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Brewers clinch second straight post season playoff berth (AUDIO)

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It’ll go down as a September to remember.  The Milwaukee Brewers clinched at least a wildcard playoff spot for the second straight year, capping things off with a 9-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark on Wednesday night.

It’s the 6th straight win, the 17th in the last 19 games and a 19-4 month of September for the Brewers, who came from five-games behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League wildcard race.  They also did it after losing Christian Yelich to a season ending knee injury, improving to 12-2 since losing their MVP.

The division leading Cardinals lost again on Wednesday as the Brewers climbed to within a game and a half of St. Louis.  If the Brewers can win today, they’ll move to within a game of the Cardinals, who have the day off.  The Brewers also trail the Nationals by one-game in the chase for the top wildcard spot. [Read more…]

Hoffman headed for Hall of Fame

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Trevor Hoffman played only two seasons with the Brewers, but he gave Milwaukee fans some memorable moments and is now headed for the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

After falling five votes shy of election last year, he received 20 votes more than was necessary this year, receiving 79.9% of the 422 votes cast.  Hoffman joins Chipper Jones, Jim Thome and Vladimir Guerrero in the 2018 class.

The 50-year-old Hoffman had pitched 16 seasons for San Diego, recording 552 saves.  The Brewers then signed Hoffman to a free agent deal and he played two more seasons.

The first of those two years in Milwaukee would be an all-star season for Hoffman.  He recorded 37 saves and posted a 1.83 ERA.  The following year, Hoffman struggled out of the gates and lost the closers job.  But The brewers allowed him an opportunity to return to that role late in the season in a history making effort.

Hoffman responded by becoming the first major leaguer with 600 saves.  He ended the season and his career with 601 saves.

Hoffman is the sixth player to wear a Brewers uniform at some point in his career to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  He joins Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Hank Aaron, Rollie Fingers and Don Sutton.  Former Brewers owner and commissioner Bud Selig was also inducted last year.

 

Molitor named AL Manager of the Year (AUDIO)

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Paul Molitor – Photo Courtesy of Mike Clemens

Former Milwaukee Brewer star and Minnesota Twins manager Paul Molitor was named the American League Manager of the Year on Tuesday.

The 61-year-old skipper orchestrated an impressive turnaround in Minnesota that saw the Twins jump from 59-103 and a fifth-place finish in the AL Central in 2016 to 85-77 and second in the division in 2017, including a berth in the postseason.

Minnesota became the first team in major league history to make the playoffs after losing 100-plus games the previous season.

It marks the third time a Twins skipper has won the award.  Tom Kelly won it in 1991 and Ron Gardenhire won in 2010.

Molitor is only the second Hall of Famer to be named Manager of the Year, joining Frank Robinson, who won the award with the Baltimore Orioles in 1989.

Torey Lovullo of the Arizona Diamondbacks won the National League award.  In his first full season as a big-league skipper, Arizona reached the playoffs a year after going 69-93.

Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell finished fourth in the National League balloting.

AUDIO: Paul Molitor says this is a team award :14

AUDIO: Molitor said it is satisfying to win this honor after losing 103 games the year before :17

Davies no-hit bid, Carter two HR game propel Brewers past Oakland (AUDIO)

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Zach Davies

Zach Davies

He took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and even though his bid for history ended because of a home run, Brewers start Zach Davies definitely riding a big wave of momentum.

The diminutive righthander allowed two runs on two hits over his seven innings in a 5-4 Milwaukee win to open a brief two-game interleague series against Oakland at Miller Park. Davies also with five strikeouts.

Davies (4-3), who went 3-2 as a September call-up in 2015 and is pitching for a permanent place in the Brewers rotation, has won three straight starts. In his last six outings, Milwaukee (27-31) is 5-1.

Meanwhile, the offense came almost exclusively from the bat of first baseman Chris Carter, who slugged a two-run homer in the second inning and a three-run blast in the sixth to account for all five of Milwaukee’s runs. Carter leads the team with 16 homers and 39 runs batted in after the two monster shots beyond the centerfield wall. [Read more…]