Brewers First Half Pitching Grades

This is an annual post here with SnoTap industries where we grade the Brewers offense and their pitching staff.  I would like to think I am a fair grader and some think I am a little too nice to people. If you missed the offense grades earlier this afternoon, check em out.   

Kyle Lohse - Personally, I feel he is the best pitcher on the team thus far. Lohse has been the most consistent Brewer of the bunch. Every now and again, he blows up, yet there have been some stellar performances including a complete game shutout against Chicago. Lohse's career in the last five years or so have been really unbelievable if you think about it, great consistency from him. GRADE: A

Francisco Rodriguez - The return of K-Rod. He probably takes Milwaukee's Cy Young because they had no idea who would close games for Milwaukee. Rodriguez closed the first game, and he continued for the rest of the first half of the season with no signs of slowing down. Most of Frankie's runs have came in non-save situations with only three blown saves on the season. The only thing to worry about a little bit is the amount of home runs he has given up in the past couple months. GRADE: A
G only allowed one run in the last two months and only allowed 15 hits in that timespan as well. He's been as good as anyone in the bullpen. Truly impressive performance from Duke. GRADE: A

Will Smith - It is really hard to be critical of Smith because of a bad month recently with the Brewers. Smith pitched so well for the first three months of the season. He looked like an All-Star for a long-time during the season and then Smith hit the regression wall. It happens to a great deal of players in baseball. If anyone needed the All-Star Break, it was Smith. Hopefully, the two appearances against St. Louis where he pitched two scoreless innings is the step in the right direction. GRADE: A-

Wily Peralta - This has been a breakout season for Wily. The numbers don't really show what Wily did for the 'first half' of the season. He had a real strong start to the season with his ERA getting as low as 2.12 by late May. Peralta had an average month of June despite him winning all five starts, but the glimmer of hope came in final start in a stellar start against St. Louis where he pitched seven innings giving up no runs and three hits. GRADE: B

Matt Garza - What a turnaround for him. Many people were ready to bring out the pitchforks for Garza after struggling for his first two months of the season. Yes, he cannot field his position to save his soul, but Garza is pitching his ass off right now. He had a strong June with having an ERA under three for the month along with some strong outings against Minnesota, Arizona and Cincinnati (Terrible defense from him but whatever). The first two starts in July for Garza, he only allowed five total hits with two runs. If he becomes a front-line starter for the second half, it will be like Milwaukee had made a trade for a pitcher. GRADE: B

Yovani Gallardo - This first half has sort of defined Yovani Gallardo's career. He had some great starts including a strong sart to his season and then he fell apart for awhile then bounced back a little bit. Gallardo's inconsistency continuing to be frustrating for Brewers fans because you see the potential in some starts then it all goes to shit in another one. GRADE B-

Tyler Thornburg - You kind of forget about him because he hasn't played in over a month and a half with his last start being against Pittsburgh in late May. Thornburg came out blazing in the first month of the season proving everyone right when they said 'You know Thornburg could be a great reliever.' He then scuffled in the month of May. Who knows what Throny we will get when he comes back. GRADE: C+

Rob Wooten - It is hard to really judge Wooten's season right now. The reliever's ERA is abnormally high because one blowup appearance against Cincinnati in June. If he can whatever he had in May where Wooten had an ERA of 0.71, that would be ideal. He is not a bad reliever where you worry when he comes in, but Wooten needs to be a little more solid. GRADE:C+

Brandon Kintzler - Here's where my frustration with Kintzler. He seems to choke it up in big, clutch moments. This worries me as we get closer and closer to the month of October plus need clutch outings in August and September. I know this paragraph sounds a little JS Comments-like but he has been on the losing end of a walk-off four times this season already. GRADE: C-

Marco Estrada - It has not been a good year for Marco. He gave up 27 home runs in the first half of the season. What honestly did him to lose his starting position was the month of June. He gave up 24 runs, 30 hits and seven home runs leading to a 7.45 ERA. Estrada could have a totally different second half as the Brewers long relief pitcher. GRADE: D+

Wei-Chung Wang - It is honestly hard to talk about him because it really isn't fair to talk about how he's done so far this season. I am extremely surprised he is still on a MLB roster. GRADE: Incomplete.

Charlie.

Highlights-Lowlights: Rockies-Brewers (6/26-6/29)

This is SnoTap's version of recap of the two, three or four game series Milwaukee Brewers will play this season. We focus on the positives and negatives with topics about the game and topics that were nowhere near close to part of the game

Highlights 
Ryan Braun - Big weekend for Ryan Braun. I don't want to be like 'BRAUN BACK' and go all crazy because he owned Colorado's pitching which is as easy as finding a drunk underage Milwaukee suburbanite at Summerfest. Braun came through with his first walkoff hit in three years giving Milwaukee the win on Friday night. Braunie also added his eleventh home run in a loss on Sunday. In the last five games, Braun has two hits in four of them as well as driving in seven runs getting his average back to .290.

Kyle Lohse - Good start for Lohse on Friday night and probably deserving of the win, but things happen plus wins are silly. Lohse pitched well for seven innings working out of one jam that allowed a run, but nothing more. In the last two starts prior to this one, Lohse had allowed three runs and this one he only let one through seven innings with four strikeouts only yielding four hits. Good to see Lohse bounce back and hopefully the longish layoff will not affect him.

Lyle Overbay - I have said it before and I will say it again, I made a mistake with Lyle Overbay. He delivered a big sixth inning hit in Saturday's game driving in a vital insurance run which Milwaukee would need as Colorado slowly started to bang down the door. He added another hit in his only appearance for the weekend but came up in a big way. It has been really good to have Overbay on the roster plus I felt very comfortable with him playing defense for Matt Garza on the mound.

Carlos Gomez - He didn't really have a great weekend, but the three-run home run to lead off Saturday's game was ideal. Colorado obviously mad about losing to Milwaukee six straight times with the Brewers getting a walk-off the night before then BAM!  Carlos hits a homer. Also worth nothing since Gomez had his 0 for 6 night on Tuesday, he has one hit in each games putting him at four-game hitting streak meaning he has hits in 22 of his last 23 games.

Jonathan Lucroy - At this point, we are out of things to say about Lucroy, but once again, he came up big with some timely hitting driving in key runs in all three runs. Lucroy tied up the game Thursday night with a single after Wily Peralta gave up a grand slam. He put the Brewers ahead on Friday with the first run of the game in a tight pitcher's duel and added a RBI groundout on Saturday. Lucroy is a national treasure.

Lowlights
Injuries - Cramps, Face injuries, etc - Not a great weekend for the Brewers when it came to injuries. Jean Segura had to leave Saturday with cramping issues putting him out for Sunday's game, but it appears he will be back for Tuesday's game. Carlos Gomez had a collision with Braun leading to a face injury which could be described by the scene in Tommy Boy at the diner. Hopefully, Gomez will be back for the weekend. I don't really expect him for Toronto but with two days off this week, no reason to send him to the Disabled List.

Yovani Gallardo - Yeah not a great start for Yo, but I am not worried about it. There seems to be a vodoo hex over why Yo cannot beat the Rockies, the only National League team he hasn't beat for his career. It started off bad for him, and that's always how Yovani gets beat up is if he struggles early. I am a little worried about his seven-day layoff too.

Francisco Rodriguez - It was an up and down week for Frankie as he did get saves in both Thursday and Saturday's game. But he did blow one on Friday giving up a home run to Josh Rutledge. I am not worried at all about Frankie, but four runs in his last 10 appearances plus two home runs in the last week is never good.

Brewers schedule this week - Man, this sucks. We got two day games during the week which doesn't affect me too much but then we don't get a day game on the Fourth of July which is ludicrous. Further, they only play five games on which is a bummer, but Brewers do get some much-needed time off.

Highlights-Lowlights: Brewers vs. Rockies (6/20-6/22)

This is SnoTap's version of recap of the two, three or four game series Milwaukee Brewers will play this season. We focus on the positives and negatives with topics about the game and topics that were nowhere near close to part of the game

Highlights
Jean Segura - This is more for his Friday than anything else he did over the weekend, but Segura came into Coors Field with a bang. He doubled his home run total with two dingers, his first multi-homer game of his career. They were important home runs too as Segura hit the first one after Colorado added two runs to pull the Rockies within one early on. Segura's second home run broke a tie and brought the Brewers back from trailing 6-4. He also added an RBI single in the next at-bat to complete the day. Segura can start building off this piece by piece he could get going again on offense.

Wily Peralta - Most people would look at a start where the pitcher gave up four runs and scoff he didn't really do his job, yet I disagree with how Coors Field been playing this season. Peralta went into the eighth inning with full control of the game. One of the things Brewers coaches have been trying to do more with Wily is him pitching to contact versus trying to get the strikeout every time out. He only had two strikeouts and really settled in after a tough first inning. Wily isn't yet an ace, but games like these where he needs to have a different approach shows ace-like abilities.

Aramis Ramirez - RED HOT. HOT HOT HOT. Rami usually does this in June and it is a sight to see really. He added a home run in the last two games, and his average has went from .261 10 games ago to .297. In his last eleven games, Ramirez is hitting .463 with nine extra-base hits. Further in the last four games, Ramirez has at least two hits. This is when the Brewers can really start cooking as Ramirez becomes damn near unpitchable and can win a game nearly by himself.

Scooter Gennett/Rickie Weeks - Good weekend to be a Brewers second basemen. Gennett got it going on Friday night with three hits including two doubles plus scoring on all three hits. The lead-off spot is paying off dividends as Scooter's average is up to .310 on the season. Weeks took over the spot over the weekend and added an RBI triple Saturday plus a two-hit game on Sunday. It will be interesting to see if Weeks gets a third straight start as Milwaukee faces another lefty or if Ron Roenicke will give Scooter a chance against a left-handed pitcher.

Carlos Gomez - The hitting and the on-base streak continue as Gomez pushes it out to 18 games with 35 straight on-base. He had multi-hit games on both Friday and Saturday along with driving in a run on Friday. Gomez continues to be one of the best Brewers on the team and continues to prove why he needs to start in the All-Star Game this coming July.

Lowlights
Colorado's Wild Pitch - Since MLB's videos do not want to work on Blogger, watch it here if you haven't already, but it is straight Micky Mouse silliness from the Rockies. I don't know how that happens. It feels like a computer glitch in MVP Baseball or something. It sums up the weekend though for Colorado's pitching staff whom gave up 28 runs over the weekend. These teams will meet again for four games this weekend in Milwaukee.

Marco Estrada - I am still not wild about anything Marco Estrada is doing right now for this team. He gave up seven earned runs on Friday and only three of them came from the home run. He shockingly got the win in the game against the Rockies, but there is really no reason for Estrada to be starting for this team. Estrada is the one problem for this team and Ron Roenicke will not believe it for reasons I cannot explain.

Francisco Rodriguez - Not the best Sunday for Frankie. Milwaukee held a two-run lead, and would have blown the save if it were not for a baserunning error by Corey Dickerson. Even though this was nerve-wracking, it is important for Rodriguez to have these kind of outings every now and again. I realize that sounds like flawed logic, but K-Rod cannot rest on his laurels knowing improvements are always needed.

Brandon Kintzler - Once again, not a great weekend for him. He battled through Sunday's outing with giving up three hits but finding a way out of the inning. Friday, he gave up a run which would make back-to-back outings. Hopefully, we are not going through another dip for Kintzler because it hurts how Milwaukee manages their bullpen.

Charlie.

Highlights-Lowlights: Reds vs. Brewers (6/13-6/15)

This is SnoTap's version of recap of the two, three or four game series Milwaukee Brewers will play this season. We focus on the positives and negatives with topics about the game and topics that were nowhere near close to part of the game

Highlights
Yovani Gallardo - Who knows what changed with Yovani in the last couple starts, but he has come back to life. Gallardo delivered another great start only allowing one run in seven innings giving up six hits with eight strikeouts. In the last two starts, Gallardo allowed only one run striking out 16 batters with only 10 hits off of him. Yovani is not going to be this good all the time, but it is refreshing to see him bounce back after the brutal six-game stretch. You wonder if it motivated him to see Kyle Lohse starting to get attention as the quote 'ace' of the staff. I could be looking too far into it, but Gallardo does seem to be handling opposing batters like he did at the start of the year.

Scooter Gennett - You think he likes the lead-off spot? In the last four starts for Scooter Gennett, he has two hits in each of the games. He really does seem to flourish in a spot where Gennett says he is the most comfortable. He had two doubles on Saturday and added another one yesterday which drove in a run therefore he is not just getting on-base with singles, Gennett adds a little bit more. It would be great if he started taking more walks. Gennett's OBP is only .335 which isn't good for a player hitting .296.

Carlos Gomez - He continued his hitting ways this week as Gomez extended his hitting streak to 13 games. Gomez added a big hit on Friday night driving in the game-tying run. Gomez had two hits on Sunday as well as the run scored to tie Saturday's game. It is fair to say Gomez is the straw that stirs Milwaukee's drink. He helped ignite all of the big Brewers innings this weekend. Even though he dropped to fourth place in the All-Star voting, I think it is guarantee he will be in his second-straight All-Star Game.

Khris Davis - He started the scoring attack on Friday night with a solo home run off Homer Bailey, Davis' first home run since June 5th against Minnesota. Davis had a productive groundout Saturday to tie the game late on Saturday as well. The most important thing is Davis hasn't wavered after the hot streak he had in late May. He could have faltered a little bit, but Davis remained consistent throughout the last 10 games which is encouraging to see from a young player.

Ryan Braun's home run - He didn't really have a highlight weekend as Braun only had one hit during the weekend dropping his average to .281, the lowest its been since April 23rd. But we will not worry about that right now. Braun hit his first meaningful home run of the year. Eighth inning with one out and a runner on second, he hits an opposite field home run. People are waiting on Braun to get hot again, and with two hitter-friendly ballparks, he might have an opportunity to breakout.

Lowlights
Marco Estrada's home runs - They continue to be a problem for this Brewers team. He gave up homers to Billy Hamilton, Todd Frazier and Brandon Phillips allowing for the first five runs of the game. Milwaukee came back to tie the game at three only to see Estrada giving up a two-run shot in the subsequent inning. It is not good right now. He didn't even walk a batter today. They were all gopher balls. Estrada is a problem on this Brewers roster right now. I don't know how starting him again will help this Brewers team because it seems like a given Estrada giving up at least one homer.

Matt Garza's defense - PUKE. Matt Garza's defense reared its ugly head on Friday night with a short-arm throw to second base and airmailing a ball into the stands later in the game. He had four unearned runs. Garza actually pitched great if it weren't for the errors as he only gave up an earned run. Garza's next start is against Arizona, and I fully expect them to try to bunt more offense plus try to put more pressure on him as teams will notice this start.

Rob Wooten - Not the best outing for Mr. Wooten. He gave up six straight hits and allowed five runs. He is the first pitcher since John Gelnar in 1970 to give up six straight hits in an appearance without getting an out. Let's chalk this up to a bad outing by him. It is a bummer to see because the Brewers had a chance to get back into this game only being down a run and Wooten puked all over his shoes. It happens now and again unfortunately.

Francisco Rodriguez - Yes he got a save on Saturday night, but he blew the game on Friday night. That's one you would have loved the Brewers to have after coming back from a four-run deficit, but K-Rod gave up a run leading to Cincinnati's win. I have no idea what's wrong with closers when they are playing in non-save situations, but the wheels always seem to come off for them. Hopefully, Frankie will find the secret of pitching in non-save situations.

Irving Falu - Ron Roenick gave Jean Segura a night off on Friday night, and it did not work well for the Brewers.  The now-Nashville player Irving Falu added a couple errors to give Milwaukee four on the night with him and Garza's ineptitude on defense. He also came up multiple times in big spots with runners on and Falu went like a fart in the wind. Happy to see him back in Nashville.

Charlie.

Highlights-Lowlights: Brewers-Pirates (6/6-6/8)

This is SnoTap's version of recap of the two, three or four game series Milwaukee Brewers will play this season. We focus on the positives and negatives with topics about the game and topics that were nowhere near close to part of the game.

Highlights
Yovani Gallardo - What a bounce back performance for Yovani. We started to wonder if it was okay to worry about him with having a 6.55 ERA for the last six starts, and he proved all doubters wrong on Sunday. Brewers starter dominated with seven strong innings, only allowing four hits, striking out eight and walking only one. Gallardo also worked out of a massive bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning. Given how the final inning turned out plus Gallardo throwing 121 pitches, it might be one of the most impressive Brewers start of the season.

Jonathan Lucroy - It does get really repetitive to have the same player on here multiple times, but Johnny Luc had another great series. Sunday, Lucroy provided three of the four Brewers hits including the double which helped score the only run for the Brewers. He also helped frame the called questionable strike three in the eighth. Lucroy had a big day Saturday with two hits with a run driven. He will probably not be a starter, but no one on this Brewers team deserves to be an All-Star more than Lucroy this year. What a season thus far.

Lyle Overbay - I wondered about what Overbay's role on this team could be if the Brewers ended up signing up Kendrys Morales, but he signed with Minnesota so we didn't have to cross that bridge. Overbay once again came up big in the clutch on Saturday. Clint Hurdle decided to intentionally walk Scooter Gennett paving the way for Overbay to be up with the bases loaded. He delivered with a two-run single, and Milwaukee had the lead which they never gave up for the rest f the game. He might not be this clutch all the time, but Overbay has had moments with this team in 2014.

Francisco Rodriguez - There are certain closers whom you would never associate with four-out saves. One of those would be Francisco Rodriguez. But he got an opportunity on Sunday with the bases jammed in the eighth. He struck out Russell Martin and moved to the ninth inning. Rodriguez didn't make it easy on himself as he walked both Sterling Marte and Ike Davis yet he got out it with a Travis Snider force out and Josh Harrison lining out to center. Great resolve by Frankie on Sunday getting the much-needed save.

Jean Segura - Along with Rodriguez, Segura played a large part in Sunday's win late.  Segura made a diving stab a hit up the middle by Travis Snider which would have scored a run without question. Before Segura made the majors, people thought he would be destined to be a second baseman, and he has done a great job at proving people wrong.  He didn't really have a good weekend at the plate but still, his defense paid dividends.



Mitch's Facebook Status - I know I am one for hyperbole at times, but our SnoTap writer Mitch Pratt had a great Facebook post involving his parents. Worth noting, his dad didn't end up wearing a Hank The Dog t-shirt but still funny nonetheless. I will let Mitch take it away from here, but I couldn't agree more with him.

Lowlights
Tyler Thornburg and his injury - Hopefully, it is just a strained forearm and nothing more serious. Thornburg heads to the Disabled List after having his worst outing of the season giving up five runs on only three hits. It was ugly in all ways possible for him, and it was unfortunate Ron Roenicke left him in to fry when he clearly didn't have it on Friday. Hopefully, it is a short stint on the DL for Thornburg and he will be back to his dominant ways.

Kyle Lohse - It is almost like everyone put the proverbial jinx on him with much hype about Lohse's commanding start against Chicago two Sundays ago, and then he goes out having his first bad start of the season. Only second time this year where Lohse wasn't able to finish the sixth inning, and he ended up giving up eight runs in total. Sometimes, you just don't have it as a pitcher. I see it as a blip on the radar. Blowups happen from time to time.

Russell Martin - Honest question... Why does Martin always start shit when the Brewers are in town? He was involved with the tussle around April and said he wanted to fight Martin Maldonado in the offseason. This time around, he overreacts to a called strike three late in the game getting himself and his manager run from the game. Martin always seems to ramp up the theatrics when he is playing the Crew. He also looks like Jack Parkman with those shades on.

Blow out weirdness - Brewers have only lost by five or more runs five times this season. Two of those times have been at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates in very lopsided wins. But it is humorous because these are only two of the Pirates three wins against Milwaukee this season as they have dropped 10 games to Milwaukee already this season.  I think Pittsburgh would take two more close wins instead of just having three victories over their older brothers of the National League Central.

Charlie.

Highlights-Lowlights: Orioles-Brewers (5/26-5/28)

This is SnoTap's version of recap of the two, three or four game series Milwaukee Brewers will play this season. We focus on the positives and negatives with topics about the game and topics that were nowhere near close to part of the game.

Highlights
Khris Davis - What a week for this guy whose red hot in his last 10 games. Davis has moved his average from .215 to .251 in 10 days with hitting three straight home runs. Davis went 7 for 11 drawing three walks as well and scoring five runs as well. It shows you why teams do not give up on players and keep giving them chances. For the year, Davis' strikeout total is 49, but in his eight-game hitting streak, he only stuck out four times. Who knows if this is just a hot streak, but it is clear he figured something out at the plate in the last couple of games.

Carlos Gomez - Mr. Feel Sexy is doing the damn thing at the cleanup spot. It is like Gomez never wanted to leave the four spot. Gomez is hitting .476 from the cleanup spot with a nine-game hitting streak featuring a majority games with him at the cleanup position. Even the inning he got hit by the pitch by Bud Norris on Wednesday, he stole a base, took third on a sac fly and scored on another sac fly. He manufactures runs for this team, and him leading off any inning has a chance for the Brewers to score a run. I think he is right up there for the first two-month MVP and definitely in consideration for Player of the Month. Oh he also got hooked up with some kiwis.

Thx to everyone over at @ZESPRIkiwifruit for the Kiwi, remember ppl Kiwi is good 4 your health!! pic.twitter.com/Q91cuiccS6
— Carlos Gomez (@C_Gomez27) May 28, 2014

Yovani Gallardo - Pretty good series for Yo as he drove in the game-winning run on Tuesday night in one of the more inexplicable Brewer win this season, and then went out to pitch pretty strongly minus Nelson Cruz only allowing four hits, striking out five batters getting his first win since April. Gallardo looked better as the game went on Wednesday night. It showed he had a little bit of rust at the beginning of the game and bounced back nicely through the near seven innings.

Nelson Cruz - One of my five things to watch featured 'Avoid Nelson Cruz' and the Brewers clearly did not. He hit three home runs this series with two home runs on Wednesday and one Tuesday. He now has 19 homers for the season. The guy seems in a complete zone. Gallardo couldn't pitch him outside or inside as Cruz hit both of them far out. Good move by the Orioles to take a flier on him with a one-year eight million dollar deal. Me thinks he will get a lot more money this offseason.

Will Smith - It seemed like Ron Roenicke gave Smith a break during the road trip. He only pitched twice against Atlanta and once against Miami. But the Brewers needed him on both Tuesday and Wednesday night. He had two strong outings striking out all four batters he faced on Wednesday night, and stopping the bleeding on Tuesday night with the disastrous seventh. Usually, the All-Star Game doesn't send relief pitchers but I feel like Smith is deserving of an All-Star bid at this point of the season.

Lowlights
Khris Davis' Death Threat - It was reported on Tuesday, Davis received a death threat around the Cubs series via social media. Just complete stupid. Sometimes I wonder why athletes use Twitter because there is so much bullshit out there. Glad to see Davis didn't let it affect his play.

Matt Garza's Seventh - It appears this is becoming a theme when Garza pitches in a series. He has one blowup inning. I do think this one could have been prevented. Garza could have been pulled after the Jean Segura error knowing he has a tendency to lose his mental stability, but instead, Milwaukee kept him in leading to a three-run homer by Steve Pearce. Garza pitched well for six innings. He struck out nine batters and looked in control for the most part. Roenicke needs to do a better job of pulling Garza a little quicker before it mushroom clouds on him.

Seventh Inning in General - What the hell is going on with this inning? It is becoming downright scary when opposing teams step up to the plate in the seventh. In the last six games, Milwaukee pitchers have allowed 12 runs in the seventh inning. That's an obvious problem. I don't know if it is a bullpen issue or a Roenicke issue of keeping pitchers in for too long. This will start to become a storyline for a bit until something changes with this hexed inning.

Playing the Orioles - Jesus, I feel for opposing AL East teams. It sucked to play against the O's. No disrespect either, they are a pretty good team, but they just don't quit. Their pitching isn't top notch, but that offense can keep them in any game. It is nice to know the only time the Brewers can play the Orioles again this year is the World Series. Just glad I don't have to watch the Brewers play this team consistently because this series was exhausting.  

Francisco Rodriguez's Monday - I kind of hinting at this on Friday with our Brewers-Marlins preview about my concern with the lack of games Frankie had played in during this last 15 game span. He only has five appearances, and I think that had something to do with his unraveling on Monday. I did think he pitched well on Tuesday night, but the fact Rodriguez needed only one out is maddening.

Charlie.

Brewers-Marlins Preview (5/22-5/24)

Brewers previews to get you ready for the series where we have five things to watch, pitching matchups and prediction. We add a YouTube video in the mix, it could be really anything.   

Pitching Matchups
Friday:     Marco Estrada (3-2 3.64) vs. Tom Koehler (4-3 2.25)   6:10 pm FSNWI
Saturday: Wily Peralta (4-3 2.18) vs. Jacob Turner (0-2 6.59)        3:10 pm FSNWI
Sunday:   Yovani Gallardo (2-3 3.51) vs. Randy Wolf (0-0 1.80)  12:10 pm FSNWI

Five Things To Watch
1.) Will Yo go on Sunday? - There is a great deal unknown whether Gallardo will start on Sunday with a bum ankle. Brewers and Red Sox are the only two teams who have only started five starters this season so far. ming back. Due to Wei-Chung Wang, the Brewers really don't have a long reliever ready to go therefore it would probably have to be Tyler Thornburg which would screw the bullpen. I really need to see Wang go or Milwaukee work out a trade to Pittsburgh allowing him to be at Brevard County paving the way for Jimmy Nelson or Mike Fiers. I realize this is a pure pipe dream, and they will probably send down Rob Wooten which is supremely disappointing.

2.) Maybe Gomez and Braun aren't at full strength - I wrote in the Brewers-Braves preview that Ryan Braun and Carlos Gomez were finally healthy leading to the Brewers to get hot again. Welp that didn't happen as Braun left Thursday's game with his oblique bothering him. Gomez didn't start on Thursday plus he really cannot do the 'Gomez' type things like stealing bases yet, or push a double into a triple. Braun is probably not playing tonight. I think Gomez will be starting, but it is clear playing 16 straight games is taking a toll on a injury ridden team. Hopefully, the Brewers find a way to manage through it.

3.) Y'all know Miami has been really good at home? - I have no idea how this happened, but the Marlins somehow have built a homefield advantage. They are really good at home with a 19-6 record, and they are 6-17 on the road hence why the Marlins are near .500. Looking at the teams they played at home so far, four out of the seven are above .500 with Seattle at .500 and three being under .500 so they aren't beating the slums of the baseball world. Additionally, five of those games were Jose Fernandez starts whom will be missing for the rest of the year, Miami won four of his five starts. Basically, there is not many flukes in there, and there is not a Fernandez factor either. I will say their home/road splits have to come down a little bit though, right?  

4.) Concern about a Frankie save opportunity - The last time Francisco Rodriguez had a save opportunity was last Friday. He came into the game on Wednesday night, gave up a hit, but pretty much went unscathed. I am legitimately terrified what might happened if Rodriguez has to nail down a save this weekend. He is the type of guy that needs to be in a rhythm. I wouldn't be surprised if the Brewers ended up losing a game on a blown save by K-Rod. Maybe I am down in the dumps right now and just not thinking positive right now.

5.) MY OLD FRIEND RANDY - Milwaukee will be facing off against Randy Wolf on Sunday afternoon. Now, both teams will likely be hungover and look forward to a couple players missing the game with flu-like symptoms because c'mon Miami on Memorial Day weekend will be absolutely on fire. My guess is at least one player per person. Old Brewers always scare me. I don't care how old Randy Wolf is, he could easily throw seven innings and dominate their asses on Sunday afternoon.

Appropriate YouTube video


In honor of this great tweet by Brewers reliever Will Smith,

So I will be there first one to say it let's go ahead and get all the Will Smith jokes out while I'm in Miami. #welcometomiami #Brewers
— Will Smith (@White_Willy31) May 23, 2014

Prediction 
Ah dammit, this feels like the Brewers losing two out of three which means they will go 3-7 in the longest road trip of the season. Maybe I am just in a bad place.

Highlights-Lowlights: Pirates-Brewers (5/11-5/13)

This is SnoTap's version of recap of the two, three or four game series Milwaukee Brewers will play this season. We focus on the positives and negatives with topics about the game and topics that were nowhere near close to part of the game.

Highlights
Marco Estrada - When Marco gave up a first inning home run to Known Brewer Killer Neil Walker, I thought here we go again with Estrada in the month of May. But he proved me wrong taking control of the baseball game from there with six strong innings giving up only five more hits and no more runs after the Walker solo shot. Estrada giving up nine home runs is concerning but expected. He is a fly ball pitcher and he works a ton of change-ups. If one of those hang, it will head out of the ballpark. Estrada's ERA is down to 3.28 after Tuesday's performance, and that's pretty damn good for a back-end starter.

Rickie Weeks - Did you know Weeks is hitting .625 for the month of May? Do you know people still hate Weeks like the plague? Do you know he is the better option at second base right now? Weeks is playing his ass off. He had two opposite field hits on Thursday afternoon with a double and a home run. Weeks had a big RBI pinch hit on Tuesday night. He is on complete fire folks. Either get with it, or get behind. Also, let's stop with the trade nonsense right now. I will write about this next week whether Weeks is still hot or not but it's the wrong move by the Brewers.

Wily Peralta - We need a losing effort horn like The Solid Verbal Podcast because Peralta dazzled again knocking his earned run average to 2.05. Peralta pitched great going seven innings only allowing one run and gave up five hits with striking out four batters. For the season, Peralta only walked 10 batters in eight starts this season, and in the last two, he walked just one batter. The biggest criticism about the young right hander was his control. It seems to be fixed, at least for now, and if that's the case, the Brewers could be looking at a frontline pitcher.

Khris Davis Walk-Off - I wish I could explain Khris's thrill for the dramatics, but it seems like he has it. Three big extra inning hits on the road that all helped the Brewers win baseball games, and then a walk-off hit at home. With this team likely to be contending for a National League Central crown, Davis' ability to be clutch in the moment is a big, big thing. Hopefully, he puts it together in other innings than the ninth or extras though.

Mark Reynolds defense - When Milwaukee signed Mark Reynolds, most people including myself, saw it as a way for the Brewers to add some power, but no one expected him to be this good on defense. He made two run-saving plays on Thursday afternoon including the start of a great double play after Tyler Thornburg walked the first two batters in the eighth. With how bad the Brewers were at defense last season, this is a much-needed boost to their piss poor defense of last season. It's appreciated.

Lowlights
Ron Roenicke has a decision looming and it's terrifying - I have no idea how the whole Scooter and Rickie thing is going to play out. We never had this problem last season because Weeks never really got hot all year minus the one little spurt when Gennett got called up. Roenicke has to know he cannot move Weeks from the lineup, but at the same turn, Gennett is playing too good to keep him on the bench. I hope he just rides the hot hand for awhile and see what happens. Heaven help me if he continues to straight platoon.

Francisco Rodriguez - You know this is a lowlight because it is the reason why the Brewers lost on Wednesday night as Frankie gave up four straight hits leading to three Pirates runs. But it is a good thing. Rodriguez isn't going to be perfect all year. I would much rather have him 'blow up' in a tied game versus him blowing a three-run save or something dumb like that. He did fine on Thursday afternoon and hopefully, it will continue this weekend.

Andrew McCutchen - I don't really call the best players on teams, Known Brewer Killers, unless it is Troy Tulowitzki whose the president of the club. But McCutchen usually does some serious damage against the Brewers. But he went 1 for 12 with only one run scored. It is apparent McCutchen is bothered a bit from his foot injury he sustained on Saturday. I don't think for one season the Brewers figured out McCutchen or something dumb like that. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up on the Disabled List or takes some time off this weekend.

Spotty Brewers offense - Even though they won two of three against the Pirates, it doesn't mean their offense didn't look like complete shit at times. They only scored one run on Wednesday night and nine out of eleven batters before Weeks's single in the eighth inning struck out. Carlos Gomez not being in the offense might be hurting this team more than the Braun injury. The jury is still out on that one, and who knows how long they will be without Gomez yet let me tell you, it isn't that fun.

Charlie.

Highlights-Lowlights: Yankees-Brewers (5/9-5/11)

This is SnoTap's version of recap of the two, three or four game series Milwaukee Brewers will play this season. We focus on the positives and negatives with topics about the game and topics that were nowhere near close to part of the game.

Highlights
Rickie Weeks - On Saturday night, Rickie Weeks got his chance to start after having five straight pinch hits.
He made the most of two starts this weekend as Weeks went five for nine driving in three runs. Weeks looked absolutely great out there.  The thing about Weeks and this has been true throughout his career, 'When Rickie is right, he is really right.' If I am Milwaukee, I would ride the hell out of his hot streak and see what happens from there. I will have more today about Weeks turning down the chance to play left field.

Mark Reynolds - Nobody really talked about this subplot this weekend, but Reynolds played with a chip on his shoulder this weekend. He played for 36 games for the Yankees last season and struggled mightily for them. Reynolds showed off some great leather at both first and third, sent a homer flying on Friday night and oh by the way, he had a walk off to send Milwaukee home on a late Sunday afternoon. Reynolds' offense has been so valued from this team with all the injuries they have dealt with for the first 40 days of the season.

Jonathan Lucroy - Big weekend for the Brewers catcher as he drove in a run in every game this weekend including his second home run of the year on Saturday. He came up with a big hit on Sunday afternoon with the team in need of a hit as runners were on first and second and the Brewers were stranding base runners left and right. Lucroy is another guy that if he gets warm, look out. We haven't seen red hot Lucroy where he is hitting the ball out of the park consistently and having extra bases all over the place. If he gets warm, it could be added value.

Masahiro Tanaka - I am very happy he will be playing in the American League East this season, and the only other time Milwaukee could see Tanaka would be the World Series. He is the real deal and going to make a push at Cy Young. Tanaka's control is incredible and seems like he could be an ace for this Yankees team in the not-so-distant future.

Will Smith - Currently, the Brewers seem to have revolving door at who is the true set-up man of this team. Right now, the spotlight is on Smith. He pitched in the two wins when Milwaukee was ahead in the eighth inning. Both games Smith utilized his nasty slider to strikeout three batters in two innings. Smith's ERA is currently at 0.45 which is phenomenal for the Brewers left-hander. Smith should never be a left-handed specialist for this team.

Lowlights
Khris Davis - What the hell is going on where with Khris at home? My dad would make the assumption Khris is probably partying too much at home leading him to only hit .100 at the friendly confines of Miller Park. I myself cannot explain it. We have seen it in the past where the Brewers use a home and away platoon. When the Brewers get back to full strength meaning Ryan Braun is healthy and Carlos Gomez isn't suspended, Logan Schafer deserves to get some looks in left field.

Aramis Ramirez's hamstring - Old age is a bitch. Ramirez made what looked like a routine play and heard a pop in his hammy meaning he will likely be headed to the Disabled List. Ramirez had two hits on Saturday with a home run before hurting himself. We will see what happens with his season from here. Hopefully, this is a 15 day thing, but it could be longer, you never really know with hamstrings.

Yovani Gallardo's Fourth Inning - Almost all of the action in Yovani's stat line happened in one inning. He allowed all four runs in the fourth including a three-run homer by Yangrevis Solarte. He gave up four of the five hits given up also in the fourth. Gallardo didn't pitch that well, but curious to see what happens if he doesn't give up the homer.

Matt Garza's First Inning - Another start where Garza looks like complete shit in the first inning and then settles down. This leads me to believe Garza is trying too hard in the beginning of the game. Remember the comments were Garza believes 'he is letting the team down right now.' He could be overthrowing early on then realizes he needs to relax. Hopefully, Garza will find a way to figure out his first inning issues soon because it is a slight concern. Starting 3-0 in the first doesn't really work this well.

Francisco Rodriguez's streak ending - Just bummed to see it leave. Hopefully, Frankie bounces back alright when he faces Pittsburgh or the next team he will face.

Charlie.

Brewers Amazing April Leads to Higher Expectations

When Opening Day began with Milwaukee Brewers playing Atlanta Braves, there was a bit optimism. No one saw this team winning the National League Central Division title, but if things were to break in the right direction, Milwaukee could be a Wild Card contender. Flash forward to May 1st.  Milwaukee is 21-7 having their best April ever and national media members are writing columns daily about the Brewers being for real with aspirations of World Series. Is this real life?

Apparently, it is very real. Milwaukee is one of the best teams in baseball.  Sure, there are some fluky things about what's going on right now, but they are doing it with everyone on the roster. The fact Milwaukee won two games in St. Louis without Ryan Braun and Jean Segura plus missed Aramis Ramirez and Jonathan Lucroy for one of the games is incredible. Like it or not, expectations have changed for the remainder of the season. This means those expectations need to be managed, but at the same time, there is nothing wrong with being excited with the start of the season.

Milwaukee played out of their mind in all facets of the game. They are hitting the baseball with the likes of Carlos Gomez, Ryan Braun sans injury and Aramis Ramirez all off to fast starts. Other than Matt Garza, four of the starters have been completely golden including Wily Peralta starting to turn the corner, maybe (Look, he lost against Chicago on Sunday but he settled down after a bad second inning which is something Peralta wouldn't have done last season.) And the best part about this team, the bullpen. Francisco Rodriguez was the most valuable player for the month of April - a squad notoriously known for having shitty Aprils with their closers. Tyler Thornburg, Will Smith and ZACH DUKE of all people have been great out of the bullpen. The fact of the matter is not many players are struggling so regression is bound to happen at some point soon.

But let's ignore that for a second, one of the other cool things about the Brewers so far is the team chemistry is there like it was in 2011. They had the 'Happy' video, selfies after a win, Wei-Chung Wang Wednesdays, etc. Sure, the reason they do these things is to get more of a social media presence around the league, but it doesn't seem like bullshit. Some of this stuff seems forced, but this all appears to be fun and in good nature. These guys look like they are having legitimate fun on and off the field which is a great sight to see and it does seem like things are a bit looser in the clubhouse. I know nothing, but it seemed like Milwaukee tightened up after 'Beast Mode' and all the things 2011 brought although they let Gomez bat flip whenever he damn pleased last season so who the hell knows. My point is there is a unity there that was missing the last two season.

Let's talk about the gorilla in the room. Regression will happen at some point. When exactly? I don't know. That's the scary thing. If everyone regresses at the same time, a losing streak is probably going to happen. This is not going to be an easy season because the bar is at an unreal high level right now, and doubters will jump on the phone lines when Milwaukee gets swept for the first time in a series. The fact of the matter is Milwaukee needs to have a completely inverse month for things to get really ugly. If that were to happen, let it be May or June so things don't come crashing down late. But this team has the poise to keep a level head and stay grounded to battle through all the trouble that will eventually come to them.

When you hear people talk about this team's 'eventual demise', remind them, Milwaukee only needs to be six games over .500 for the rest of the season to win 91 games. That will likely be a playoff spot whether it is another division title or a Wild Card spot. But this team has bigger and brighter dreams. They want a World Series ring. No one but the players on the rosters believed it could happen in March and now everyone believes.

 Summer is so much better when the Brewers are playing competitive baseball. It's an added element to Milwaukee's summers. I have a feeling it will be a damn good one.

Charlie.

Brewers-Cardinals Preview (4/28-4/30)

Brewers previews to get you ready for the series where we have five things to watch, pitching matchups and prediction. We add a YouTube video in the mix, it could be really anything.   

Pitching Matchups & TV Time
Monday:      Yovani Gallaro (2-0 1.42) vs. Michael Wacha (2-2 2.10)  7:15 pm FSNWI
Tuesday:      Kyle Lohse (4-1 2.38) vs. Lance Lynn (4-1 3.30)             7:15 pm FSNWI
Wednesday: Matt Garza (1-2 4.09 vs. Shelby Miller (2-2 2.86)          12:45 pm FSNWI

Five Things To Watch
1. No Braun? No Segura, how ugly could it get? - There will probably be no Ryan Braun for three-game series, Jean Segura is missing tonight at least so it could get pretty nasty for the Crew. They struggled mightily without Segura and Braun yesterday with Jason Hammel, and it could get even worse with the three strong young starters from St. Louis. Although you never know with baseball meaning this could be a big week for Jonathan Lucroy if you do play fantasy baseball getting more chances or even grabbing Jeff Bianchi if you are desperate as he will see more plate appearances.

2. Shhh but St. Louis has zero offense right now - Besides the 7-0 blowout of Pittsburgh yesterday afternoon and an 8-0 drubbing of Washington last week, the Cardinals have 15 runs in nine games.  That's not great. Their offense is scuffling to say the least, and even despite their success against Milwaukee throughout the years, it is not like their offense is humming right now. It is weird too because four of the big hitters on St. Louis' team are hitting the ball reasonably well, but none of their secondary players are contributing right now.

3. Yovani's stale Busch success - In the last three years, Yovani has been abysmal against St. Louis and even more terrible when pitching at Busch Stadium. He allowed 42 runs in 53 games yielding an ERA of a little over seven. He has given up 15 home runs against St. Louis which is the most against any team in that same three-year span. Yovani battled a demon already in Boston, and he will attempt to do it again at Busch tonight with this one being a bigger demon. The first time through the order will be the big thing. If Yovani goes scoreless through the first two or three innings, he could be on his way to exorcising this one. If he did, that would be HUGE moving forward with this team.

4. Expecting the blown save - This sounds horrible, but I am waiting for Francisco Rodriguez to blow a save. I am not ready to live in a world where he blows only one or two saves. I mean it could happen as J.P. said in Angles In the Outfield, but at some time, it would have to come to the end. This would be a brutal series to blow a save because honestly, the expectation is maybe one win for the Brewers so if Frankie blows one or two this week, it would be a huge disappointment.

5. Lance Lynn and Shelby Miller, the Sequel - OH NOT THESE GUYS AGAIN. Both Lynn and Miller were awesome against the Brewers at Miller Park, and now they return to face the same order sans Braun and Segura at Busch Stadium. In two starts after his Brewers start, Lynn has only allowed three runs in 12 innings. As for Miller, he hasn't allowed a run since giving up a home run to Aramis Ramirez so this will probably end well for the Brewers.

Appropriate YouTube Video


Let's go with Dumb and Dumber. I feel terrible about this series, worse than I did against Boston so this works. Let's try to win one here, boys.

Prediction 
I am expecting a sweep. I told a guy at the bar on Saturday night if the Brewers lose all three of them adding the loss on Sunday, they are still eight games above .500 and still have a 1.5 game lead on St. Louis. Also this great note from J.P. Breen

In 2011, the #Brewers did not finish above .500 against the #Cardinals, yet the team won 96 games and won the NL Central crown.
— J.P. Breen (@JP_Breen) April 28, 2014

Charlie.

Highlights-Lowlights: Brewers-Cubs (4/25-4/27)

This is SnoTap's version of recap of the two, three or four game series Milwaukee Brewers will play this season. We focus on the positives and negatives with topics about the game and topics that were nowhere near close to part of the game. 

Highlights
Matt Garza - There is something about facing your former team, or I would like to think it has to be sort of cool about it. Garza had been struggling in the last couple starts, and he put together for a strong seven innings start notching his first win as a Milwaukee Brewer. Garza allowed only four hits and striking out seven batters only walking one batter. Garza had all of his pitches working confusing and befuddling Cubs batters. Hopefully, this is the start of strong performances for Garza. If Garza gets hot, it will only continue for Milwaukee's impressive start with their starting pitching.

Francisco Rodriguez - Once again, Frankie had a big weekend with two saves on Friday and Saturday. K-Rod has eleven straight saves in April setting the record for consecutive saves for the month of April. Rodriguez's month has been one of the best in baseball only allowing four hits in 13 appearances and walking three batters over eleven games. He also has struck out 19 batters. Rodriguez known for '30 Pitchers of Terror' in the first two terms with Milwaukee, but right now, Rodriguez is averaging 14.8 pitches per appearances. At some point, you have to expect some struggle, but right now, it's Frankie's world and we are just living it in.

Marco Estrada - Even though he gave up a home run in the eighth inning, Estrada has another strong outing for the Brewers. He went seven-plus innings giving up only allowing four hits, two of which happened to be home runs, something that happens to Estrada given the way he pitches the baseball. It is encouraging to see Estrada succeed at Miller Park. He struggled mightily last year inside The Keg, and it is good to see him bounce back in a major way in the first month of the season.

Jeff Bianchi - The unsung hero of Saturday night's game against Chicago. Jean Segura suffered a bat to the face by Ryan Braun leading him to leave the game, and Bianchi stepped in delivering two hits including a big two-run single helping the Brewers to break open the game against the Cubs. Bianchi continues to be a solid and reliable option for Milwaukee off the bench.

Lyle Overbay - OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO chants were reigning down on Miller Park on Friday as Overbay blasted his first home run of the season. He added another hit in the game as well as had one in Sunday's loss giving him three hits in eight at-bats this weekend. Overbay's average is up to .273 on the season which is a massive improvement from how he started off the year. I would assume the platoon goes back to being more stringent with the success of Overbay lately and Mark Reynolds scuffling a bit at the dish.

Carlos Gomez's 'Aww' moment - If you missed it on Sunday, Carlos Gomez made a girl's day by signing her bobblehead box then giving her hug. Love to see those kind of moments.



Lowlights
Ryan Braun's Intercostal Strain - It's been a real up and down month for Braun as he has belted six home runs yet still bothered a bit by the thumb issue that plagued him last season, he is dealing with a intercostal strain which will keep him out three to five days. He could possibly pinch hit against St. Louis on Wednesday, but I doubt we see Braun until the weekend. If he needs to hit the Disabled List to recover, it's not the worst thing in the world to get him back 100 percent especially this early in the season.

Jean Segura's face -Milwaukee got very lucky when Braun's bat met Segura's mouth. He only needed stitches with the jaw not being broken or Segura suffering a concussion. He will be day-to-day with a chance he could play tonight against the Cardinals. Good to see he did not suffer too serious of an injury.

Saturday night brawl - Friends of the program went to Saturday's night game and saw this taking place in the 400 level of Miller Park. Apparently, it went on for five good minutes with beer being thrown in the stands. Brewers-Cubs have a rivalry, but it doesn't usually get to this point. Hopefully, it was just a rowdy Saturday night and this doesn't become a usual occurrence.



Aramis Ramirez - Did somebody tell him it's April?  He did have two sacrifice flys knocking in two runs, but he also did not register a single hit this weekend. Something to keep an eye in the coming week will be if Rami's struggles at the plate continue.

Charlie.

Charlie.