CC Sabathia was far from perfect, and for the first seven innings of Wednesday’s game, so, as usual, were the Brewer bats.  But frame number 8 was the charm, as Milwaukee completed the rally from down 3-1 for a critical victory in front of 30,124 fans at Miller Park.  The Brewers are headed to Philadelphia, Chicago, and Cincinnati for the most brutal, and final, roadtrip of 2008, so had they been swept by the lowly Reds, morale would have been dangerously low.  Thanks to Tony Gwynn Jr. and (more importantly) Mike Cameron, another crushing loss was flipped around into an emphatic 4-3 victory.  Down 1, J.J. Hardy started things off with a single, and Ryan Braun followed with a walk.  Prince Fielder hit a sharp liner to left that fell for a single and loaded the bases for Gwynn, who grounded into a productive double play that tied the game at 3-3.  Then, bucking the recent trend of Milwaukee hitters failing to come up in the clutch, Mike Cameron was as clutch as he could be, lining a 2-strike pitch with 2 outs to score Braun from third.  Salomon Torres would have no more Cincinnati heroics at his expense, and he wiped out the three men to greet him in the ninth with three strikeouts.  Both close-trailing Wild Card teams, Philadelphia and St. Louis, lost, so Milwaukee earned themselves a little more breathing room heading to the City of Brotherly Love.

Offensive MVP: Mike Cameron (1-3/1R/1RBI/1BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: Salomon Torres (1IP/0H/0ER/0BB/3SO/0HR/Save-27th)

Alex’s Take:

This one was not pretty.  Milwaukee scored half of their 4 runs off of errors, but hey, they did come through in the clutch against a good pitcher in David Weathers.  This was a badly needed victory, but only the next seven days will tell whether or not the 2008 Milwaukee Brewers have a legitimate chance at ending Brew City’s 26 year postseason drought.

Jeff Suppan wasn’t great, but his bullpen was, at least until it mattered most.  Suppan went 5.1 innings and gave up 4 runs on 6 hits, including 2 homeruns.  Prince Fielder drove Rickie Weeks in from second in the first, but Milwaukee found itself playing from behind late.  Then in the seventh, Bill Hall walked and Jason Kendall was hit by a pitch to set the stage for pinch hitter Ray Durham.  He blasted a three-run, game-tying homer to right field to wake up the crowd, but sadly, the hit did not wake up his teammates’ bats.  They went on to strand scoring opportunity after scoring opportunity in the ninth and tenth innings.  They even got solid relief pitching, but it didn’t matter.  The Reds won 5-4 on an RBI single by Brandon Phillips, and Milwaukee lost their 7th game of this absolutely pitiful homestand.  They are now 2-7 on it.

Offensive MVP: Reds 2B Brandon Phillips (1-5/1R/1RBI/1BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: Reds CP Francisco Cordero (1IP/0H/0ER/0BB/1SO/0HR/Save-29th)

Alex’s Take:

I believed before the game that a loss tonight would almost definitely break the Brewers’ morale and send them spiraling into weeks of more bad baseball that would knock them out of the playoff hunt.  The game I saw tonight, though the outcome stung mightily, did not look like a team that was ready to fold.  Ned Yost really didn’t make a bad decision at all in managing his bullpen, though putting in Eric Gagne might’ve been a little questionable.  Seth McClung blowing the game, well, Yost didn’t have a lot of experienced guys to pitch in a pressure situation, and unfortunately, the big righty couldn’t keep the game tied.  As for the offense, things still look pretty bleak in the middle of the order, but hopefully Durham’s emphatic homerun will spark something, though it didn’t Tuesday.  It’s strange to me, because I thought for sure I would totally give up on 2008 with a loss that eventually did happen, but the Phillies and Cubs both lost, CC Sabathia is pitching tomorrow in a game the Brewers desperately need to win, and who better to have on the mound in a game you desperately need?  The thing is, they are up 3.0 games in the Wild Card with 17 games remaining.  A ten game monster road trip is right around the corner, and these are the cold, hard facts.  The Crew must simply SURVIVE the trip, go 5-5 (4-6 with wins against the right teams could cut it) that would most likely keep their heads above water with a home stand against not-so-great team after the trip.  The Crew have been downright awful at home lately, yes, but a 5-5 road trip would probably inspire the team to powering into the post season.  I’m as harsh a critic of the Crew as anyone, but I STILL HAVE HOPE!

Dave Bush turned in a fine performance on Monday evening, when all eyes were probably on the Packers.  He went 8.0 innings and gave up only 2 runs.  The offense backed him thanks to a Prince Fielder RBI groundout, a rare two-run homer by Jason Kendall, and a solo shot by J.J. Hardy.  The Crew fared well against the Reds’ ace Edinson Volquez, and were looking to hold their Wild Card lead over the red-hot Phillies at 4.0 games when disaster struck.  Salomon Torres seemed to take a leaf out of all the other relievers’ books when he promptly blew a 4-2 game in the ninth.  He gave up 5 hits and 1 walk in an ugly performance.  The Brewers were hapless against their old teammate Francisco Cordero in the bottom of the ninth, so they lost their 6th game of this abysmal homestand.

Offensive MVP: Reds SS Jeff Keppinger (1-5/0R/12B/2RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Reds CP Francisco Cordero (1IP/0H/0ER/0BB/0SO/0HR/Save-28th)

Alex’s Take:

After getting nearly no-hit on Sunday, the Brewers managed to break out offensively somewhat against a great pitcher, but they shut down late when they desperately needed insurance.  I’ll say it right now: no lead is safe for any Brewer reliever in 2008.  They are all shooting blanks this month, have blown so many games lately it seems unbelievable, and are dashing all postseason hopes against a stone.  Going up against a newcomer pitcher tomorrow, someone the Crew will almost definitely struggle against, and another ace pitcher, Milwaukee will be lucky to escape from a Cincinnati sweep.  Then who knows what will happen in Philadelphia, in what looks to be a decisive series.  Milwaukee has to play solid baseball sooner or later, or they will without a doubt miss the playoffs again.

The pitching was great, the defensive highlights were numerous, and the offensive highlights were few, but Milwaukee won a pressure-packed game 1-0 against San Diego and its ace Jake Peavy, who pitched a great game himself.  Sheets went 9.0 innings, struck out 7, walked 1, and gave up 5 hits.  Peavy went 7.0 strong innings, and only gave up 1 run off a Prince Fielder RBI double to score Ryan Braun from first.  One run was all Sheets needed.  Rickie Weeks saved a run with a diving, back-handed stab, followed with a strike to first.  Gabe Kapler made a diving catch in center field.

Offensive MVP: Prince Fielder (1-3/0R/12B/1RBI/1BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: Ben Sheets (9.0IP/5H/0ER/1BB/7SO/0HR/Win-13th)

Alex’s Take:

Ben Sheets carried the Crew on Saturday, but if their offensive production is as small as it was in the 1-0 victory, Milwaukee will lose a lot of games unless their pitching is perfect, which it almost never is.  In September, though, a win is a win, and I’ll gladly take it.

CC Sabathia did everything, and I mean everything, he possibly could to win Milwaukee their first game in September and he was waiting for his 10th win as a Brewer, when Eric Gagne struck again.  With his club up 2-1 in the eighth, the man who is quickly becoming considered league-wide as the worst reliever in baseball, gave up a booming homerun to Brian Giles, barely a homerun threat at this stage in his career.  The fans tore Gagne apart the entire inning, seemingly after every pitch, and even though he escaped without further damage, the sellout crowd of 41,519 did not let up in their chorus of jeers as he walked dejectedly back to the dugout.   The Crew had numerous opportunities to seal the win, but time and time again, they kept squandering opportunities.  They stranded a whopping 13 baserunners, had a lead runner on in the eighth, ninth, and tenth innings, and simply could not push anyone across.

The struggling Brewers bullpen turned in heroic performances in the final three innings, though, keeping the game right where it was despite overwhelming odds.  San Diego had runners on 2nd and 3rd in the ninth against Salomon Torres, thanks to an error by Prince Fielder, but the savvy veteran tight-roped out of danger when he retired shortstop Luis Rodriguez on a bullet of a ground ball up the middle that J.J. Hardy made a strong play and throw on.  The Padres had runners on 1st and 2nd with nobody out in the tenth, but Torres gobbled up a ground ball in front of the mound and fired to third for the force-out.  Then he got Chip Ambres on a flyout and struck out Edgar Gonzales.

David Riske had a much rougher go of it in the eleventh.  He retired batter #1 on a deep fly ball, but walked #2 and surrendered a base hit to Giles that put runners on 1st and 3rd with only 1 out.  Enter Brian Shouse.  He needed throw only one pitch.  Luis Rodriguez chopped the ball to the lefty, who fired it to second for one and Hardy returned the favor, by finding the glove of Prince Fielder to clean up the mess and fire up the quited crowd.  In the bottom of the eleventh, Mike Rivera got a pinch hit, was wiped out at second on a poor sac bunt by Craig Counsell, and then Ray Durham, who had gone 0-4 previously, hammered a base knock to right, getting Counsell to third.  J.J. Hardy sent the remainder of the fans home happy.  He deposited a single to left field on the 6th pitch against Brian Falkenborg, sealing Milwaukee’s 81st win of 2008 and 1st win in the month of September.

Offensive MVP: J.J. Hardy (1-6/0R/1RBI/0BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: Brian Shouse (0.2IP/0H/0ER/0BB/0SO/0HR/Win-5th)

Alex’s Take:

This game was ugly, dragged on forever, revealed once again the problem Milwaukee has in Eric Gagne, but felt great in the end.  It was nice to see the Crew persevere in the end and finally wrap up their first victory so far in September.  The Cubs were manhandled by Cincinnati, so Hardy and the Brewers are sitting 4.0 games out of 1st and, following a Phillies win, held onto their 4.0 game lead in the Wild Card.

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.

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.

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.

Manny Parra was far from perfect, but was also far from as angry as he has been with himself lately.  He threw 5.0 innings, yielding 2 earned runs on 6 hits and 4 walks (he struck out 2).  The Milwaukee offense gave him plenty of support, and the bullpen defended the lead nicely, sealing a 5-2 victory.  The Crew will not face Houston again this year, but finished 2008 with a record of 8-7 against Cecil Cooper’s Astros.  In the first inning, facing lefty Wandy Rodriguez, Rickie Weeks walked, J.J. Hardy hit an infield single, and Gabe Kapler (starting again in place of the sore Ryan Braun) doubled in Weeks.  Prince Fielder promptly delivered with the first of his two sac flies in the game to put his club up 2-0.  The Astros battled back against Parra, and when he left the game, it was 3-2 Brewers.  Carlos Villanueva threw 2.0 strong innings of relief, and J.J. Hardy hit a two-run blast, his 19th of the year, to extend the lead in the seventh.  Eric Gagne tight-roped out of a bases loaded, no-out jam in the eighth that was not totally his fault in the first place, and Salomon Torres nailed down the ninth for his 24th save of the year.  Parra got his 10th win of 2008 against 6 losses.

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

Pitching MVP: Carlos Villanueva (2.0IP/0H/0ER/0BB/3SO)

*Gold Glove Play of the Game: Gabe Kapler gunned down Mark Loretta at home plate in the fifth inning, to preserve the 3-2 lead and Manny Parra’s 10th win.

Alex’s Take:

This was a good win against a very hot Astros ball club.  Not much more can be said about the 5-2 victory.