Game 1 (Tuesday) - Carlos Villanueva (2-4, 6.00 ERA) vs Brad Penny (5-4, 5.09 ERA)
Today was another chance for Carlos Villanueva to go out there and quiet the critics that have been calling for his head after starting out the 2008 season on a sour note. Villanueva showed flashes of brilliance on the mound last season, but so far had been unimpressive. Today, he looked like he was back in form. He went 6 solid innings, giving up 3 runs (2 earned) and 8 hits. The bullpen held the Dodgers to just those 3 runs throughout the rest of the game. But the big story was Ryan Braun continuing to swing a red hot bat. He went 2-4 with a triple and a double, and his 2 RBI's in the 5th inning put the Brewers ahead for good. His batting average is now up to .294 and he's played better than average defense so far in left field. I know it's early, but this recent surge for Braun should earn him his first trip to the All Star Game at Yankee Stadium in New York City this summer. Gagne came in (much to the disappointment of the home crowd) for the save in the 9th inning, but he quieted the skeptics by earning his 10th save of the season. He had to work around a hit and a walk to do it, and just once, I would love to see Gagne throw a clean inning and record a save. Oh well, no sense clinging onto the negative aspects because the Brewers won. Sweet. Final score Brewers 5, Dodgers 3.
Brewers record : 20 -19
Game 2 (Wednesday) - Manny Parra (1-2, 5.03 ERA) vs Derek Lowe (2-3, 4.62 ERA)Manny Parra pitched really good today, and he deserved his 2nd victory of the season. Unfortunately, Guillermo Mota couldn't allow him to chalk another one up in the W column. Manny did all that he could to help the Brewers win, and even came through with a 2 RBI single in the 2nd inning to put the Brewers on the board. He pitched into the 7th inning, and only gave up 1 earned run (thanks to Fielder's error) and struck out 4. Once again, a good start was wasted by shoddy defense and the bullpen's lack of ability to close a game. It looks like it doesn't really matter who we run out there in the 9th inning - someone will find a way to blow it. If it's not Gagne, then someone else can get in there and destroy any hopes we have of going to playoffs. I hate losing. I think that anyone who competes would tell you the same thing. Losing sucks balls. There's nothing more disappointing than losing and watching the other team celebrate their victory. And when you basically hand them the victory by playing ineffectively, it hurts so much more because you knew that you lost it for yourself. Baseball is a silly game in the fact that it can be won with one swing of the bat, and then it's over. There's no shot at redemption and there are no do-overs. Thankfully there's 162 games, and until the end of the season, there's almost always a tomorrow. But seeing as how the Brewers have been playing lately (with the exception of the series against St. Louis), tomorrow is just another chance for the Bad News Brewers to screw it up. And we're right back down to .500. C'mon guys! We're better than a .500 team! Final score Dodgers 6, Brewers 4.
Brewers record : 20 - 20
Game 3 (Thursday) - Ben Sheets (4-1, 3.25 ERA) vs Chad Billingsly (3-5, 4.34 ERA)Call this start by Ben Sheets your prototypical Jekyll and Hyde performance. In the first 6 innings, he allowed only 3 hits and no runs. In the 7th inning, he turned into a monster and served up 6 runs on 6 hits including 3 home runs. It went from being another spectacle by our ace to a downright ghastly afternoon. And at home no less. The Brewers offense was stagnant again, but Ryan Braun continued to be a stud, showing of his excitment of his 8-year $45 million dollar contract with a solo home run to left, his 10th of the year. That's right, the Brewers finally did something right by locking up Braun for 8 years (including 2 free agency years) so it's now safe to assume that Braun is the face of this franchise. I need to go out and buy me a 2nd Ryan Braun jersey cause 1 just isn't enough. I should buy 1 in every style (home blue, home white, road gray, retro, batting practice) so that I can wear 1 for every day of the week. I know that the week has 7 days, so I'll just work on a 5-jersey rotation. Once he makes the All Star Team, I can buy an All Star Ryan Braun jersey so that only leaves me 1 short for the week. That leaves me 1 day where I can wear another deserving player's jersey, which at this point is limited to Corey Hart and Prince Fielder. Im glad that at least one player is doing well right now, because it allows me to sing praise for that one player instead of bitching about players that suck right now. And you really don't want to hear me bitch about 22 players. At least I don't bash Yost like a pinata like every other fan in Brewers Nation. That's one thing that I will be trying my darndest to stay away from in this blog. I figure that you hear about that shit every time you open the newspaper, listen to the radio, and turn on the TV, so why in the hell would you want to hear it from me too? Final score Dodgers 7, Brewers 2.
Brewers record : 20 - 21
Next up - Milwaukee Brewers @ Boston Red Sox May 16 (Friday) - May 18 (Sunday) at Fenway Park in Boston, MA
- pookon -
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