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.

Jeff Suppan was brilliant on Friday evening, pitching 7 shutout innings, only giving up 5 hits and 3 walks (1 strikeout).  Stymied by the Chicago Cubs’ tremendous pitching staff for the past three and a half days, the Milwaukee offense needed a breakout day and got one.  In the top of the first, Rickie Weeks lead things off with a single, J.J. Hardy worked a walk, and Ryan Braun hit a booming RBI double off of starter Chuck James.  Corey Hart chipped in with a sacrifice fly with one out to extend the lead to 2-0.  In the second inning, Jason Kendall hit a one-out single and was tripled in by Weeks after a sacrifice bunt by Jeff Suppan.  The Brew Crew truly broke things open in the third, when Prince Fielder hit a colossal home run and Mike Cameron followed suit three batters later to give Milwaukee a 6-0 lead.

Neither team pushed across runs until the eighth, when Bill Hall hit a double over center-fielder Mark Kotsay’s head and was later driven in by Gabe Kapler.  When J.J. Hardy hit a seemingly innocent grounder to Braves’ third-baseman Omar Infante, but he threw it badly and both Kendall and Kapler were able to score.  Milwaukee relievers Brian Shouse and Guillermo Mota combined to pitch two perfect innings and seal the 9-0 verdict.

Offensive MVP: Rickie Weeks (2-4/1R/13B/1RBI/1BB/2K)

Pitching MVP: Jeff Suppan (7IP/5H/0ER/3BB/1SO/0HR)

My Take:

The Atlanta Braves are a very beleaguered team right now.  They recently traded away Mark Teixeira and put Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, and Tim Hudson on the D.L.  The Brewers won a game easily that they should have won easily, and although that may not seem like too much to write home about, they have often struggled beating below average teams in 2008.  This victory was needed badly by the Brewers, and will hopefully turn things around after that disastrous homestand.  The success with runners in scoring position has continued for the second straight day, and Jeff Suppan pitched as well as he ever has in a Brewers uniform.

The Brewers were manhandled for the third straight day by the Chicago Cubs.  Little about the game was positive or worth mentioning besides a home run by Prince Fielder, a Mike Cameron RBI single in the ninth, and a Bill Hall two-run double in the ninth.

Offensive MVP: Cubs CF Jim Edmonds (2-3/3R/2HR/5RBI/1BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Cubs SP Rich Harden (7IP/6H/1ER/0BB/9SO/1HR)

My Take:

Milwaukee may be nearing a long losing streak unless they can bounce back from a pitiful 1-6 homestand that has left them 5.0 games out of first place in the Central.  The main positive of this game was that the Brewers finally started to get hits with runners in scoring position, but it was too little too late.

CC Sabathia pitched 6 and 2/3rds good innings, but was undone by a throwing error from Rickie Weeks in the 7th that gave Chicago the lead, the momentum, and eventually, the game.  The Cubs jumped out to a 2-0 lead early thanks to Alfonso Soriano.  He hit a lead off double and scored in the first, and homered in the 3rd inning.  The Brewers awoke in the sixth as J.J. Hardy homered with one out and Ryan Braun followed suit to tie the game and bring the crowd to their feet.  Prince Fielder singled and then scored on a double by Corey Hart (who was thrown out at third on the play to buy the big first baseman more time).  In the seventh, the bases were loaded with one out and Derrek Lee at the plate.  Sabathia engaged in a memorable battle with the Cubs’ slugger, but when it seemed as though the lefty had managed to get out of the inning, Rickie Weeks promptly threw the ball past Fielder at first to ruin the double play and the game in the same instant.  Milwaukee stormed back with two outs in the seventh when Russell Branyan hit a monstrous pinch-hit home run to knot the game at 4.  In the ninth, though, usually reliable Salomon Torres scuffled mightily and surrendered 2 earned runs on 2 hits and 3 walks (one intentional).  Carlos Marmol pitched the ninth for manager Lou Piniella, getting the save.

Offensive MVP: Cubs LF Alfonso Soriano (2-4/3R/1HR/1RBI/1BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: Cubs RP Chad Gaudin (1IP/0H/0ER/1BB/3SO/0HR/Win-7th)

My Take:

To Brewers fans ready to jump off a cliff…come on!  The season is far from over, the series is far from over, and there will be much more baseball played against the Chicago Cubs in 2008.  The Cubs are a superb team, and mind you, that statement is coming from one of the most passionate Brewer fans you would ever meet.  It is not easy for me to accept, but it’s the truth.  Tonight proves that when they are on, they are truly the class of the National League.  They battled and strained and held onto their lead, something Milwaukee has been unable to do too often this year.  Am I counting the Brewers out of the division race?  Heck no!  This was one of the greatest (and worst) Brewers’ games I have ever witnessed, and the atmosphere in Miller Park provided a glimpse of how electric postseason baseball would be should Ned Yost’s club reach that plateau.  As for this series: consider it a good and realistic outcome if the Brewers split.

Jeff Suppan was atrocious on Sunday afternoon, giving up 8 earned runs on 11 hits in 6 innings of work.  He also walked one and struck out 3.  The Brewers were up 4-1 thanks to a Prince Fielder sac fly in the first, a Mike Rivera double in the second, and a two-run shot by Ryan Braun in the third.  But Suppan was hit and hit hard in the fifth, surrendering seven runs that were capped off by a three-run shot by Geoff Blum, his second of the day.  Milwaukee tallied one in the sixth off a J.J. Hardy single that scored Russell Branyan from second, but reliever Seth McClung gave up 3 earned runs off of 5 hits and 3 walks in only 2.0 innings pitched to crush any hope of a Brewer comeback.  Astros starter Randy Wolfe struggled, giving up 3 earned runs in 4.1 innings of work, but Chris Sampson relieved him and handcuffed the Brewers for the next few frames, giving up only 1 earned run.  In the ninth, Rickie Weeks tripled and scored on a ground-out by Hardy.

Offensive MVP: Astros 3B Geoff Blum (2-4/2R/2H/2HR/4RBI/0BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: Astros RP Chris Sampson (2.2IP/2H/1ER/0BB/2SO/0HR)

My Take:

So long first place.  This was one of the tougher losses of 2008, but it is simply part of the ebb and flow of a 162 game season.  It would have been nice for the Brewers to have a little momentum going into their 4 game series with Chicago, but that’s just not the way it turned out.  Suppan is often up and down throughout a year, so he could easily bounce back next time.  The upcoming four games will say a lot about whether the Brewers are truly a contender or just a pretender, but even the outcome of that series should be taken with a grain of salt.

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.

1992…sixteen long years ago.  That was the last time the Milwaukee Brewers sat 15 games above the .500 mark.  After a relatively easy win at St. Louis on Wednesday evening, Ned Yost’s club is now 58-43, a full 2.0 games ahead of Tony La Russa and his Cardinals.  Unlike the first two games of the series, there was very little drama thanks to another tremendous start by CC Sabathia.  He has pitched out of his mind since becoming a Brewer, and now has 3 straight complete game victories.  He took a no-hitter into the sixth, and finished only allowing 3 and 2 walks with 7 strikeouts in 9 golden innings.  The Brewers offense struggled early on against Braden Looper, and they stranded 13 runners in the game, but J.J. Hardy, Rickie Weeks, and Ryan Braun all stepped up when it mattered most to give the towering lefty all the run support he needed.

In the top of the fifth, Hardy, batting with one out, sent a Looper slider out to left field.  It barely cleared the wall, but when it comes to home runs, it doesn’t ever matter how far they go.  Up 1-0 in the sixth, Mike Cameron hit a lead-off single, Jason Kendall was hit by a pitch in the arm, and CC Sabathia grounded into what appeared to be a double play ball, but the savvy veteran Kendall slid into second and took out shortstop Brendan Ryan’s legs out from under him, making it impossible to double off the lefty rumbling down the first base line.  Rickie Weeks continued to contribute to the offense with a sacrifice fly to bring in Cameron.

Nothing much happened for either team until the top of the ninth, when Ryan Braun got a hold of a high and outside fastball from Jason Isringhausen and sent it opposite field to expand Milwaukee’s lead to 3-0.  Sabathia returned to pitch the ninth, and was stellar.  He fooled perennial MVP candidate Albert Pujols so badly on a third strike fastball that he lost hold of his bat and it flew out to greet third baseman Bill Hall.  Troy Glaus followed with a chopper to Prince Fielder who easily slapped a tag on him to clinch Milwaukee’s sixth straight road victory, a series win at Busch Stadium, and seventh straight victory overall.

Offensive MVP: LF Ryan Braun (4-5/1R/1HR/1RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: CC Sabathia (9IP/3H/0HR/0ER/2BB/7SO)

My Take:

It is hard to believe how far these Brewers have come since 2002.  That was the year they finished 56-106 under manager Jerry Royster.  Despite being criticized at times (more than once by myself) Ned Yost has truly done a spectacular job of righting the ship and bringing meaningful baseball back to Wisconsin.  A lot of credit should also go to the amateur scouting director Jack Zduriencik who is the reason fans can see the likes of Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, and J.J. Hardy in Brewers uniforms.  101 games into the 2008 season, things are definitely looking good.  Without a doubt, Milwaukee is fielding its best team since the days of Yount and Molitor, and it is a real treat to watch.  There is no guarantee at this point in the season that ’08 is going to bring postseason baseball back to Wisconsin, but this team is playing with unparalleled confidence, and will actually have a chance to sweep the Cardinals in St. Louis tomorrow.

Jeff Suppan had just returned from the disabled list and was scuffling immediately.  He allowed two Cardinals’ runs in the first inning, the first off the strength of a monstrous home run by All Star Ryan Ludwick, the second off of a Rick Ankiel two-out RBI single.  Suppan settled down in the second, but allowed St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina to double in Troy Glaus with two out.  Up 3-0, the phenomenal right-handed starter Kyle Lohse briefly flirted with a no-hitter into the fifth inning, but Prince Fielder quickly wiped that out when he singled.  Lohse did not surrender any runs through the first six innings and was looking untouchable, and even though Jeff Suppan had settled in to pitch a very respectable game, all appeared bleak on Monday evening for Milwaukee.  With CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets slated to pitch the series’ final two games, the Brewers were still in a strong position to either split or win the series after a loss in Game 2.  But, oh wait…there WAS no loss in Game 2!

In the top of the seventh inning, things were looking encouraging when J.J. Hardy hit a lead-off double and Ryan Braun hit a tricky grounder to the left side of the mound that St. Louis third-baseman Troy Glaus was forced to hold on to, allowing Hardy to get to third and himself to get a base hit.  Prince Fielder mashed a ground ball to left field, scoring Hardy and putting Milwaukee on the board, but Gabe Kapler chopped into a rally-killing double play (Hall struck out with a runner on third and two gone).  Suppan kept his club in the game with a scoreless seventh frame, and that paved the way for one of the most heroic comebacks in the history of the Brewers/Cardinals rivalry.  Mike Cameron struck out to lead off the eighth, but Jason Kendall singled right after.  Pinch hitter Russell “The Muscle” Branyan showed very little muscle as he lined out softly to shortstop, and with Rickie Weeks (not one of Milwaukee’s greatest clutch performers of 2008) coming to the plate, it looked as though Tony La Russa’s struggling bullpen would escape another demoralizing defeat (they surrendered three Brewers’ runs in the top of the 10th inning in Game 1 of the series to kill an inspiring Cardinals’ comeback).  Apparently, the arrival of Ray Durham served as something of a wakeup call to the younger second baseman.  He smacked a double to the wall in left-center field and the always-hustling Jason Kendall motored around the bases to score.  With Weeks on second, J.J. Hardy, who has been as hot as any hitter in baseball for the past oh…month or so…promptly tied the game at 3 with an RBI single.

Steady left-handed reliever Brian Shouse pitched a perfect eighth, and in the ninth, with two outs, the hero of last night’s game produced an astonishing encore.  When Bill Hall connected with the pitch from Kyle McClellan, there was no doubt in my mind (or Hall’s) that it was going to go a long, long way.  When the ball came down into the sea of Cardinals’ red, the stadium, which had been so alive for the first six innings of the game, fell deathly silent.  There would be no comeback, no celebration for La Russa’s Redbirds in the bottom of the ninth.  Salomon Torres, who had pitched two innings the day before, allowed absolutely nothing, and the Brewers won their fifth straight game on the road (sixth straight overall).  Ned Yost’s upstart club is now in sole possession of second place in the NL Central, in sole possession of the Wild Card Berth, and with the Cubs down 9-2 in the top of the ninth inning, it appears as though Milwaukee, 8.5 games back just over a month ago, will be sitting a mere 1 game behind their bitter rivals.

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

Pitching MVP: Jeff Suppan (7IP/8H/1HR/3ER/2BB/3SO)

My Take:

Few times in my life have I been at a total loss for words.  This is one of those times.  I have followed the Milwaukee Brewers since I was a young child, and I have seen some good games, some numerically greater comebacks, but never have I been this convinced of an impending defeat.  Kyle Lohse looked almost un-hittable, Jeff Suppan looked mediocre early on, and the Milwaukee offense looked totally listless.  I give Ned Yost props for keeping the bench spirits high, or at least alive throughout what looked like a very ugly game.  No team wins games like these against their rivals on the road unless they have confidence in themselves as a team.  The Brewers clearly have confidence in themselves that hasn’t been seen in Milwaukee in over a quarter century.  I will go out on a limb and make a bold prediction: the Brewers WILL win the series at Busch Stadium!

Ben Sheets pitched well in the All Star Game, but he has not pitched particularly well in any of his last few regular season starts.  Perhaps an injury exists that he is playing through but not admitting, but whatever the reason, it appears as though CC Sabathia is Milwaukee’s only true ace for the time being.  Sheets scuffled on Saturday afternoon, yielding four runs (two earned) in five shaky innings.  He surrendered a whopping nine hits to the Giants, and was in line for the loss, but the Brewers simply would not give this one away, as they came roaring back to win 8-5.  To give his club a 1-0 lead, Sheets, a light-hitting pitcher hit a double down the left field line to score Jason Kendall. In the bottom of the fourth, things got ugly when San Francisco scored four times.  A Jose Castillo RBI single, an Omar Vizquel RBI single, an run-scoring fielding error by J.J. Hardy, and a Eugenio Velez RBI double gave the G-Men a 4-1 lead, and with talented southpaw Jonathan Sanchez dominating on the mound (eight strikeouts through the first five frames) it appeared as though the Crew would fall.

But the bottom half of Milwaukee’s lineup came alive at a critical time.  With one out, Corey Hart doubled, Bill Hall and Mike Cameron walked, and while catcher Jason Kendall was batting, new pitcher Keiichi Yabu let one get away from him and Giants’ backstop Bengie Molina did the same.  The wild pitch scored Hart easily, but Molina’s toss to his pitcher sailed down the third base line and Bill Hall slid in to make the game very interesting.  Kendall then was plunked, pinch hitter Craig Counsell was retired, and with one of his biggest hits of the year, Rickie Weeks drove in Cameron and Kendall to give Milwaukee the lead 5-4.  In the sixth, left-handed relief pitcher Mitch Stetter yielded a run to knot the game up at 5 apiece.

Prince Fielder didn’t waste much time in atoning for Stetter’s mishap.  He crushed the first pitch from Osiris Matos, and when the ball came down, there were no fans scrambling to grab it…there were sailboats scrambling to grab it.  It touched legendary McCovey Cove and the Boys in Blue secured a lead they never lost.  Corey Hart scored on a Cameron RBI groundout, and Fielder drove in Ryan Braun in the ninth to give the Brewers’ their last piece of insurance.  Carlos Villanueva, David Riske, and Salomon Torres, did not disappoint, as they hurled 3.1 scoreless frames to seal the deal.  Torres earned his career best 16th save of 2008.

My Take:

Offensive outburst aside…way to go Riske!  The comeback, encouraging as it was, did not surprise me as much as David Riske’s dominant eighth inning of work.  He walked one batter, but fanned three to bridge the gap to Salomon Torres in the ninth as well as any Brewer has done so far this year.  Over the course of his career, he has proven to be much stronger in the second half of seasons, and if that trend continues, the Milwaukee bullpen will benefit greatly.  This would mean that if the Brewers fail to acquire Huston Street from Oakland (if the rumors regarding their interest in him are true) they may not have a glaring hole late in ballgames.  One good performance does not mean he has turned the corner fully, but it is a good sign nonetheless.

This is just getting ridiculous.  CC Sabathia earned his second straight complete game victory Friday, striking out 10 Giants and yielding only four hits to them.  Milwaukee scored first in the third inning when Sabathia doubled and scored later off a J.J. Hardy groundout.  In the fourth, Russell Branyan doubled to lead off the inning and scored when second basemen Rickie Weeks delivered a clutch single with two outs.  Up 3-0 in the seventh (following a Hardy RBI double), Milwaukee expanded their lead, when Prince Fielder hit an opposite field, three run shot to double his club’s lead.  In the ninth, Mike Cameron hit Milwaukee’s second three run homer to put the game well out of reach.  San Francisco’s only run came off of an Aaron Rowand round-tripper.

My Take:

What a way to start off the “second half” of 2008.  The Chicago Cubs fell to Houston 2-1, putting the Brewers four games back.  Sabathia is proving himself to be a fantastic acquisition to Milwaukee.  He is now 3-0 with 24 strikeouts and 2 complete game victories in three starts.  Talk is now brewing of G.M. Doug Melvin attempting to sign Oakland’s brilliant young relief pitcher Huston Street, and should this move be made, the Brewers would solve the eighth inning dilemma that has plagued them so often this season.