TOP PLAY (WPA)
With both teams having traded the lead twice already in the top of the second (more on that later), the game was tied at two. Padres leadoff hitter Alexi Amarista came up to the plate with runners at the corners and two outs. Amarista ripped a double, advancing to third on the throw home triple down the right-field line to clear the bases and give San Diego a 4-2 lead (+.204 WPA).
BOTTOM PLAY (WPA)
Milwaukee collected three-straight hits in the bottom of the first to tie the game at one and put runners on the corners with one out. With a chance to give the Brew Crew an early lead, Khris Davis struck out swinging (-.067 WPA), effectively crippling the Brewers’ shot at a big inning. Luckily, the go-ahead run would score anyway when Tyson Ross inexplicably attempted to pick Ryan Braun off of third — a decision so puzzling that not even Padres 3B Yangervis Solarte was prepared for it — and the throw wound up in shallow left field.
KEY MOMENT
Scooter Gennett homered in the bottom of the ninth to record Milwaukee’s fifth run and ensure that Brewers fans could get five burgers for $5 at George Webb’s restaurants through midnight on Tuesday. Look, I’m not sure folks. I’m trying my best to find a silver lining for you. It wasn’t a great night for the local baseball squadron.
After a solo home run from Solarte in the top of the first, Milwaukee reclaimed the lead by plating a pair in the bottom of the frame. Wily Peralta, trying to protect Milwaukee’s first lead since the first inning of Friday night’s game against Chicago, cruised through the first two hitters in the second. Facing the bottom third of the order, the threat level couldn’t have been lower. However, Peralta walked two-straight batters, gave up a game-tying single to Ross, then surrendered the Amarista triple that gave San Diego the lead for good.
TREND TO WATCH
The Brewers have now dropped 11 of their last 13 games, and the brief couple of weeks during which the Crew played entertaining, watchable baseball in late-June and early-July seems to have passed through the city faster than Sunday night’s hail storm. Milwaukee’s offense has ground to a halt, scoring just 2.31 runs per game during that stretch, a disappointing trend not likely to be aided by the losses of Carlos Gomez and Gerardo Parra, who were amongst the team’s most consistent hitters this season.
How bad has Milwaukee’s offense been of late? During Monday night’s telecast, Brian Anderson and Bill Schroeder commented on the hitting of de facto starting center fielder Shane Peterson, remarking that his hot bat would be tough to take out of the lineup. Peterson, who was 1-2 with a pair of walks Monday night, is hitting .192 with no extra-base hits over his last 29 plate appearances. Hot, indeed.
COMING UP NEXT
Milwaukee will once again try to stop their skid when right hander Jimmy Nelson faces off against the Padres’ Andrew Cashner Tuesday night. Nelson (8-9) has been red-hot of late, surrendering only three earned runs in his last four starts, all of which came in Milwaukee’s 8-5 win against Pittsburgh in July 18. During that stretch he’s recorded a 0.99 ERA and a 27:11 K:BB ratio over 27.1 innings. Cashner (4-10) was banged around by the Mets his last time out, as his disappointing season continues, lasting only five and a third innings and allowing seven runs (five earned) on six hits in an 8-7 loss. First pitch is at 7:10 pm CDT.