in the major leagues.  He earned his ninth win of 2008 against only a pair of defeats, backed by a monstrous performance by left-fielder Ryan Braun.  He slugged a three-run home run in the seventh inning after fouling off four two-strike pitches to give the Brewers a 5-0 lead that knocked Lincecum from the game.  Corey Hart had previously hit a home run in the second to give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead.  Parra also contributed with his bat, knocking in a run with a bloop single in the second to score Russell Branyan.

San Francisco started to battle back in the bottom of the eighth, as they used a two-run double by Aaron Rowand to cut their deficit to three runs.  Carlos Villanueva was brought in to replace Parra, and the threat was extinguished.  A two-run double by Braun in the ninth gave his club a little more breathing room, but submariner Brian Shouse yielded two more runs to the Giants off a double by Jose Castillo, and manager Ned Yost was forced to bring in his closer for the second day in a row.  Salomon Torres earned his 17th save of the year, and it only took him three pitches to do it (Randy Winn popped out to second baseman Rickie Weeks).  Braun’s torrid hitting brought his home run total of 2008 to 24 and his RBI total to 71.

My Take:

It’s about time!  I am very glad the Brewers broke their streak of seasons without a three game road sweep, especially when I consider the fact that the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs both won on Sunday.  Perhaps Ned Yost’s club is starting to gel to the point where they can not only win games, but sweep series on the road, and that would be a tremendously good sign to see every once in a while.  Ryan Braun has done nothing but wow me with his bat ever since he hit the big leagues in May of last season, so I am not all too surprised with his big day at the plate.  Manny Parra, on the other hand, has been a very pleasant surprise to all Brewers’ fans this year, and his strong record of 9-2 shows that this young lefty’s got game.  He, along with Seth McClung, has been a much-needed stabilizer in Milwaukee’s rotation that was seemingly decimated when Yovani Gallardo’s knee went down, and if he can continue to pitch this well, the Cubs and Cardinals may start peeking over their shoulders very nervously.  If you look down the list of the Crew’s starters: Sheets, Sabathia, Suppan, Parra, McClung, Bush, you will notice six (yes there is going to be a six-man rotation implemented when Suppan returns from his injury) men that are wonderfully consistent day in and day out.  It’s not that they go out and dominate every week (though CC has done  almost nothing but so far), but you know what you are going to get 9 times out of 10.  Consistent, good pitching wins pennants, and the Boys in Blue have that and then some.

This game was a tough one to follow and a tough pill to swallow.  The Brewers offense fought, but the defense committed three errors in a wild 6-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.  Manny Parra pitched well until the seventh inning, when he was charged with four runs.  The poor frame undid the four run Milwaukee outburst of the sixth, when the Brewers scored off of a two out bloop double by Corey Hart, a two run pinch double by Bill Hall, and a run scoring single by Mike Cameron.

When Cincinnati catcher David Ross drove in first baseman Joey Votto, the lead was trimmed to 5-3.  Pinch hitter Andy Phillips scored prized prospect Jay Bruce on a groundout, and when Jerry Hairston Jr. lined a pitch to the gap in left center, all appeared fine as Mike Cameron was about to make a slick running catch (nothing too special for his Gold Glove career).  Jim Powell, Brewers radio play-by-play announcer, guessed that Cameron lost sight of the ball in the bright lights of Miller park, but whatever the reason, the ball bounced harmlessly off his body and rolled to the wall, allowing Andy Phillips to score easily, tying the game at 5 apiece.

Cincinnati took the lead in the top of the eighth when usually reliable reliever Salomon Torres bounced a pitch that got by backstop Jason Kendall and the Reds’ Jay Bruce scampered home.  Milwaukee threatened in the eighth when Ryan Braun doubled with only one out, but Prince Fielder and Corey Hart grounded out to strand Braun at third.  The ninth showed Mike Cameron reaching second on a stolen base with two outs, but Gabe Kapler struck out on a questionable call to give former Brewer Francisco Cordero the save, and the Reds a 6-5 victory in game 1 of the series.

My Take:

This one was great in innings 1-6, and ugly 7-9.  The last three innings is where the Brewers seem to cough up the most leads and squander the most scoring opportunities.  It seems as though Ned Yost’s ball-club never clicks in all facets of baseball (offense, defense, pitching) in games like these, of course, problems are always magnified when Milwaukee comes up short.   This 6-5 defeat stung mightily considering the Brewers had a three run lead late, but all baseball players are human, thus imperfect, thus make mistakes from time to time.  I’m not sure what to make of this one; it will show a lot of character on Milwaukee’s part if they can bounce back tomorrow.

The Milwaukee Brewers scored seven runs and beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-0 on Tuesday night.  All seven of the Brewers runs came via the home run ball as they hit five home runs in the shut out.  I have to wonder if this will get the Brewers bats rolling and they can start another nice winning streak.

Ryan Braun hit two home runs and finished the game with three rbi.  Russell Branyan had one home run and two rbi in the game.  Prince Fielder and Craig Counsell both had solo home runs as well in the game for the Brewers.

On the mound it was Manny Parra pitching seven innings to get the victory.  Parra only gave up four hits while he improved his record to 6-2.  Mark DiFelice came in and pitched the final two innings of the game to really help the bullpen out.  I love seeing only one bullpen pitcher have to pitch in a game as all the others get some much needed rest.

The Milwaukee Brewers and Houston Astros played home run derby down in Houston on Wednesday night and it was the Brewers coming out on top with a 10-6 victory.  The Brewers hammerd five home runs in the game while the Astros hit three.  It was definaly not a night you wanted to be on the mound pitching that is for sure.

Corey Hart led the Brewers with two - two run home runs and four rbi in the game.  Hart went deep in the fourth and eighth innings.  Jason Kendell was next in line with a two run homer in the fifth inning as he finished the game with two rbi.  Russell Branyan and Mike Cameron both hit solo home runs in the fourth inning as they had one rbi each in the game.  Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder both chipped in with one rbi each as well.

On the mound for the Brewers, Manny Parra earned the win and is now 5-2.  He only pitched 5 1/3 innigns as he gave up ten hits and five runs.  Parra was taken deep three times for home runs as he couldn’t keep the ball inside the field of play.  A win is a win and Parra will take it any way he can get it.

Carlos Villanueva pitched 1 2/3 innings after Parra exited the game and he gave up three hits and one run.  Guillermo Mota was called upon to pitch the final two innings of the game and did not have any problems as he didn’t allow a hit or a run.

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The Milwaukee Brewers didn’t have any problems beating the Arizona Diamondbacks once again as they won 10-1 on Wednesday afternoon.  The Brewers once again took advantage of a slumping Diamondbacks team as they swept them in the three game series.

Corey Hart and Russell Branyan hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning for he Brewers.  Hart’s was a three run inside the park homer and Branyan’s ball went over the fence for a solo shot.  Hart finished the game with three rbi while Ryan Braun had two rbi.  Gabe Kapler, Prince Fielder, Jason Kendall, and Branyan all finished the game with one rbi.

Manny Parra pitched seven innings and only allowed four hits and one run to get the win.  Parra is now 4-2 with a 4.33 era on the season.  Julian Tavarez and Carlos Villanueva pitched a scoreless inning each to finish out the final two innings of the game.

The Brewers will now be off on Thursday and start up a weekend series with the Colorado Rockies on Friday.

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The Milwaukee Brewers were able to stop their five game loosing streak with a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.  The Brewers used five runs in the final three innings of the game to blow the game wide open.

Mike Cameron and Corey Hart both hit home runs for the Brewers.  Cameron and Jason Kendall both had two rbi in the game to lead the Brewers in that category.  Ryan Braun, Bill Hall, and Hart all had one rbi in the game as well for the Brewers.

Manny Parra pitched 5 2/3 innings to get the win and is now 2-2 on the season.  Parra gave up four hits but no runs in this five plus innings of action.  Seth McClung and Guillermo Mota pitched the next 2 1/3 innings before Eric Gagne came in and gave up two runs.  Yeah, once again Gagne sucked it up…

Lets see if the Brewers can get on a nice roll after snapping their losing streak.  Brewers Blog

The Milwaukee Brewers blew another ninth inning lead as the lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4.  The funny thing about this game is that Eric Gagne wasn’t even in the game to blow the lead!  This time it was Guillermo Mota who blew the lead and the game.

Mota gave up three runs in the ninth inning to take the loss which was his second of the season.  Moto gave up a two run double to Juan Pierre and then a rbi to Andruw Jones on a ground out to shortstop.  Manny Parra was in line to pick up the win before Moto blew the save.  Parra tossed 6 2/3 innings as he gave up three runs in the no decision.

Parra even led the Bewers with two rbi in the game.  Jason Kendall and Corey Hart also had one rbi in the game for the Brewers.

With the loss, the Brewers fall four games behind the league leading Chicago Cubs.

Brewers Homeplate is currently seeking a Brewers fan that would like to write game recaps for the games.  Recaps can be done right after the game is over or the next morning.  If you are interested be us the contact us link at the top of the site to email us.  Brewers Blog

Eric Gagne blew another save but this time the Milwaukee Brewers were able to come back and win the game.  Gabe Kapler hit a game winning single that scored Gabe Gross in the 12th inning as the Brewers beat the Cardinals 9-8.

Seth McClung ended up picking up the win  for the Brewers.  Manny Parra had the start and pitched five innings.  Parra gave up nine hits and three earned runs.  Parra really needs to have better control of the ball and not give up so many hits.

Rickie Weeks led the Brewers with three RBI.  Ryan Braun had two RBI, while Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, Parra, and Kapler all had one RBI each.  Up and down the lineup, the players produced on Tuesday.

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Without Prince Fielder, the Milwaukee Brewers would have lost to the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.  Good think Fielder was in the lineup and hit a home run in the 10th innin as the Brewers beat the Cardinals 5-3 in ten innings. 

Fielder finished the game with three RBI.  Ryan Braun and Hernan Iribarren each had one RBI.

Brian Shouse picked up the win as he pitched in relief.  Eric Gagne made things interesting in the bottom of the tenth inning but was able to close the door the on the Cardinals and pick up his fourth save of the season.

Starting pitcher Manny Parra pitched four innings and gave up five hits and three earned runs.

Great comeback win for the Brewers as they improve their record to 9-6 on the season.

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