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Brewers snap 4-game slide, beat Reds

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Craig Counsell – Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

Entering Monday nights series opener against Cincinnati, the Milwaukee Brewers had been outscored 37-5 in the opening two innings of games this season.  Facing Reds starter Trevor Bauer, who entered the game with the majors best ERA at 0.68, wasn’t looking good for the Brewers.  Not to mention, Bauer allowed just one run on three hits while striking out 12 in a 8-3 Reds victory over the Brewers on August 7.

The recipe for success wasn’t a good one, but the Brewers had other ideas.

Justin Smoak’s first-inning RBI single put the Brewers up early and they would never trail in a 4-2 win over the Reds at Miller Park.  Smoak also clubbed a two-run homer, while Omar Narvaez also went deep as the Brewers had a 4-0 lead in the first four innings, on the way to victory. [Read more…]

Brewers swept by Pirates (Audio)

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Craig Counsell

The Pittsburgh Pirates entered their three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers with just four wins (4-17) and the worst offense in baseball.  When the smoke cleared on Sunday, the Pirates had a three-game sweep, outscoring the Brewers 24-11 in the series.

The Brewers were trying to salvage the final game of the series on Sunday at PNC Park, leading 4-3 in the 8th.  That’s when Pittsburgh’s Gregory Polanco clubbed a two-run home run off of reliever David Phelps to give the Pirates a 5-4, come-from-behind win.  It was the first home run allowed by Phelps in 10 appearances this season.

Once again, the Brewers struggled out of the gates, falling behind 2-0.  They went hitless in the first three innings and have now been outscored 37-5 in the first two innings of their 26 games.

The Brewers would eventually tie it 2-2 on a run scoring double by Justin Smoak and a run scoring single  by Omar Narvaez.  They then took the lead in the sixth when Smoak clubbed a 2-run homer for a 4-2 lead. [Read more…]

Inconsistent offense leads to another Brewers loss

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Every time you think the Milwaukee Brewers offense is starting to show some signs of stringing together some success, they struggle to keep it going.  That was the case again on Thursday night when they failed to get a hit until the fifth inning and watched the Minnesota Twins pull away for a 7-1 victory at Target Field.

Twins starter Jose Berrios entered the game with a 1-3 record and a 5.92 ERA.  He pitched six innings of one-hit ball, walking one and striking out nine.

Minnesota had chances to add to their 1-0 lead, but a pair of solid defensive plays by the Brewers, kept the Twins off the scoreboard.

The Twins would finally add a run in the sixth inning, chasing Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff (1-2) and pushing their lead to 2-0 on a sacrifice fly off of reliever Freddy Peralta.

The Brewers cut the lead in half in the seventh when Justin Smoak clubbed a solo home run.  But Minnesota came right back in the bottom half, increasing the lead to 4-1 when Nelson Cruz clubbed a two-run homer.

The Twins then blew the game open in the eighth, scoring three runs off of Angel Perdomo.

The loss dropped the Brewers back below .500 at 11-12.  They’ll open a three-game series in Pittsburgh against the Pirates on Friday night.  Adrian Houser (1-1, 3.27) pitches for the Brewers.  Chad Kuhl (0-1, 3.21) goes for the Pirates.

 

Brewers offense struggles in loss to Cubs (AUDIO)

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Justin Smoak

The Milwaukee Brewers have struggled offensively this season and their issues continued on Thursday night, in a 4-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs in their series opener at Wrigley Field.

Cubs starter Yu Darvish took a no-hitter into the seventh inning.  His no-hit bid ended with one out in the inning after Justin Smoak homered to right to cut the Cubs lead to three.  Darvish would finish the inning and call it a night.  He surrendered the one hit, two walks with 11 strikeouts to improve to 3-1 on the season.

Orlando Arcia singled in the eighth but was rubbed out on a double play.  The Brewers then closed the gap in the 9th when Avisail Garcia singled, made his way to third and scored on a Justin Smoak double.  Omar Narvaez ended the threat by popping out to left to end it, giving the Cubs three wins against their rivals to the north in four meetings this season.

The Cubs improved to 13-3 with the win, the best record in the majors so far this season.

Brett Anderson (0-2) got the start for the Brewers and surrendered two runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings of work but suffered the loss.  He walked two and struck out five.  One of the five hits allowed by Anderson was a solo home run off the bat of Kyle Schwarber in the second inning.

Corbin Burnes came on in relief, pitching 3 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on two hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Game two of the series is Friday night (7:15) at Wrigley Field.  Brandon Woodruff (1-1, 2.53) gets the start for the Brewers.  Tyler Chatwood (2-1, 5.40) goes for the Cubs.

AUDIO: Craig Counsell says the Brewer pitchers are doing their job :23

AUDIO: Craig Counsell said despite a short season, there’s still time :23

AUDIO: Justin Smoak says they’re battling offensively :18

Brewers get first win at Miller Park this season (AUDIO)

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Christian Yelich – Photo Courtesy of Scott Paulus/Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers finally earned their first win at Miller Park this season.

The Brewers scored six runs in the sixth inning on the way to a 9-3 win over the Cincinnati, salvaging the final game of their three game series with the Reds.

Justin Smoak started the rally with a lead-off double and later came around to drive in two runs with a single.  The two hits by Smoak in the inning also came from both sides of the plate.  Smoak started the game with a .128 batting average, 19 strikeouts in 43 at bats but added three hits in all.

Smoak wasn’t the only slumping Brewers hitter to break out on Sunday.  Christian Yelich, mired in a early season slump, had a triple, a  home run and a pair of walks.

The Brewers as a team, entered the game with 43 runs in 12 games, an average of 3.58 a game.

Keston Hiura also homered among his three hits as the Brewers finally had the kind of day they had been waiting all season for.

The Brewers open a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins at Miller Park on Monday night.  Adrian Houser gets the start for the Brewers.

AUDIO: Craig Counsell on the Brewers good day at the plate :17

AUDIO: Craig counsell says you feel like the big number is always coming :15

AUDIO: Justin Smoak on the Brewers 1st win at Miller Park this year :10

AUDIO: Christian Yelich says things can turn quickly in a season like this :23

Brewers drop home opener to White Sox

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The Milwaukee Brewers finally got to play a home opener at Miller Park, but it didn’t work out the way they had planned.  The Brewers jumped out to a 4-2 lead, then saw their bullpen surrender four runs in a 6-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Monday night.

The Brewers were playing their first game since a victory in Pittsburgh last Wednesday.

Brett Anderson got his first start in a Brewers uniform but took a drive off of his left foot from Chicago’s Luis Robert.  Yoan Mancada doubled him to third.  Jose Abreu drove in a run with a ground ball and Yasmani Grandal gave the White Sox a 2-0 lead with a sacrifice fly.

The Brewers cut the lead to 1 in the bottom half of the first when Christian Yelich snapped an 0-for-19 streak with a two-out double.  Avisail Garcia followed with a double of his own to score Yelich.

The Brewers took the lead in the 5th when Garcia drove in two runs with a single to left.  Ben Gamel’s sixth inning single to center scored Justin Smoak to put the Brewers up 4-2. [Read more…]

Brewers blow 4-run lead, fall to Pirates

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One night after coming from four run downs to beat Pittsburgh, the Pirates turned the tables on the Milwaukee Brewers, erasing a 6-2 deficit to win 8-6 at PNC Park.

The Brewers scored four times in the top of the seventh to go up 6-2.  But the Pirates answered with four of their own in the bottom half, then Adam Frazier clubbed a two-run home run off of Bobby Wahl in the 8th to give the Pirates the win.

The Brewers lost starter Josh Lindblom in the 4th inning with what was described as back cramps.  He was making his first appearance in the majors since 2017.  Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Lindblom is alright, but they believe the condition is brought on by dehydration and is something they need to figure out.  Lindblom experienced the same problem in his final bullpen in Appleton, prior to his start on Tuesday night. [Read more…]

Home runs lead Gold past Blue in Brewers World Series opener

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Brandon Woodruff

The Gold jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning on Tuesday night and held on for a 4-1 victory over the Blue in the opener of the Milwaukee Brewers “Blue & Gold World Series”.

Jedd Gyorko and Ben Gamel ripped two-run homers off of right-hander Jake Faria in the first inning.

Right-hander Brandon Woodruff tossed three scoreless innings before giving up a solo home run to Justin Smoak in the fourth to cut the lead to three and end the scoring for the night.

Woodruff was on a pitch count of 80 and was removed in the fifth after striking out Christian Yelich for the third time.  He allowed four hits and a run over 4 1/3 innings, walking two and striking out six.

The Brewers will be back at it again tonight, under the lights, at Miller Park.

 

Thames signs one-year deal with Nationals

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Some thought that Eric Thames would eventually find his way back to Milwaukee, but the slugging first baseman instead, signed a one-year deal worth a reported $3-million with the defending World Series Champion Washington Nationals.

According to the Athletic, Thames will earn $3-million this season with a mutual option for 2021 worth $4-million and a $1-million buyout.

The Brewers added free agent first baseman Justin Smoak, making Thames somewhat expendable.

In three seasons with the Brewers, Thames hit .241 with 72 home runs and 161 RBI in 383 games.  He’s expected to share time in Washington with returning veteran Howie Kendricks.