Highlights-Lowlights: Reds-Brewers

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
Wily Peralta - The young Brewers pitcher continue to dazzle in the last couple outings. He pitched great against Cincinnati going seven innings strong with three hits allowed, one run earned and five strikeouts. Peralta seemed in full control all game long with great command and did not face many problems all game long. In the last two starts, Peralta pitched 15 innings only allowed six hits and striking out 10 batters. The last part is key, it seems like Wily is pitching more to contact than anything else which is important.

Ryan Braun - I wanted to write a longer blog post about Braun, and I might do it on Friday regardless of how he plays against New York. Braun seems fully healthy for the first time all season. He had another great series against Cincinnati. Braun went 5 for 12 in the series driving in five runs with a home run as well. He is in complete control of his swing whether it be pulling the ball or taking to the opposite field.

Zach Duke - When Milwaukee signed Zach Duke in the offseason, I didn't think much of it. Personally, I thought Duke wouldn't be on the roster by this time, or I would hate him like I did Mike Gonzalez. Duke is the best left-hander in baseball in terms of ERA. He struck out the side in the eighth inning of Tuesday night's game. Duke also came in to get out Billy Hamilton in the seventh inning with two outs and a runner on second.  He is one of the MVP's of the Milwaukee team thus far.

Mark Reynolds - Honestly, I had no idea if Mark Reynolds still existed with this Brewers team. He went radio silent for two months of the season then came through in a major way on Wednesday afternoon. Reynolds hit two home runs pushing the Brewers ahead by two runs and then added a solo shot in the eighth putting Milwaukee up by four runs and ensuring Francisco Rodriguez didn't have pitch for a third straight game. Hopefully, this is one of Reynolds' hot streak for the next couple of weeks.

Jean Segura - For the first time in a long time, Segura made an impact in a baseball game on the offensive side of the game. Segura had two hits on Monday night, one being a triple where he ended up scoring on a bad throw by the Reds defense, and he ignited the inning in the fourth scoring on Carlos Gomez's ground-rule double.

Lowlights
Instant Replay - If Major League Baseball is going to have instant replay, they need to use it right. Zach Cosart attempted to bunt the baseball to move the runners over, but the ball hit the bat plus his hand to go with it. The umpiring crew thought Cosart was hit by a pitch when in reality, it was a foul ball. Umpires felt sorry for Cosart because he had an injury. Simple as that. MLB needs to call it like they see it instead of trying to aid the player because he got hurt on the play. It doesn't mean shit, he still swung at the baseball.

Roenicke's not pulling Jimmy Nelson - With having a sweep, there is not much to complain about truthfully, but the manager of the Brewers had a couple mistakes this week with the pitching staff. Roenicke is damn lucky Jimmy Nelson did not get roughed up in the seventh when he gave up two straight singles then 'hit' two batters allowing a run in. Nelson still pitched great, but he could have really had a start spoiled in the seventh with Roenicke leaving him in too long.

Duke's one-pitch outing - This is another move by Roenicke that I failed to understand on Wednesday afternoon. Duke had only 13 pitches the night before and Hamilton swung at the first pitch. Duke could have easily stayed out for another inning saving Will Smith whose already pitching way too much for a day. Roenicke's logic on Wednesday afternoon baffled me. There is no reason Duke should have came out of the game.

Knowing these aren't the real Reds - I really hate to be a cynic. I really do, but we all know this isn't the Cincinnati team that owned Milwaukee for the first couple months of the season. They are without Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto plus missing some other pieces as well. Still, it is nice to build some momentum as well as a two and a half game lead in the National League Central.

Charlie.

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.

Phillies-Brewers: Everything Sucks.

It is really hard to have a blog post about highlights and lowlights when the team you do it for loses all four games against a last place. Simply, it cannot happen. This isn't a state of the Brewers blog, rather, trying to figure out what's going wrong and how it can be fixed. It should be known that baseball happens like this sometimes where it is terribly weird and things go terribly wrong. Milwaukee Brewers have lost nine of 10 games, only one win since June 28th and somehow things are still alright.

There are problems all over the place with Milwaukee right now. Where would you like me to start? Offense seems to be a main concern with everyone right now so let's start there. Carlos Gomez has been a shell of himself in recent weeks.  It seems like he reverted back to some of his old ways with more swings and misses than in the early stages of the season as Alec Dopp of Gammons Daily pointed out a couple days ago.  Ryan Braun's bad back isn't helping things either. He missed two games in the series plus batted fifth yesterday although still added a hit. Jean Segura's struggles where he is now batting .232 is a true life concern. That's a panic button for me. It could be a sophomore slump, but something needs to change at the plate for him.

Milwaukee is a weird one too when it comes to hitting because they have come up with hits in some of these games during the losing streak, just not timely ones. Rickie Weeks deep fly ball on Monday or Scooter rope right at a left fielder on Tuesday come to mind. Only the last two days where the Brewers had a combined seven hits are days really feeling like Milwaukee has zero offense whatsoever.  I keep thinking back to Tuesday. They had a four-run lead early with a Lyle Overbay grand slam. If they hold that lead and break the streak, does Milwaukee win one or two of these games?  Who really knows because the pitching failed them in that game.

Pitching is still an issue for this team. Some of it has been good like Matt Garza. He pitched great in his two starts in the month of July continuing on with a strong June. Wily Peralta is dealing with some issues right now giving up four or more runs in the last three starts with him blowing up on Tuesday night with a nine-run debacle. One could argue teams have gotten a better book on Peralta, and he needs to make some changes to what's he is doing out there. The other could say he pitched in two hitter friendly ballparks for only the first and second time and shit happens like the Philly start. It's a mix of both in my opinion. One of the major problems right now is giving up early inning runs. In the last four of five games, Milwaukee gave up at least one run in the first inning. Brewers are putting themselves behind far too often early.

It is not just starting pitching either. Will Smith has been a major problem. He could worn out from making 50 appearances already this season. If I had it my way, Smith isn't playing in the series against St. Louis.  He needs a week off. Ron Roenicke wanted to use him carefully, but it seems like the bullpen management from him has been shortsighted. At some point, Smith will be fine because all relievers go through shitty stretches like this unless they have unreal seasons. Brandon Kintzler hasn't been great, and only Rob Wooten seems like a sure thing at this point. All July has done is making it a priority for Milwaukee to make a deal for a reliever. They need one badly. If they could get a closer to basically do what they did in 2011, it would be vital to their success. Huston Street or Koji Uehara sounds awesome in a Brewers uniform.

The crazy thing about all of this struggle is Milwaukee still has the best record in the National League. They have lost nine of the last 10 and still have the top dog position. Brewers have brought St. Louis, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh back into the fold as all three teams are four or less games back from the National League Central division. It is completely wide open. No one expected this to be easy and if someone did, they should really start watching more baseball. With St. Louis coming to town this weekend, Milwaukee could win two of three games and have a three-game lead heading into the All-Star Break. Any Brewers fan or player would have taken that in the month of March. Honestly, it feels right St. Louis and Milwaukee are tied at the All-Star Break. Brewers played a bit over their head in parts of June. It is hard to see the Brewers running away with this division.

The last weekend before the All-Star with Milwaukee holding a .500 record at home. This is a time to strike for them to gain back a little what's been lost in this already terrible month.

Charlie.

Highlights-Lowlights: Brewers-Blue Jays (7/1-7/2)

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 - The mild hot streak for Braun continued north of the border. Braun came through with two strong games with driving in the only run on Tuesday with a 2-out RBI double, and then Wednesday, he delivered again with a two-run triple. If Braun's tear continues this weekend, he could be back to .300 for the first time since June 11th.

Zach Duke - Two really good appearances from him. On Wednesday, he inherited a jam with two runners on with no out in the seventh innings in a tied game, and Duke got completely out of it. He forced a double play on a weak bunt attempt and struck out Dionner Navarro to end the inning. He also pitched a scoreless frame on Tuesday afternoon with another solid outing.

Marco Estrada - Yes, he did take a loss in the game against the Jays and inevitably, he gave up two home runs yet they were both solo shots. Estrada looked good again in his second straight start, and this isn't an easy lineup to deal with no matter whose the pitcher. Estrada obviously responded to the pressure when everyone called for his head. He just didn't get the run support.

Edwin Encarnacion - It is hard not to be impressed with the Blue Jays third baseman. I wrote about the Jays earlier this season. I think he will be a bonafide MVP candidate at the end of the season, and he hurt the Brewers dearly on Wednesday as Encarnacion took Brandon Kintzler deep in the ninth for a three-run walk off home run.

Jose Bautista - Oh Joey Bats is hurt? Oh he is?  Someone didn't tell Jose 'Don't call me bah-tista' Bautista. He mashed two first inning home runs in Milwaukee short trip to Milwaukee. I am happy this lineup is nowhere near the National League.  

Lowlights
Brandon Kintzler - Uhhhh.... We need to talk a little bit about Brandon. He isn't the same pitcher he was last season. It appears there is something missing from his game right now. Who knows the status of Jim Henderson, but if he could come back, it would be ideal for this team. Kintzler cannot handle big game situations like last night. The bright lights seem to get him. Kintzler's ERA has almost went a full run in under two weeks.

Jean Segura - Bad times for Seggy at the plate. It seemed like he was fixed earlier this season, but Segura struggled mightily in the past five days. In those games, Segura only has one hit in his last 15 at-bats. This dropped his average to .239, the lowest its been since April 29th. For the month of June, Segura only hit .196. Who knows what the issues are at the plate, but it is evident he is dealing with the sophomore slump.

Wily Peralta - Not a great outing from Peralta. Milwaukee gave him the lead twice, and twice, he gave up home runs. In the first, Bautisita sent a big fly out and then after the Brewers gave him a three-run advantage, Peralta gave up a two-run homer in the fourth from former Brewer Juan Francisco. This one is on Peralta. Sure, the offense probably needs more than four runs to beat the Jays, but that's all they needed last team if Peralta was strong.

Rob Wooten - Someone enjoyed Outkast a little too much on Sunday. I only jest with Wooten whom attended the concert. He hurt the lifeless Brewers chances on Tuesday as they were only down a run before Wooten gave up two runs in the eighth. For whatever it's worth, Wooten had five straight scoreless appearances after his five-run meltdown against Cincinnati before Tuesday happened,.

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.

Brewers-Diamondbacks Preview (6/16-6/20)

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 

Monday: Wily Peralta (6-5 2.90) vs. Brandon McCarthy (1-9 5.29) 8:40 pm FSNWI

Tuesday: Kyle Lohse (7-2 3.00) vs. Wade Miley (3-6 4.71) 8:40 pm FSNWI

Wednesday: Matt Garza (4-4 4.17) vs. Chase Anderson (5-1 3.21) 8:40 pm FSNWI 

Thursday: Yovani Gallardo (4-4 3.51) vs. Josh Collmenter (4-4 4.05) 2:40 pm FSNWI

Five Things To Watch 

1.) Milwaukee's Payback for Arizona - It might not mean much to Milwaukee, but Arizona took two of three from Milwaukee in early May. You would think the Brewers want to excert a little revenge especially since not a lot of teams have done well against Milwaukee this season. Three out of the four pitchers faced this week did not pitch in the last series. They need to avoid known Brewers killers, Aaron Hill and Paul Goldschmidt if they want to have a good series. 

2.) Scooter's lead-off success to continue? - As we noted this morning in highlights/lowlights, Scooter Gennett is excelling in the leadoff role. He had multiple hits in all three games against Cincinnati this weekend plus he played well in the series against New York. Scooter setting the table for the big bats in the order is crucial, and it is nice to see a guy step up while Jean Segura is currently struggling on the offensive end.  

3.) Handling Josh Collmenter - One of the biggest Brewers killer of recent memory. Milwaukee cannot seem to unlock the code against him. I don't know if it is the delivery or the fact he throws the ball very slowly compared to other pitchers, who knows really. For reference, Milwaukee batters only have eleven hits off him with no home runs and only two doubles. I don't know if this will be the time they break Collmenter but it would be ideal. 

4.) Waitin' on Ryan - Currently, Ryan Braun is in a slump, and he has been struggling at the dish. For the month of June, Braun has been pretty bad with only .183 average with only eleven hits. Chase Field is a hitters friendly ballpark meaning it could be the breakout series Braun needs to get him his jump started for the month. 

5.) My love for West Coast baseball - Simply put, I am a night owl. I usually stay up until 1:30 or 2 AM regularly so the west coast baseball is a nice treat every once in awhile because I get to watch baseball into the night. It also helps when there are no other sports on anymore at night.  

Appropriate YouTube Video 


Sorry this went up late. I got caught up in the World Cup.

Prediction
Split would be ideal. 

Highlights-Lowlights: Brewers-Mets (6/10-6/12)

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
Jonathan Lucroy - Is this guy real life right now? Johnny Luc had another big series to cap off a fantastic eight-game road trip. He hit a two-run homer on Thursday night to break a 1-1 tie in the 13th inning as well added a run in on Tuesday night. Lucroy is currently hitting .336, but he had his average at .341 yesterday. No matter what happens with the All-Star game, Lucroy needs to be under consideration for the National League MVP right now. He is near the top of every offensive category other than home runs, but others have shown us in this era, home runs don't really matter in an MVP conversation. Lucroy handled this pitching staff perfectly and done a great job offensively.

Aramis Ramirez- Quietly, Aramis has came back pretty nicely for this Brewers team. He broke their home run drought comparable to my experiences on Tinder on Thursday night with a second-inning homer plus he added two more hits last night. In the first eight games back, Ramirez has six hits along with two home runs moving his average up to .261. I don't know if Ramirez will get warm here, but if he does, watch out. He's been known to just obliterate the baseball for a couple weeks.

Carlos Gomez - Does anyone know Gomez is on a 10 game hitting streak? Maybe, I am just a Luddite and missed this whole thing yet Gomey is playing pretty prettay well. He had hit in every game of the road trip. Gomez had multiple hits in three of these games including back-to-back games with runs driven in on Monday and Tuesday. He is in the starters group for the All-Star Game and he deserves it. The last time Gomez had an average under .300 was May 21st. Oddly enough, the last time he wasn't hitting in the cleanup position.

Wily Peralta - Milwaukee's manager Ron Roenicke asked Peralta to pitch more to contact and not try to strike out everybody in attempt to avoid his pitch count rising up. He did that on Wednesday night only striking out three batters. Peralta only allowed four hits through six and third inning with only one run allowed. Even though it was only three runs, Peralta actually had some run support to work with this game instead of Milwaukee putting up only one or two runs.

Brandon Kintzler - Is it really a highlight even when you have 40 pitches in two innings with four walks? I am going with yes because no runs were allowed in those two innings. Kintzler bridged the gap in two big innings, and he found a way to get it done. Sure, they were two Claudio Vargas-like innings and he got a favorable strike three at the very end, but still, a needed performance. Hopefully, he will figure out a bit because Kintzler will not always get this lucky all the time.

Lowlights
Ryan Braun - He does have hits and a run scored in the last two games, but Braun has seen his average dip to .294. It is a little flawed because he went one for seven last night in a 13 inning game. The more alarming thing is the amount of strikeouts. Braun has struck out at least once in the last six games and struck out three times last night. It could be the stadiums, and Braun needs some Miller Park love then heading to two hitter-friendly ballparks after it.

Marco Estrada - Another bad start for Marco as his home run and walk totals continue to rise at troublesome rates. Estrada gave up six runs on Tuesday night including a grand slam to Taylor Teagarden. We can argue all day if Ron Roenicke left him too long, but the fact remains Estrada cannot be giving up home runs to guys like that plus having all four walks score is never a good thing. The drum for Jimmy Nelson or Mike Fiers will continue to get louder.

Jean Segura - He is playing some great defense right now, and he did drive in a run on Wednesday night yet Segura is still struggling at the plate. In the last seven days, Segura is hitting .154 with only four hits in 26 at-bats. Granted, he added two of those last night, but hopefully, he will break out of his slump soon. I am curious to see where his spot in the order will be at the end of the day. It seems like like eighth or seventh when it is all said and done.

RISP problems - Once again, this has been a problem for the Brewers. On Tuesday night, they started to mount a comeback with runners on second and third with one out before both Aramis Ramirez and Khris Davis struck out. They would do the exact same thing on Wednesday night in the first inning. Too many men are getting left on-base right now. It is hard to complain with wins in four of the last five games, but still, Milwaukee needs to be a little more productive when runners are on third or second.

Charlie.

Brewers-Mets Preview (6/10-6/12)

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
Tuesday: Marco Estrada (5-2 4.19) vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka (2-0 3.21) 6:10 pm FSNWI
Wednesday: Wily Peralta (5-5 3.03) vs. Jacob deGrom (0-2 3.19) 6:10 pm FSNWI
Thursday: Kyle Lohse (7-2 3.27) vs. Jonathon Niese (3-3 2.68) 6:10 pm FSNWI

Five Things To Watch
1.) Catching New York at the right time? - All the sudden, the bottom has sort of fallen out of the Mets season. They were hovering around the .500 mark after taking three of four from Philadelphia, but then they were swept by both Chicago and San Francisco resulting in a disappointing end to their road trip. Although, none of their losses have been blowouts by any means. Five out of the six games, New York lost by two or less runs with the only one being a three-run defeat. While New York is losing games, they could have easily won three or four of them becoming one of the warmer teams in baseball. Milwaukee shouldn't take them lightly despite the six-game losing streak

2.) Patience Brewers fans, late-game winners could be possible - These could be three really frustrating games for everyone involved in watching the Brewers. New York has the starting pitching to make them a a competitive team, but they have one of the worst, if not the worst bullpen in all of baseball. New York has only converted 56 percent of their save opportunities this season. That's barely half! This explains all of the close losses this season, and as someone whom watched Milwaukee's 2012 bullpen puke all over their shoes consistently, I can relate with Mets fans on this one. It is literally one of the worst things to watch as a fan. If New York finds an offensive breakout which is about as probable as me hitting it off with a supermodel,  all hope is not lost with the Mets bad bullpen. Brewers will get a chance to comeback if they do trail in a game this week.

3.) Ideal situation for Marco Estrada? - The last month has not been kind to Marco Estrada. On April 26th, Estrada had an ERA of 2.87 and now it is sitting around 4.19 with the Brewers starter giving up 16 runs in his last four starts. He needs a good start. Enter in the New York offense which has been anemic all season plus Citi Field is as big of a pitcher's park as we get in baseball. This seems like the door opening for Estrada to have a big start and start trending back down with his earned run average. Curious to see how he handles the pressure of Michael Fiers being up in the big leagues because we all know what the story will be tonight if Estrada struggles again.

4.) New York media and Ryan Braun - We have talked about a little bit on the podcast, but not really in the blogs yet how the media has been generally quiet on Ryan Braun. Although with the New York media involved this week, you have to figure Braun will see some attention. I don't know if we will get a scathing editorial or a good story on Braun yet I am curious to see if he is a part of the media's plan this week. My assumption would be unless he does something big in a game this week, it will probably be pretty tame. With New York Yankees being in Seattle this week, all of the New York media's focus can be on Braun taking on the Mets. I assume he will get some boos as well which we all know Braun uses as fuel to mash home runs.

5.) Can Milwaukee build a winning streak? - Brewers have a chance to go 13 games over .500 at some point in this series, and that would be their best record since their 20-7 mark at the end of April. They finally won two straight after alternating wins since last Tuesday. It is not a bad thing per say rather just annoying to toy with my emotions trying to decide whether this team is warming up or not. Honestly though, one more win and the team secures a .500 road trip which all you can ask for.

Appropriate YouTube video


KFC from Barstool Sports is one of the biggest Mets fans out there. He would be a good Twitter follow this week and for other purposes too, he also has a great podcast network. Here's a sample.

Prediction 
Brewers take two of three meaning the Mets break their streak at some time. Niese or deGroom will make the Brewers bats go silent, most likely deGroom.

Charlie.

Highlights-Lowlights: Cubs-Brewers

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 - I told ya. I thought Braun would have a big series, and he did exactly that with two big
performances on Friday and Sunday night. He hit two home runs so we can retire the whole thing about 'Braun cannot hit homers at home' which I don't think really was a thing but I got sick of everyone talking about it. Braun also drove in another run on Friday night plus he scored four times as well in those games. Braun tends to go on these tears for about a week or so meaning it should be a real fun time for Minnesota this upcoming week.

Kyle Lohse - What a game for Lohse needing a little bit of a bounce-back after his Memorial Day start. He finished the game with a three-hit shutout striking out six batters for his seventh win of the season. He messed around and picked up a Maddux as well. He finished the game with 93 pitches. An extremely efficient outing for Lohse on the mound whom seemed in full control. Lohse also did some damage with his bat driving in two runs. He apparently jokes about what a bad hitter he was, but he had Brewers fans fooled on Sunday afternoon. Lohse is pitching better than anyone on this team. Pretty good for a guy some fans believed to be the next Jeff Suppan.

Khris Davis - Sure, his hitting streak ended today at 10 games, but Davis had another big series. He added a hit on Saturday, but the headlines stem from his Friday night performance. Davis had two hits, both doubles and scored on both hits as well making for a very productive day at the plate. Who knows if Davis will hit as high as five again this season, but he seemed very comfortable at there. It is nice to see he can hit at any spot of the order.

Jason Hammel - It is time to annoint Jason Hammel with the Known Brewer Killer crown. He dominated the Crew for the second straight appearance at Miller Park. He did not give up a run once again and remained in control for most of the game. Hammel did not walk one batter, he struck out eight and only gave up four hits. It appears like Hammel will be dealt at some point this season, and Chicago should definitely consider it because he has been one of the brightest spots for the Cubs this season. He will garner some value.

Wei-Chung Wang - I need to give credit where credit is due, and Wang did pretty well in his two appearances this weekend. He pitched well on Friday night not allowing a run and only one hit given up. On Saturday, he did allow a run in his second inning of work, but that was sort of  Braun's fault as he attempted to dive for a ball yet he missed it. It does appear Wang feels comfortable on the home mound which is a good thing, and hopefully, he will start figuring out more stuff becoming an actual option out of the Brewers bullpen.

Scooter Gennett - He deserves this honor for his Sunday performance. Gennett added a home run and two doubles scoring all three times he reached base. Even though everyone else struggled against Hammel, Gennett found some success getting two of the four hits the Cubs hurler gave up on Saturday. Scooter has moved his average up to .281, the highest its been since May 14th against Pittsburgh. If he gets warm, it will only add to the potent Brewers offense.

Lowlights
Cubs accuse Brewers of 'stealing signs' - Oh so this is back? Cubs after Sunday's ass-kicking accused the Brewers of possibly taking some of their signs. This is flat out stupid. This is sour grapes from a team whose ace got dominated for the first time of the season. Guess what? Even the best pitchers have bad starts every now and again, and that's what happened with Jeff Samardzija on Sunday afternoon. The most ridiculous thing about the sign-stealing stuff is how bad the Brewers lost on Saturday. If they were taking signs, you think they would have swept the series, right?

Wily Peralta - Things really got out of hand quickly for the Brewers righty with his first real bad start of the season. He gave up two home runs to Anthony Rizzo and his whole sixth inning went to complete shit with Peralta giving up six runs on only five hits. Peralta did not have his best stuff out there, and the Cubs took advantage of it especially Rizzo. I don't think this is the regression truck coming around rather just an abberation in the game logs. Wily should be just fine for the next start against Minnesota.

Tyler Thornburg - Fair to be a little concerned with him as of late? Thornburg gave up two runs in the ninth on Friday night, and granted, they were meaningless, still Thornburg is having an issue serving up runs. In three of the last four appearances, Thornburg has allowed at least one run.  It is clear he needs to fine tune some of his skills because it appears the opposing teams have a good book on him finally after not being able to figure him out in the bulpen.

Mark Reynolds - Not a good weekend for him. He had five strikeouts this weekend including three at the plate on Friday night. Reynolds didn't really seem comfortable at the plate all weekend. Reynolds' average has dipped to .205.  Good thing, there are other Brewers to pick up the slack where he can be placed lower in the order.

Charlie.

Highlights-Lowlights: Brewers-Braves (5/19-5/22)

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
Kyle Lohse - Brewers really don't have an ace to their staff, but they do have a number one pitcher, right now that's Lohse. No one is pitching better than him on this roster. He continued to dazzle against Atlanta going for eight innings giving up four hits and striking out eight batters with only walked one. Lohse looked in complete control for the full eight innings. He didn't really deal with any sort of problems, and won his six start of the season. Nine out of Lohse's ten starts have seen him go at least six innings.

Jonathan Lucroy - This man is on a complete tear. I know Buster Posey and Yadier Molina hang out in the National League, but Lucroy is playing like an All-Star starter. He is currently eighth in the league in batting average and on-base percentage. Lucroy reached base safely in 11 out of 17 at-bats against Atlanta, and hit over .500 for the season against the Braves. Lucroy is having the best May by far of any Brewers batter, and I do think you seriously have to consider Johnny Luc for the cleanup position even when Aramis Ramirez comes back.

Mark Reynolds - He was the main benefactor as to why Milwaukee won on Wednesday night with his grand slam. Reynolds is not going to give you the base-hits you want all the time, but he will bring the home run power. It is why Reynolds should stay in the lineup because now and again, he will hit a big home run for the team. Yes, he will also strikeout too, but you just roll with the punches there with Reynolds. But keeping him on the bench and starting Jeff Bianchi is not something that will win you baseball games. Simple as that.

Khris Davis - Decent series for him, and it would be great if he got hot at some point. I still believe he is figuring out Major League Baseball pitching even after two months. Davis hit a two-run homer on Monday night to pull the Brewers within two runs of Atlanta before shit hit the fan, and Davis drove in two runs on Thursday. He can hit against left-handers without question, but the struggle comes against the righties. Hopefully, Davis can find his groove in Miami and carry over to the homestand against Baltimore and Chicago.

Ryan Doumit -Known. Brewer. Killer. He always seems to do something against the Brewers, doesn't he? Doumit hit the home run that opened the Wang floodgates on Monday night, and then drove in two runs including the go-ahead on Thursday night. Doumit needs to stay far away from the National League Central.

Lowlights
Ron Roenicke's Decision Making - Not the best week for Ronald. He has been sort of above criticism for the season given how good the Brewers have been, but he is not helping things with all the injuries. There was the Wang decision on Monday which we already discussed, here and here. And then last night was a complete trainwreck with not having someone warm in the bullpen. Will Smith did give up two runs, but ended up getting an out as well. So help me God if he gets hurt in the coming days. Roenicke needs a full deck because he doesn't know how to handle one when it's limited.

Yovani Gallardo's ankle - To make matters worse on Tuesday night, Yovani Gallardo sprained his ankle meaning he could be out for Sunday's game against Miami. He will probably not see any Disabled List time for this one, but it is always disappointing to see a starting pitcher go down. Thankfully, it is just a sprained ankle, and not anything more serious to his legs. I wouldn't push Gallardo starting on Sunday, but the fact, Mike Fiers or Jimmy Nelson isn't up therefore the Brewers don't have a backup plan putting them at odds.

Ryan Braun's side - I feel like Michael Scott seeing Toby again... NOOOO GOD NOOO. Braun looked like he was struggling at the plate, and he pulled himself out of the game on Thursday night. It becomes a waiting game to see if Braun plays tonight. He is a former Miami guy so this series has some meaning to Braun and probably wants to be in the order. My guess is he will play tonight, sit out Saturday and play Sunday. Hopefully, he doesn't have to miss the whole series.

Wily Peralta - I don't think there is a reason to push a panic button on Peralta rather he just had a bad start against a good team. Peralta gave up a home run as well as walked four batters in five innings. Peralta still hasn't given up more than three earned runs in a game so far this season. Just a bad start from Wily, he will be fine.

Charlie.

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: Brewers-Reds (5/1-5/4)

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
Wily Peralta - Easily, the best performance of the weekend.  The young Brewers pitcher dazzled on Friday night going eight shutout innings giving up three hits and striking out seven batters. Peralta has been one of the stars of the young season as he rapidly improved from last season. Also Wily drove in the only two runs for the Brewers on Friday so he did it all to ensure the only Brewers victory of the weekend.

Jonathan Lucroy - Good weekend for Johnny Luc whom drove in a run on Sunday going two for two plus he had a three hit day on Friday night. Lucroy is the only Brewer right now with a batting average over .300 at .312. He needs to keep hitting with this Brewers offense looking weaker and weaker without Ryan Braun. Hopefully, he continues to set the pace.

Johnny Cueto - More people should be talking about the start Cueto is having this season. He did allow two runs on Saturday, but they were two solo shots by Mark Reynolds and Aramis Ramirez. Other than that, he allowed three total hits, striking out 10 batters in eight innings of work. This is the third start out of four where Cueto has struck out 10 or more batters. In those starts, he has struck out 37 batters averaging 9.25 strikeouts per start. Cueto is second in the league with 60 strikeouts with only Jose Fernandez having more with 65.

Todd Frazier - With Jay Bruce having a tough start to his season, someone needed to replace his Brewer Killer role and it was Mr. Frazier. He is known for big series against the Brewers before, but he had his hand in a lot of things that happened for the Reds this weekend. He drove in six runs this weekend plus added a home run as well.  I don't know if we can anoint Frazier a new Brewer Killer, but he is definitely building his case for it.

Carlos Gomez's Catch - OOPS HE DID IT AGAIN. HE PLAYED WITH JOEY VOTTO'S HEART, GOT LOST IN THE GAME. OOOO BABY OOO. Seriously, it was a great catch.



Lowlights
Jim Henderson - Not a great appearance for Henderson on Thursday night as he gave up five runs on four hits plus a home run happened in there as well. He went from having an ERA around three to being around seven after this disastrous appearance. Of course, the day after he went on a Disabled List with shoulder inflammation. I don't know why it took Ron Roenicke a dumpster fire eighth inning to figure that one out, but it did.

Inevitable Disabled List - Ryan Braun will miss two more series with the rib cage injury. Brewers bats are pretty cold right now, and it appears they will have to do without their star for another week. He would return next week Monday to play in the Pittsburgh if he is ready to go. If not, he could return against Chicago over the weekend next week. We shall see what happens with Braun's rib cage injury. I want him as healthy as possible so if he needs more time, that's not a problem.

Marco Estrada - Pretty bad start from Marco. I am not really surprised though. Even though he pitched well at Cincinnati in the past, Great American Ballpark can be a type of stadium where Estrada would struggle in being a fly ball pitcher. He gave up two homers, one was super weak that would only go out at GABP, but still the fact remains, Estrada surrendered them both. What I am worried about is him walking four batters. Hopefully that's just a blip on the radar.

Tyler Thornburg - Not a good weekend for one of the more promising Brewers this season. Thornburg gave up two runs on Saturday giving Cincinnati some much needed insurance runs late in the game, and then he gave up a double to Frazier in the 10th giving Cincinnati the win. In his last seven starts, Thornburg has walked at least one batter. Is that worthy of a concern?  Maybe. It is always one batter, but still, it would be nice to see him have a clean frame.

Aramis Ramirez - Remember when he had a red hot start where we thought this year would be different for him?  And then he has gone ice cold in the last week. Even though he had a homer on Saturday, Ramirez's average is down to .248.  We are only 27 days away from Aramis Ramirez Day folks, don't worry about it.

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.