The Brewers continue this current 9 game road trip with the last stop in Cincinnati before coming home. On April 8 - 10, the Reds gave the Brewers their first series loss of the season (at home no less) so the Brewers were looking to get even by taking the series from Cincinnati at their home ballpark. After losing 2 of 3 to St. Louis, it was important that they try to take the series and finish this road trip with a winning record.
Game 1 (Friday 4/18) - Ben Sheets (3-0, 0.96) vs Bronson Arroyo (0-2, 5.48)
Sheets has been nothing short of magnificent this year so far, and if he stays healthy (the eternal question) he will without a doubt be an 18 game winner and possibly a Cy Young candidate. That's always the biggest IF of every season since 2004. In my opinion, had he been on a contending team (instead of one that went 67 - 94 and finished last in the NL Central at 37.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals) he would have won the NL Cy Young Award. In 2004, Roger Clemens won the NL CY Young. Compare their stats :
Roger Clemens (Houston Astros) : 18 - 4, 2.98 ERA, 33 starts (0 complete games), 214.1 innings pitched, 218 strikeouts
Ben Sheets (Milwaukee Brewers) : 12 - 14, 2.70 ERA, 34 starts (5 complete games), 237.0 innings pitched, 264 strikouts
Randy Johnson (Arizona Diamondbacks) : 16 - 14, 2.60 ERA, 35 starts (4 complete games), 245.2 innings pitched, 290 strikeouts
I put Randy Johnson on there because many people say that he deserved to win it that year, and by stats alone, he dominates Sheets and Clemens. The biggest thing working against him (much like Sheets) was the fact that the Diamondbacks had a dismal 51 - 111 record. Wow. It's hard to give someone an award, regardless of performance, when they play for a losing team. I guess I can understand the baseball writers of America when they voted for Clemens (Houston did win the wild card and make it to the NLCS) but I still think that Sheets should have won it.
So what's the point of all this? I previously mentioned how lights-out Sheets can be IF he stays healthy. On Friday's game, he didn't stay healthy. I was at a Pirate Dinner Theater show in Orlando (you'll hear more about that when I update my website) so I was only able to get text updates. I didn't find out until after the game that Sheets only threw for 5 innings (60 pitches) before leaving with a sore right triceps. Currently (4/21) Sheets is slated to miss his next start, although there is no talk about him jumping on the DL. If he's out for an extended amount of time, we're in for some trouble. He is scheduled to start again on 4/29 against the Cubs (which is the same day Mike Cameron returns from his suspension) so hopefully we'll be at full strength. Bill Hall continued his dominance over the Reds by hitting a 2 run home run, and the Brewers bullpen (although giving up 2 runs) held on to secure the victory for Sheets. Gagne (Milwaukee's other lightning rod, joining Manager Ned Yost) saves the game for his 5th on the year. Final score Brewers 5, Reds 3.
Brewers record : 10 - 6
Game 2 (Saturday 4/19) - Jeff Suppan (1 - 0, 4.13) vs Johnny Cueto (1 - 1, 3.42)I was at the NASA Space Center in Cape Canaveral during this game, so once again I was only able to get text updates on my phone. I would have liked to be able to watch some of these games, but I was in Florida, and I'm sorry to say that I had better things to do. Soup had struggled his last time out against the Mets, but he is a veteran pitcher so I knew he'd be ok. Suppan was going up against Cueto for the second time this season, and he once again stepped it up and pitched well against this young stud. Corey Hart hit his first home run of the year and Bill Hall once again came up big against the Reds. Hall had 2 hits and 3 RBI's, including the game winning 2 RBI double in the 10th inning that put the Brewers ahead 5 - 3. Gagne came in and pitched a perfect 10th inning for his 6th save this year. Suddenly that $10 million dollar chance isn't looking so bad after all. Final score Brewers 5, Reds 3.
Brewers record : 11 - 6
Game 3 (Sunday 4/20) - Yovanni Gallardo (0 - 0, 1.29) vs Aaron Harang (1 - 2, 2.83)
Today's game saw the much anticipated return of the wonder kid Yovanni Gallardo. To make room from him, someone needed to go, and in a surprising move, Joe Dillion was sent down to AAA and the Brewers held 14 pitchers on their 25 man roster (normally they keep 11 pitchers). I was flying home from Florida prior to the game, and landed in Chicago just as the game was starting. By the time I got back to the car, the game was on and I was able to reach AM 620 for the Brewers broadcast. They don't call it the biggest stick in the state for nothing. Driving back from Chicago was ridiculous, and I would go from 60 MPH to a complete standstill in a matter of seconds. For the majority of the time, I was traveling at a robust 20 MPH. Normally I would have been upset, but since I got the Brewers game on the radio, I figured I could spend some time in the car listening to Uecker. This was a game showcasing the pitchers in a duel. Gallardo pitched 7 innings giving up 4 hits and 1 run (solo HR by Encarnacion) while Harang went 8 innings giving up 4 hits and 1 run (solo HR by Hardy, his first of the year). It was all tied at 1 -1 going in to the 10th inning, and the Brewers struck first. Thanks to an error and a wild pitch, the Brewers put the score at 3-1 and Gagne came in for the 4th straight day for the save. This time, it didn't work out as planned. Gagne gave up a home run to Encarnacion (his 2nd of the game) and the tying run to Paul Bako (former Brewers catcher) on another solo home run. After walking the next batter, he was pulled in favor of Soloman Torres, and Torres gave up 2 hits including the game winner to Ken Griffey Jr. and suddenly he Brewers lose the game. There's a lot of debate over Gagne's durability (he's had multiple injuries over the last 3 years) and that he shouldn't have even been in this game (Turnbow should have been given the chance for the save). The Brewers have a lot of options (Torres, Mota, Turnbow, Riske) in the bullpen who all have saves in their career, so why not go with one? I hate to second guess Yost, mostly because it is way overdone in Milwaukee, but this decision did not work out today. C'mon!? Paul Bako? He has 16 career home runs in 10 seasons! Hardly an offensive threat. Oh well, That's why you play 162 games in a year. Final score Reds 4, Brewers 3.
Brewers record : 11 - 7
Although the final game in the series was a disappointment, we have to be excited that we came home from a road trip to New York, St. Louis, and Cincinnati with a 5-4 record. So far, the Brewers own a 7-4 road record, which is pretty damn good. Once again, it's early, but since the Brewers bats are struggling to get hot, we have to take every ounce of good news and run with it. To be quite honest with you, I think it's a good sign that we were battling on the road. It points to good things to come if the Brewers keep this up. Thankfully we return back home (where we have historically played well), and it's hard to believe that we've only played 6 games there thus far. It's gonna be a tough one, but hopefully they can get going and start swinging the bats again. I know they can do it, they're too good of a team to be struggling.
Next up - Brewers vs Cardinals April 21 (Monday) - 22 (Tuesday) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI
- pookon -
http://www.pookon.com/
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