WHAT HAPPENED
The core pieces of the Brewers’ offense stepped up and carried the day, as the team pounded out 13 hits, drew a pair of walks, and plated nine runs. Adam Lind launched his 18th homer of the year, though it was his first since August 11, so Craig Counsell and his staff have to be pleased with their first baseman getting back in the power column. His solo shot off Joe Blanton proved important, too, as it countered the momentum Pittsburgh picked up in the top of the fifth inning, when Aramis Ramirez continued a torrid return to Milwaukee with a ground-rule double — his fourth RBI of the evening.
It wasn’t just Lind, though. Segura and Braun both collected three hits apiece, while Lucroy and Davis both got a pair. In essence, the club played to the narrative that our own Xavier Alatorre established on Wednesday, that the offense has actually performed rather well despite the poor overall win-loss record.
Right-hander Zach Davies also made his debut. He only lasted 4.1 innings, however, as he struggled with his command and Aramis Ramirez. In fact, the former Brewers third baseman was responsible for all four runs.
Davies missed with a fastball at the belt in the fourth inning, not getting the ball in enough on the hands of A-Ram, allowing him to square it up and deposit it over the left-center fence. The next inning, the right-hander spun a decent breaking ball low-and-away, but Ramirez reached out and hooked it down the line for a double. Neither pitch was particularly egregious. What it does, though, it illustrate the limitation of what Davies offers on the mound. While he can change speeds well and alter the eye levels of hitters, he doesn’t have the pure stuff to get by with mistakes. He’s a bit like Marco Estrada in that way.
KEY MOMENT
Perhaps this is overly sentimental, but the Brewers’ home crowd has been special in this series. Not in terms of attendance — the club only drew 24,521 fans on Wednesday — but in their demeanor, in their appreciation of the game and of the players.
On Tuesday, Ramirez homered in the ninth inning for the Pirates, and instead of groaning or booing, the Brewers faithful stood and applauded for Rammy. The home team securely held the lead. Thus, the cynical could perhaps argue that the fans only clapped because the win was already in the bag. I prefer the more sanguine view, in which the fan base is appreciative of good baseball and its team, in the past, present and future.
That extended to Wednesday evening, when Zach Davies received a standing ovation from the 24,000+ people in Miller Park as he left the mound after only 4.1 innings. He surrendered four runs and left the team in a rough spot; however, the fan base supported a future member of the club, someone who will hopefully remember the support shown by the fans, rather than his pedestrian performance.
Sentimental or not, I tip my cap to the Brewers fans over the past couple nights. It’s been pretty cool.
TWO THINGS TO WATCH
Milwaukee’s Double-A club, the Biloxi Shuckers, finish up their regular season with a five-game homestand. The Southern League playoffs are around the corner. Much of the attention has been paid to guys like Orlando Arcia and Brett Phillips, but it’s ridiculous to consider how dominant their starting rotation has been.
Jorge Lopez (2.29 ERA), Tyler Wagner (2.20 ERA), Josh Hader (2.94 ERA), and Adrian Houser (1.80 ERA) will be an absolute buzz saw for any opposing team to face. The encouraging thing, too, is that three of those arms are power arms with potential mid-rotation futures, while Wagner has a legit chance to stick at the back-end of a big-league rotation. The Brewers have not only kept the quartet intact for the Souther League postseason run, but they’re likely shielding them from the laughable run environment in Colorado Springs. I’m left wondering how much damage that location has done or will do to the Brewers’ pitching prospects. Breaking balls are tough to spin and routine fly balls regularly become homers. It’s too early to tell, I suppose.
Still, Biloxi’s rotation is nasty for Double-A. The Shuckers should have a good chance to bring home some hardware in 2015.
At the big-league level, Jonathan Lucroy is catching fire. He’s hitting .400/.444/.727 over his last 15 games, re-establishing himself as an elite catcher in the majors. It’s a luxury to have a two-win catcher in a down year that was shortened by injury. With his team-friendly contract and the fact that management seemingly has designs on competing in two or three years, it’s becoming more doubtful that the club will look to trade Lucroy this offseason.
If the new general manager has different ideas, though, and can change the mind of Attanasio, his recent torrid stretch will prevent the return price from dropping too low. He’ll remain one of the more valuable pieces in the National League.