Yovani Gallardo threw 4.0 innings in Game 1 of the NLDS against Philadelphia.  That may sound like a poor start, but relatively speaking, the 22 year old was not bad at all.  He gave up 3 runs, but they were all unearned thanks to some horrendous defense by Milwaukee (Bill Hall, Rickie Weeks, and even the usually solid Mike Cameron).  A botched play on what should have been a bunt double play by Cole Hamels turned into everybody reaching.  With two outs, second baseman Chase Utley crushed a pitch into center that was playable for Cameron, but he seemed to misread the ball, and it barely bounced out of his glove, allowing two runs to score.  No error was charged on the play that was ruled a double, but there is no doubt that Cameron would be the first to admit he should have (and can) make that catch.  A run was walked in with the bases loaded later in the inning.

For the remainder of the game, Milwaukee’s bullpen threw extremely well, handcuffing the deadly Phillie lineup for 4.0 innings.  The lefty ace of Philadelphia, Cole Hamels, pitched out of his mind, going 8.0 scoreless, 2 hit, 9 strikeout innings and picking up the win.  Against perfect (41 saves in 41 chances regular season) closer Brad Lidge, the Crew seemed to settle down.  Ryan Braun drove in the first Brewer playoff run (scored by Ray Durham) since 1982 with a booming double, but Corey Hart, still looking as lost at the plate as ever, whiffed with runners at second and third and two out.

Offensive MVP: Phillies 2B Chase Utley (1-4/1R/12B/2RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Phillies SP Cole Hamels (8.0IP/2H/0ER/0BB/9SO/0HR/Win-1st)

Alex’s Take:

All in all, this game really wasn’t that bad.  The Brewers defensively looked atrocious, and had they not committed those errors, they likely would have won 1-0.  But sadly, their largely playoff-inexperienced team was unable to convert the critical plays at the critical times and it came back to bite them.  The offense looked bad, but really it was just Cole Hamels being extremely good.  Tomorrow’s game is a must-win if the Crew hope to advance, because they have CC Sabathia on the mound against Brett Myers.  Take that game, and the Brewers will find themselves in the friendly confines of Miller Park for two games that, if won, would send them onto the NLCS.  If they lose tomorrow, their hopes of a pennant will all but disappear.

Yovani Gallardo had gone 4 months without pitching, as he had gone down to a torn ACL that required what was considered originally to be season-ending knee surgery.  Turns out that 4 months was all the time in the world for the prized young starter.  Operating off a strict pitch count and not even swinging the bat when he came to the plate, the Brewers kept him relatively safe.  Gallardo, in turn, kept the Brewers’ Post Season hopes relatively safe.  Staked to an early 1-0 lead off a Bill Hall RBI double in the 3rd, he went on to mow down 7 Pirates in 4.0 innings, giving up only 1 run off a home run by Steve Pearce in the 4th.  The next batter walked, but Gallardo induced an inning-ending double play by Ronnie Paulino right after.

Then came the bullpen: seven pitchers, six innings, zero runs allowed in one of its finest performances of the year.  Offensively, the Crew was not so impressive for the rest of the first 9 innings.  They actually only stranded 5 runners on Thursday, but they simply couldn’t execute small ball, and it forced extras.  In the top of the 10th, the Buckos threatened big time against Todd Coffey.  With one out, he surrendered a single to Jason Michaels, who then reached second on a fielder’s choice.  Enter Pittsburgh’s All Star center fielder Nate McLouth and lefty Mitch Stetter for the biggest out of his career thus far.  From a 3-1 count, Stetter got McLouth to whiff at that sweeping slider of his, and froze him on another one, recording the punch-out and bringing things to the bottom 10th.

That’s when things got interesting.  Rickie Weeks started things off against Jesse Chavez with a single, and was moved to second on a perfect sacrifice bunt from the catcher Jason Kendall.  Pinch-hitter Ray Durham, who has torn things up at Miller Park this year, was intentionally walked, putting two runners on with only 1 out.  Alas, Mike Cameron failed to end it as he went down swinging.  Craig Counsell then strode to the plate, crazy stance and all, and worked arguably the biggest walk by a Brewer in 2008 (it only took 5 pitches).  This put the game, and with the Mets winning their game on a Carlos Beltran walk-off single moments earlier, possibly the season in the hands of sore and struggling left fielder Ryan Braun.  He needed merely a bloop single or a walk, but the end result turned out to be far more legendary.  On a 2-2 count, he finally got some of his prodigious power into a swing, and the ball went a long, long way.  Braun collected the 1st and only grand slam by Milwaukee all season, as well as the first walk-off shot of his major league career.  If the Brewers manage to reach the playoffs, it will probably be considered the defining moment of 2008, and one of the biggest home runs in Brewer history.

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

Pitching MVP: Carlos Villanueva, Eric Gagne, Guillermo Mota, Brian Shouse, Salomon Torres, Todd Coffey, Mitch Stetter(Win-3rd) (6.0IP/6H/0ER/1BB/3SO/0HR)

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.

The Milwaukee Brewers lost to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday after Eric Gagne blew his third save of the season and then took the loss as the Reds scored three runs in the 10th inning to win 4-3. The loss puts the Brewers at 11-7 for the year.

Gagne is now 1-1 after the loss against the Reds on Sunday.  Yovani Gallardo opened up the night for the Brewers pitching for seven innings and allowing only four hits and one run.

Jason Kendall and Yovani Gallardo each picked up doubles with J.J. Hardy hitting his first home run of the year giving him six RBI on the season. 

The Milwaukee Brewers will take on the St. Louis Cardinals at home starting on Monday night.  Can they pull it together after this late inning loss to take on the Cardinals and battle for the number 2 spot in the National League Central?

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