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.
