Series 13 - Milwaukee Brewers vs St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WIGame 1 (Friday) - Manny Parra (1-2, 5.79 ERA) vs Todd Wellemeyer (3-1, 3.56 ERA)
I only remember a few things from this game, but I do have a very good reason for that. May 6th was my 27th Birthday, and my older brother James bought possibly the best birthday gift I could ever receive - tickets to the Brewers game sitting at Friday's Front Row Sports Grill. The table was right above the Brewers bullpen, and offered a unique and exciting viewpoint for the game. We also got food vouchers in the amount of $37 per person, which I used mostly on alcohol, and after many fine Leinenkugals 4 Seasons and Long Island Ice Teas, I only remember two things about the game. 1 - Trenni Kusnierek is super hot in real life (vs TV life). I mean smoking hot. Grrrrrrrr. If she were a president she would be Baberaham Lincoln. In Latin she would be called "babia majora". She's magically babelicious. That definitely made my night. I even hooted and hollered at her, and she actually looked at me. Get out of here, right? Yeah, zeroed in on me like a tractor beam. But then she sent me this John Deer letter saying a bunch of things like i wasn't paying attention to her, I don;t know, I wasn't really listening, but I know that I wasted my opportunity with this fine female. Oh well. The other part that I remember was the 9th inning. Corey Hart and Bill Hall swing at the first pitch and were out. We're down by a run and Isringhausen throws 2 pitches and gets 2 outs. My birthday was starting to suck. Then JJ Hardy singles, Kapler singles, and Kendall draws a walk. Then comes Rickie Weeks, who knocks a pitch into left field, scoring Hardy and Kapler. BREWERS WIN! And just like that, the day went from being disappointing to absolutely amazing. Funny how things can turn around so quickly. The Brewers snapped their 6 game losing streak and I had a great evening with my brother James, his fiance Janelle, my best friends Aaron and "Mad Man" Dave, and my Uncle Gary. The icing on the cake is that I later found out that I was on TV, and my friends, cousins, and family members called me to tell me the good news. We went out and uh, partied after the game (heh heh heh) and all is well that ends well. This was perhaps one of the greatest days of my life, and although I know I say that a lot (look for a future blog entry with that title) this time I really mean it. Final score Brewers 4, Cardinals 3.Brewers record : 17 - 18
Game 2 (Staurday) - Ben Sheets (4-0, 2.53 ERA) vs Joel Pineiro (2-2, 4.05 ERA)
This game was broadcast on the Fox network as part of the Saturday baseball series. It wasn't broadcast nationally, but it was within a good enough area to expose the Brewers to people who otherwise haven't been able to watch them on TV. I had to work at my stupid job during this game, so I had the "privilege" of once again following this game on ESPN's gamecast. I previously mentioned how important it was for the Brewers to win every start that Ben Sheets makes, especially now that Yovanni Gallardo is lost for the season. Sheets pitched well, going 7 innings and giving up 3 earned runs. The Brewers offense continues to struggle, but Prince Fielder hit a home run in the 8th to tie the game at 3. Yost brought in struggling closer Eric Gagne to pitch the 9th, which is what you are supposed to do in a tie game at home in the 9th. You would hope that the closer can keep runs off of the board and give the offense the chance to walk off a win in the bottom of the 9th. You can hope that, but with Eric Gagne on the mound, hope is all but lost at this point. Gagne gave up 2 runs in the 9th, but since the game was tied, it does not technically count as a blown save. He did however get saddled with the loss, and more importantly, his reputation as a lights out closer and his career save percentage are as tainted as Roger Clemens' and Barry Bonds' careers. I wanted to like Gagne, especially cause he has sweet hair and goggles and because he is from our neighbor to the North (Canada). But I just can't like a guy who goes out there and blows the game 50% of the time that he is on the mound. No team can compete at a high level and win championships if they cannot finish the game. I will still refrain from booing him at the games, but I will sure as hell be nervous every time he's on the mound. After the game, Gagne told Yost that he needs a mental break and should be relieved of the closing duties for the time being. Knowing Ned, Gagne will be back on the mound in a tight situation before the week is out. Color me disappointed. Cardinals 5, Brewers 3.
Brewers record: 17 - 19
Game 3 (Sunday) - Jeff Suppan (2-2, 4.63 ERA) vs Braden Looper (5-2, 4.21 ERA)
I have the non quotation marked privilege of working nearly every single Sunday game, including today's. Today was special because it is Mother's day, and some players would be using a pink bat to bash the breast cancer out of the baseball. Bill Hall was excited to once again swing the pink lumber, seeing as how he hit a game winning home run in 2006 and a useless solo shot in a blowout loss to the Mets in 2007. I was one of many hoping for him to hit his 3rd Mother's Day home run, but for him, today's game would look like the rest of his season - 0-3 (although he did walk and score a run). It was ok though, because a new Mother's Day hero emerged in his first time out swinging the pink bat - the Hebrew Hammer himself, Ryan Braun. Braun hit 2 booming solo home runs in the 3rd and 5th innings. Those home runs ended up being the winning runs in a close game that saw two pitchers combine to earn the save. Suppan reverted back to his old form, going 7 innings and only giving up 1 run. Gagne rode the bench (with despite the criticism, is one hell of a way to earn $10 million dollars. That's a lot of dollars!) and Torres and Shouse each worked the 9th and Shouse picked up the save. I have a terrible memory, but it seems like these Mother's Day games stick with me. Bill Hall's walk off home run in 2006 was magical, and I always tear up when I watch the highlight on TV. Ryan Braun's two homer game well stick with me for awhile as well, but I also will remember today because I once again disappointed my Mother by not getting her a present (not even a card or flowers!) She gave me that, "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed" look and threatened to disown me. That didn't really happen, but I had to add it because I like to lie and exaggerate the truth beyond belief. Get excited, get hyped, because Braun is swinging the bat well and the pitchers are going into the 7th inning. We could be turning the corner here. Brewers 5, Cardinals 3.
Brewers record : 18 - 19
Game 4 (Monday) - Dave Bush (1-4, 6.06 ERA) vs Adam Wainwright (3-2, 2.95 ERA)
If you would have told me before this game that Dave Bush was going to out pitch the Cardinals' default ace Wainwright, I would have told you that you're crazy. You didn't need to do anything more than look at he stats to make a claim based on previous performance, but maybe this is a sign that Bush has turned a corner and is reverting back to his 2006 form. Wainwright gave up 8 runs in 6 innings pitched, and Bush only gave up 1 in 6 innings. Bush's comeback performance was overshadowed by non other than the Hebrew Hammer Ryan Braun. For the 2nd consecutive day, Braun smashed 2 home runs, but once again they were both solo shots. It's nice to see Braun hitting for average and socking dingers, but it upsetting to see that the guys before him (mostly Weeks and Cameron) aren't able to get on base when he's doing it Peter. I try not to dwell on the negative following a Brewers win, but unfortunately, the bullpen faltered in this game but the offense scored enough runs to win the game. Gagne came in the 7th and pitched 2 innings, giving up 1 run, 2 hits, and 2 walks, and still boasts a gangly 1.88 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched). Mitch Stetter showed his youth and inexperience by walking 4 batters in 2/3 of an inning, and even walked in a run before being pulled for Mota, who recorded his 1st save on the season when he struck out Rick Ankeil on a full count to end the game. This one could have gotten out of hand, but the Brewers came away with the victory and the series win. Final score Brewers 8, Cardinals 3.
Brewers record : 19 - 19
Next up - Milwaukee Brewers vs Los Angeles Dodgers May 13 (Tuesday) - May 15 (Thursday) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI
- pookon -
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