WHAT HAPPENED
Ryan Braun and Taylor Jungmann happened. Braun kicked off the scoring in the first, scoring Jonathan Lucroy on a groundout to shortstop. Lucroy had previously tripled to to right. On that triple, he busted out of the box and had three on his mind the whole way; his path was made easier by the Phillies mishandling the relay throw. What could have been a close play at third base turned into a no-contest. In the fifth after an Elian Herrera single made the score 2-0, Braun came up with the bases loaded and launched a grand slam, making the margin 6-0, and effectively ending the game.
On the other side of the ball, Taylor Jungmann pitched brilliantly. He went for 6.1 innings, only allowing three hits and two walks, while striking out nine. He struck out the side in both the first and third innings, and only really ran into trouble in the fourth. He allowed a hit and a walk, and after a wild pitch, runners were on second and third with two outs. However, he induced a ground ball from Domonic Brown to end the inning.
Neal Cotts entered the game in the ninth to seal the win, but needed Francisco Rodriguez to close it out as he struggled to put away the Phillies. While their win expectancy never dipped below 99.7 percent, Cotts allowed a solo home run to Andres Blanco and then loaded the bases with two outs via two singles and a walk. K-Rod came in get the last out for his 29th save of the season
TURNING POINT
The biggest turning point in the game was Braun’s grand slam. The Brewers had Aaron Harang on the ropes in the fifth. The veteran right-hander started the inning by allowing a double to Scooter Gennett, then got a quick out before Herrera plated him. Jungmann stepped into the box, and Craig Counsell called for a bunt, his second of the inning. Instead of backfiring and giving away another out, Jungmann reached first and Herrera was safe at second. The bunt was fielded by Harang, but it was close enough to first to draw Ryan Howard off the bag. Cesar Hernandez sprinted from second to try and cover first, but Jungmann pushed it down the line to beat him. Though the play was only worth 0.02 WPA, it set up the rest of the inning. After a Shane Patterson fly out, Lucroy walked. Braun then hit the grand slam, making the score 6-0 and pushing the Brewers win expectancy to 98 percent.
Jungmann also deserves kudos for his pitching performance. He suffered through a rough outing against St. Louis in his last start — throwing only 43 of his 81 pitches for strikes, only inducing two grounders while allowing nine fly balls, and striking out three batters, his fewest this season (though to be fair it was his shortest outing).
He reversed all of those trends yesterday. He pounded the strike zone, getting 68 strikes on his 100 pitches, his GB/FB was 3.50, and he struck out nine. In particular, he shook off that wild pitch in the fourth inning that put runners on second and third with two outs. Instead of losing focus, he bore down and escaped the inning two pitches later.
TWO THINGS TO WATCH
The Brewers swept the series this weekend, giving them three sweeps this season. Of course, two of those were against the Phillies. Milwaukee will finish the season 7-0 against Philadelphia. Last time these teams played, the Brewers followed up that series with another sweep against Cincinnati. This time, Miami comes into town. They just lost two of three to St. Louis, and are missing stars Jose Fernandez and Giancarlo Stanton. Hopefully the Brewers can keep the win streak going and make fans harken back to the halcyon days of late June/early July.
Baseball is a game built on numbers. Regardless of whether you have an analytical lean or prefer the traditional numbers, they are the currency used when debating abilities of different players. Seeing Ryan Braun tie Robin Yount’s mark for career home runs as a Brewers was a special moment, and it was a moment deserving of the curtain call which followed the hit. Braun is this generation’s career Brewer. His ascent up the all-time list has been enjoyable to watch in a season where things have gone askew. Though he likely isn’t leaving any time soon due to his contract, I hope that instead of focusing on the negatives of the year, fans take a moment to appreciate Braun and his place in Brewers history.