Without the Milwaukee Brewers starting pitching staff, they most likely wouldn’t have been in the post-season playoffs to begin with. Now that they’re there, the strength is becoming a weakness.
The playoff pitching slide continued on Monday night when Shaun Marcum was knocked around the park by the Cardinals until he departed after four innings. Albert Pujols had 4-hits, including a 2-run homer. Pujols drove in 5-runs in the Cardinals 12-3 victory in game 2 of their series at Miller Park.
Yovani Gallardo has been the exception to the rule. Gallardo has been nothing short of spectacular during this late season and playoff run. But the numbers don’t lie. The Brewers pitching staff has surrendered an average of 7-runs a game over the last six games.
Shaun Marcum has allowed 30 earned runs in his last 33 innings pitched. Throw in some bad defense from Brewers outfielder Nyjer Morgan last night and the Brewers are fighting an uphill battle.
Zach Greinke has won both of his post-season starts but only because the Brewers have showered him with offensive support. Greinke’s post-season ERA is over 8.
Randy Wolf’s ERA is at 21.00 after losing to the Diamondbacks in the NLDS. Wolf is scheduled to get a start this week in St. Louis.
Yovani Gallardo will get the game 3 start for the Brewers against Chris Carpenter on Wednesday. The two are scheduled to match up again in week 7, if the series makes it that far.
The Brewers do have Chris Narveson and he’s been good against the Cardinals this season. But, Ron Roenicke said he’s sticking with Marcum. He may want to reconsider.
Roenicke had no problem benching 3rd baseman Casey McGehee because of a season long slump and it was the right move. The way Jerry Hairston Jr. has played, the move has paid off. Roenicke needs to not worry about Marcum’s psyche and instead give his team the best chance to win. If the Brewers skipper is worried about hurting somebody’s feeling, he’s not doing his job.
The Cardinals may be the hottest team in baseball at the moment. We’ll see if the Brewers pitching staff still has a little gas left in their tank to win the NLCS and get to their first World Series since 1982.
