Results tagged ‘ win ’
Brewers (7) @ Pirates (0) 8/31 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
CC Sabathia–SHOULD have pitched only the second no-hitter in Brewers franchise history. A boneheaded move by the Pirates official scorer kept him from earning that distinction. CC was absolutely locked in and allowed only 4 fly balls all day. Flashed some leather (and skin) as well with a couple nice plays including a bare-handed stab that ended up being a double play.
Braun/Fielder–After struggling a bit yesterday and in the last few games these two came up with 2 hits apiece. If these two can get hot over the last month you might as well book the playoff tickets now.
Bill Hall–Hall got a rare start against a right-handed pitcher and came through with a couple hits and a walk. He’s going to be key coming up here as we face a bunch of lefties in the next few weeks, including three straight against the Mets.
Less Filling:
Pirates Official Scorer–Absolutely should have ruled that play an error in a no-hitter situation. Give the benefit of the doubt to the players on the field. If the Pirates get another hit then you can go back and change it. In a regular game that scoring play makes very little difference, but here it made a huge difference.
Brewers (11) @ Pirates (3) 8/30 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
Jeff Suppan–Set a Brewes record by winning his 5th game in the month of August. Another 7 strong innings and only two runs allowed. At least he’s earning that $44 million in the key parts of the season.
Brewers offense–6 of the 8 Brewers position players had multi-hit games. When that happens you’re usually going to win. Weeks and Hardy set the table at the top and the bottom of the order was just as good with Mike Cameron making a big contribution with a home run, double, and 4 RBI.
Less Filling:
Seth McClung–Gave up yet another run in a relief role. He’s pitching himself out of the bullpen rotation for the month of September with all the call-ups. It looks like he’ll only be used in blowout and long relief situations for now. A long way from being the third or fourth best starter as he was for a while earlier this year.
Prince Fielder/Ryan Braun–Once again these two went 0′fer, but this time the rest of the lineup picked them up.
Brewers (3) @ Pirates (1) 8/29 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
Dave Bush–Another solid outing for Bushie. He’s now lowered his ERA to 4.12 with his strong second half. I have to admit, I didn’t think he had it in him.
Ryan Braun–Starting to carry the team a bit. His first inning three-run home run provided the only offense for the Brewers.
Bullpen–It seems like they’re either rock solid or blow up with crooked numbers. Tonight they were rock solid with Shouse, Gagne, and Torres getting the job done.
Less Filling:
Brewers offense–Thank God for Ryan Braun in this one or it would have been a 4 hit shutout. The Brewers offense has been madingly inconsistent this year as evidenced by the last three games. Go off for 12 against the Cards in the first game, then get three early against them the next only to go in a hole, and then do the same thing today.
Prince Fielder–His average has dipped to .268 and despite hitting 6 home runs this month, he hasn’t hit one since August 13th. He’s been chipping in with RBI’s periodically, but he’s still not on pace for 100 RBI on the year all of his numbers are down considerably from last year. I didn’t expect another 50 home run season, but this year’s numbers would have been on the low end of what I’d expect. Also, his defense continues to be attrocious and he committed yet another error last night, his 13th on the year
Brewers (12) @ Cardinals (0) 8/26 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
Wow, just a good old-fashioned butt-whooping. Any time you score double digits and throw a shutout you’re usually going to have a pretty good chance of winning (channeling my inner Madden with that one;)
Ben Sheets–Found his curveball in the 2nd or 3rd inning and that allowed him to pitch out of some early trouble and go 6 strong.
Offense–Wow, 16 hits and 12 runs. Hopefully we didn’t blow our wad in one game though. Everyone in the offense contributed, but special shoutouts go to Braun, Fielder, and Hall.
Less Filling:
Cardinals fans, players, staff–For the first time an opposing team finds itself in the Less Filling section. This isn’t because of their play (although losing 12-0 doesn’t help them), but moreso the talk coming out of St. Louis. They were a little upset the last time we went in there and swept them in a key four-game series. And they apparently took exception to what they perceived as “posing” and “unprofessional behavior” by the Brewers, specifically Ryan Braun and Bill Hall. Those guys did nothing wrong in that last series. They knew they hit home runs and did not just stand there and admire, rather slowly get down the first base line. Albert Pujols does the exact same thing nearly every time he hits a home run. Apparently the Cards announcers were going off on the Brewers and how “unprofessional” they are for untucking their jerseys after wins. They failed to do their homework and see that Mike Cameron started this as an homage to his father, who would come home from work and untuck his shirt in honor of a job well done. Just goes to show that the Cardinals fans and organization aren’t quite as “classy” and educated as they’re made out to be.
Brewers (12) @ Cardinals (0) 8/26 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
Wow, just a good old-fashioned butt-whooping. Any time you score double digits and throw a shutout you’re usually going to have a pretty good chance of winning (channeling my inner Madden with that one;)
Ben Sheets–Found his curveball in the 2nd or 3rd inning and that allowed him to pitch out of some early trouble and go 6 strong.
Offense–Wow, 16 hits and 12 runs. Hopefully we didn’t blow our wad in one game though. Everyone in the offense contributed, but special shoutouts go to Braun, Fielder, and Hall.
Less Filling:
Cardinals fans, players, staff–For the first time an opposing team finds itself in the Less Filling section. This isn’t because of their play (although losing 12-0 doesn’t help them), but moreso the talk coming out of St. Louis. They were a little upset the last time we went in there and swept them in a key four-game series. And they apparently took exception to what they perceived as “posing” and “unprofessional behavior” by the Brewers, specifically Ryan Braun and Bill Hall. Those guys did nothing wrong in that last series. They knew they hit home runs and did not just stand there and admire, rather slowly get down the first base line. Albert Pujols does the exact same thing nearly every time he hits a home run. Apparently the Cards announcers were going off on the Brewers and how “unprofessional” they are for untucking their jerseys after wins. They failed to do their homework and see that Mike Cameron started this as an homage to his father, who would come home from work and untuck his shirt in honor of a job well done. Just goes to show that the Cardinals fans and organization aren’t quite as “classy” and educated as they’re made out to be.
Brewers (4) vs. Pirates (3) 8/24 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
Mike Cameron–Set a career high with 5 hits, including the go-ahead home run in the bottom of the 8th inning. Has absolutely been on fire the past three weeks. As an incredibly streaky hitter over the course of his career he has gone on 4-5 week hot streaks, so hopefully he can continue this as long as possible and get back on another hot streak before the year ends. Also stole a base for good measure.
Bill Hall–One day after questioning if he should even be in the lineup anymore, I have to give Hall his props. He collected three hits today but hitters behind him couldn’t pick him up and drive him in.
J.J. Hardy–On J.J. Hardy Bobblehead Day, he came through in the clutch once again with the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the 12th. He also had two hits earlier in the day. After a couple lengthy cold spells in July and early August, J.J. seems to be on a pretty good hot streak.
CC Sabathia–Pitched well enough to win, although he wasn’t perfect. Gave up 8 hits in 6 innings and had to pitch out of trouble a few times. But he proved his worth in doing so. I feel he should have been left in to hit in the bottom of the 6th and then (hopefully) pitched the 7th and 8th. Even if he would have gotten an out there, the game was tied and the Brewers had three more innings to score. And CC on the mound would have given us the best chance to keep the Pirates from scoring.
Rickie Weeks–Was only 1 for 5 at the plate, but had his walk in the 12th and subsequent stolen base set up the game winning run. I feel Rickie needs to utilize his speed better and should be in the 25-30 stolen base range instead of only 17 on the year.
Guillermo Mota–Really came into a tough spot with the bases loaded and no outs, but somehow Houdinied his way out of it without allowing a run. He’s been surprisingly effective in his last 10 games or so.
Less Filling:
Ryan Braun–Somewhat unfamiliar territory for Braunie, but he was about as bad as could be offensively. He went 0 for 5 with three strikeouts and 2 grounded into double plays before being lifted in a double switch in extra innings. Everyone has days like that and hopefully he bounces back with a vengeance against the Cardinals.
Prince Fielder–Struggled right along with Ryan. Went 0 for 4 with a couple K’s and a grounded into double play. Left multiple runners on base as well.
Brewers offense–Collected 15 hits and 4 walks, yet only managed 4 runs. Outs on the bases, 4 double plays, and way too many men left on base allowed this to happen. Not collecting clutch hits have been a bit of a problem in recent weeks.
Riske/Torres/Villanueva–None of them did their job out of the pen as the Brewers blew two different late inning leads and tried to give it up in the top of the 12th. Its amazing how much Riske throws the ball down the middle of the plate on average fastballs and expects it to work. So far this season it hasn’t too well to the tune of a 4.08 ERA. Not the results the Brewers expected when they gave him that 3 year deal in the off-season, and probably why they placed him on waivers this week (although he wasn’t claimed).
Brewers (6) vs. Pirates (3) 8/23 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
Jeff Suppan–Soup always seems to flirt with danger whether its allowing early runs or allowing leadoff baserunners. But like he has the last month or so Suppan made it work. He allowed 3 runs in 7 innings and looks to be continuing his career-long improvement the last two months of the year.
Ryan Braun–Came up big hitting a solo home run after getting buzzed up and in and then later doubling in two runs as well.
Hitters 1-4–In addition to the aforementioned Braun, the rest of the top hitters in the order produced big as well. This foursome produced 6 hits, 6 runs, and 5 RBI.
Less Filling:
Bill Hall–Gotta start asking yourself why he’s still in the lineup. His average has dropped to .219 despite playing significantly against lefties, who he has killed throughout his career. Not only did Billy go 0 for 4 (again), he struck out two times as well. Oh how I wish we would have traded him in the off-season.
Brewers (10) vs. Pirates (4) 8/22 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
Brewers offense–Woke up from an early slumber in a big way. Weeks, Hardy, Braun, Hart, and Cameron all had key contributions. One of the great things to see was the opposite field hits. Weeks’ triple, J.J.’s home run, and Cameron’s home run all came to the opposite field. Those three guys are pretty locked in right now.
Ryan Braun–Manufactured a run mostly by himself in the 7th. Doubled down the line, then stole third on the next pitch. The Pirates brought the infield in and Fielder hit a smash right at Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez. Braun started back towards third, then when Sanchez loligagged with the ball and took his time getting it to first, Braun took off for home and made it safely without a throw. Impressive baserunning.
Dave Bush–Once again gave up early runs, including a two out RBI by the pitcher, and had me wondering if he was reverting back to his old ways. But he came up big and pounded the strike zone while hitting his spots to make it through 7 innings.
Less Filling:
A 10-4 win….everyone gets a pass. Go Brewers!
Brewers (5) vs. Astros (2) 8/20 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
I got to go to my first Brewer game of the year finally. Went with my dad and two younger brothers. We grilled out before and played catch in the parking lot. Had pretty good seats down the third base line. A fun day was had by all.
J.J. Hardy–Pretty much the lone bright spot on the day for the Brewers. Had 2 of the Brewers 4 hits, including the 7th inning home run that gave them some breathing room.
Rickie Weeks–Did exactly what you ask of a leadoff hitter: got on base. And scored 3 of the runs, including manufacturing one with a stolen base and then taking a base on a sac fly.
Bullpen–Again came up big today. 4 innings and only 1 hit allowed. Gagne got in some trouble, but you really can’t blame him for a bunt single, a phantom HBP call, and an error. He came up big and pitched out of it.
Less Filling:
Bill Hall–Mr. Golden Sombrero himself. For those that don’t know (like my wife, Hi Honey), a Golden Sombrero is when one player strikes out 4 times in one game. Which is exactly what Hall did. Billy has now struck out in 6 straight at-bats over the past 3 games and seen his batting average fall to .223. He’s hit .143 with a .464 OPS in the month of August. Just terrible.
Manny Parra–Manny got the win and allowed only 2 runs, but that didn’t tell the whole story about how he pitched. 94 pitches in those 5 innings and 10 baserunners (6 hits, 4 walks). Not good. He has to be able to pitch through at least 6 in these kinds of games to save the bullpen. Manny may be running into the wall a bit as he’s pitched a lot more innings this year than he has in the past. Unfortunately it looks like the Brewers won’t really be able to limit his starts being in the middle of a playoff push. People talk about skipping Bush or Suppan’s start, but I think it is Manny we need to look at. His innings need to be limited so that when he does pitch he can be sharp and maintain his health going into next year.
Brewers (9) vs. Astros (3) 8/18 — Tastes Great, Less Filling
Tastes Great:
CC Sabathia–Had to work a little harder to get outs, but came through with another sparkling performance. Plus he added a couple big runs with his bat. Not something that you plan on with any pitcher, but when they can make positive contributions at the plate it is only a good thing.
Corey Hart–Narrowly missed a two home run day but “settled” for three hits including a double and home run, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored. His average is slowly creeping back up toward .300. If Corey can pick up some of the slack if Braun misses more time that would be huge.
Ray Durham–3 hits including a couple doubles and also drove in 3 runs. Its good to know that if Weeks can’t go, we don’t have to rely on Counsell every day at second.
Jason Kendall–2 for 3 with a walk and 3 runs scored. His hits weren’t exactly screamers, but they got the job done.
Less Filling:
Ned Yost–Apparently he’s trying to maintain a permanent place in the Less Filling section. I hate to bring it up since we’re winning, but is Ned Yost’s brain freezing up like it did down the stretch last year? First he brings Shouse in to start the 9th inning on Saturday instead of your closer Torres. Then he inexplicably pitches to Manny Ramirez in the 7th inning yesterday. And now he throws CC out there to run his pitch count up to 130 in the 9th inning of a 7 run game. I mean what benefit comes from putting CC out there again? It saves the bullpen? Haven’t we heard over and over how rested they are lately? So you’d rather have CC run the risk of getting burnt out than Mota pitching on a ton of rest? He allowed CC to load the bases twice in the 9th inning of a blowout win, yet didn’t take him out. Its these kinds of in-game decisions that he started screwing up last year when the pressure got on in August and September, and it looks like its starting again.
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