W: Matt Garza (9-10)
L: Randy Wolf (13-10)

HR: Byrd

MVP: Corey Hart (+.013)
LVP: Randy Wolf (-.222)

Win Expectancy Graph

The Crew has had a tough time in Wrigleyville this year, and today was no different.

Things started out well enough, though. The Cubs' first baserunner, Starlin Castro, was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple. Both teams were held scoreless scoreless for the first two innings, but the Brewers struck first in the top of the third when Yuni Betancourt scored on an error by Castro.

But that lead didn't last long. The Cubs got that run right back in the bottom of that inning when Bryan LaHair scored on an RBI single by Castro. It was all Chicago after that. The Cubs would tack on two more in the bottom of the fifth when Nyjer Morgan lost a DJ LaMahieu fly ball in the sun. They got three more in the sixth on a Marlon Byrd three-run homer.

Kameron Loe allowed the final Cub run in the seventh. Michael Fiers allowed a hit and a walk in the eighth, but pitched a scoreless inning. The Crew put two on in the top on the ninth, but could not score. Matt Garza would end up pitching a complete game. It is the first time a Cub pitcher has pitched a complete game against the Crew since Greg Maddux in 2004.

Ryan Braun went hitless today, dropping his average down to .330. Jerry Hairston was the only Brewer to collect more than one hit.

With the loss, the Crew's magic number remains at three. The Cardinals will play the Mets later tonight.

(Go Mets!)

Go Brewers!

The last time I wrote a game preview and praised Randy Wolf (13-9, 3.45 ERA, 4.31 FIP), he pitched terribly, so I think I'm going to avoid doing that today. I don't really think I need to do that anyway. We all know how good Wolf has been this year. In fact, that start linked above is the last time Wolf pitched poorly. Wolf's most recent start must much better. He allowed 3 ER over 7 innings against the Reds. He allowed 7 H and no walks while striking out 7.  

Wolf has faced the Cubs three times this season, resulting in one Brewer win and two losses. Wolf pitched well in all three of those starts, pitching at least 6 innings and never allowing more than 2 ER. He most recently faced the Cubs back on Aug 26th. Over 6.2 innings he allowed 1 ER (2 R) on 4 H and 2 BB while striking out 3. In his career against the Cubs Wolf is 6-10 with a 4.01 ERA. Eight Cubs have faced wolf at least 10 times.

Wolf will be taking on Matt Garza (8-10, 3.51, 3.07 FIP), who continues to have a pretty good year. His last start was one of his best of the year. He pitched a complete game against the Astros, allowing 3 ER on 7 H, no walks, and striking out 4. It was his second complete game of the year. He has been exceptionally good recently, with a 2.54 ERA over his last nine starts. Garza's H/9 and BB/9 have both gone up this year, but his FIP has dropped dramatically since last season. This change from 4.42 to 3.07 FIP is probably do in large part to his drop in HR/9 and rise in K/9. He's striking out about 2.5 more batters per 9 this year compared to last. His home run rate has also dropped from 1.2/9 last year to .7/9 this year.  

This will be the third time Garza has faced the Crew this year. Neither start was particularly good; he allowed 5 ER in both starts and didn't pitch more than 6 innings in either start. In his career against the Crew, Garza is 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA. Only two Brewers have faced Garza at least 10 times. George Kottaras has a homer in 4 ABs against Garza. 

Today's lineup

In the bullpen...
Francisco Rodriguez pitched 1 inning (19 pitches) last night.
Tim Dillard pitched two innings (18 pitches) Monday.
Marco Estrada pitched two innings (32 pitches) Monday.
Takashi Saito pitched one inning (5 pitches) Sunday.
Frankie De La Cruz, Kameron Loe and LaTroy Hawkins last pitched on Saturday.
John Axford last pitched on Friday.
Michael Fiers last pitched on Wednesday.

Weather
It should be a beautiful day in the Windy City today. Party cloudy with temps in the high 60s. Winds from the WSW at 10-20 MPH. Chance of rain at about 10%.

W: Kevin Millwood (3-2)
L: Shaun Marcum (12-7)

HR: Mark Ellis, Wilin Rosario

MVP: Yuni Betancourt (+.049) or this guy
LVP: Shaun Marcum (-.312)

Win Expectancy Graph



Another day, another opposing pitcher dominating the Brewers.

Things started off well enough. After Shaun Marcum tossed a scoreless inning, Corey Hart led off the Brewers half with a triple, and was immediately driven in by Nyjer Morgan's groundout to give the Brewers an early 1-0 lead.

The Crew enjoyed that lead for the next inning before the Rockies fired back. Thomas Field led off the top of the third inning with a single. Field would eventually be out at third on a Dexter Fowler fielders choice, but Fowler was allowed to make it to second because of a poorly executed run-down. The next batter, Mark Ellis, singled to drive in Fowler and tie the game. Carlos Gonzalez followed that with a home run to give the Rockies a 3-1 lead.  The Rockies would add one more in the fourth on a Wilin Rosario solo homer.

The Rockies would get two more in the fifth on a Gonzalez sac fly and a Jason Giambi RBI double. The Crew's final run was the result of a wild pitch with scored Morgan. After that the Crew really couldn't get anything going. Their best chance to score was in the bottom of the eighth, where they had runners at the corners and one out. But Prince Fielder struck out swinging and Jerry Hairston grounded out to end the inning.

The one redeeming factor of today's game was the major league debut of Michael Fiers. He pitched a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts.

W: Chris Carpenter (9-9)
L: Zack Greinke (14-6)

HR: Furcal

MVP: Mark Kotsay (+.046)
LVP: Corey Hart (-.146)

Win Expectancy Graph

This recap will also be knows as Brewers at Cardinals Episode III: Revenge of the BABIP.

It was a pitchers' duel for the first few innings, with both teams being held scoreless for the first three innings. The Cardinals got on the board first when Lance Berkman scored on a Yadier Molina shallow sac fly. A better throw from Corey Hart might have gotten him. The Cardinals would get their second run on a solo home by, who else, Rafael Furcal. I'm really glad we don't have to see this guy any more this year.

The Brewers had their chances tonight, but just when it looked like they might capitalize of them, Lady Bad Luck got in the way, robbing the Crew of potential runs with several great catches by the Cardinal defense. The Crew's best chance to score was in the sixth inning. With runners on first and third, Prince Fielder hit a fly ball to the gap that probably would have scored both runners. But Jon Jay made a sliding catch to end the inning.

Zack Greinke pitched fairly well. He struggled a little, especially early in the game, giving up plenty of hits. But he settled down as the game went on, keeping the game within reach. He ended up pitching seven innings, but taking the loss.

Things got a little interesting in the ninth inning. After Nyjer Morgan struck out, he had a few choice words for Chris Carpenter as he was walking back towards the dugout. Albert Pujols began jogging toward Morgan almost right after he struck out, which Morgan didn't approve of. Both benches would end up clearing, but Prince Fielder was able to get Morgan out of the way before things got too interesting. Both sides were warned, but Carpenter retired Braun and Fielder after that to end the game.

Tonight's game marks the rubber match of the series and the Crew's final game against the Cardinals this season. The drama builds.

Zack Greinke (14-5, 4.00 ERA, 2.92 FIP) will lead the Crew into battle tonight. I think we all know all about Greinke by this point in the season. We know that he is awesome (undefeated, infact) at home, and how he struggles on the road (5.31 ERA vs. 2.96 at home). We know that his ERA is not a true reflection of how well he has pitched this season. We know that he's gotten burned by a high home run rate this year. And we all know that Zack strikes out a ton of batters. But did you know that he is leading the league with a strikeout rate of 10.7/9 innings? Now you know. Yeah, I think

Greinke has faced the Cards twice this season. Both resulted in wins for the Crew and Greinke. But both games were also at home, so we'll see how he does when facing the Cardinals on the road. In his career against the Cards, Greinke is 5-2 with a 3.95 ERA. Five Cardinals have faced him at least 10 times. Matt Holliday has done the most damage against Greinke, with two homers and three RBIs.

Greinke will be facing off against Chris Carpenter (8-9, 3.92 ERA, 3.15 FIP), who is having a rough go of it lately.  His last two starts were of the disaster variety, where he allowed 6 ER in 6 IP against the Reds, and 6 ER in 5 IP against the Pirates. However, in the start before that he allowed only 1 ER in 8 IP and the Cardinals still lost to the Dodgers. The last time the Cardinals won one of Carpenter's starts was almost a month ago, back on August 11th, against the Brewers. Still, Carpenter has been fairly solid this season. He limits his walks and regularly pitches deep into games. He is also allowing only a minuscule .6 HR/9inn.

Carpenter has faced the Crew three times this season, resulting in one win and two losses him. In the first two of those games, Carpenter allowed 5 ER in 6 and 5 innings, respectively. However in the third game, he dominated the Crew, pitching 8 innings and allowing only 2 ER. In his career against the Crew, Carpenter is 5-5 with a 5.18 ERA. Eight Brewers have faced Carpenter at least 10 times.

Tonight's lineup features a newcomer at second base:

Corey Hart RF
Nyjer Morgan CF
Ryan Braun LF
Prince Fielder 1B
Casey McGehee 3B
Taylor Green 2B
Yuniesky Betancourt SS
Jonathan Lucroy C
Zack Greinke P

In the bullpen...
Kameron Loe pitched 1 inning (12 pitches) yesterday.
Frankie De La Cruz pitched 1 inning (16 pitches) yesterday.
John Axford pitched 1 inning (12 pitches) Monday.
Francisco Rodriguez pitched 1 inning (15 pitches) Sunday.
Takishi Saito pitched 1 inning (14 pitches) Sunday.
Tim Dillard last pitched 1 inning Monday in Nashville.
Marco Estrada last pitched on Saturday.
LaTroy Hawkins last pitched on Friday. 

Weather
It's going to be a cool night tonight in St. Louis. Temps in the low 50's with winds from the NNW at about 10 MPH. We'll see how much the wind plays a role in the game again tonight.

W: Jake Westbrook (11-7)
L: Randy Wolf (11-9)

HR: Westbrook (1)

MVP: Ryan Braun (+.058)
LVP: Randy Wolf (-.363)

Win Expectancy Graph



I'm not sure is the Brewers realize this, but they're at home. In good ol' Miller Park. They're supposed to win.

In his last start, it took Randy Wolf two pitches to give up a home run. We improved a little tonight, as it took him three pitches to give up that first home run, to Rafael Furcal. Unfortunately, he gave up another home run later that inning to His Holiness. Down early, the Crew fired back in the bottom of the first inning when Corey Hart led off the Brewers half of the inning with a home run, bring the score to 2-1, advantage Cardinals.

The Crew almost took the lead in the bottom of the third inning. After Nyjer Morgan reached on an error, Ryan Braun hit a ball that ricocheted off the top of the wall, far away from any outfielder. With the inside-the-parker in sight, Braun tripped in between third and home. The run scored to tie the game, but Braun was tagged out.

That's when things started to get ugly. Randy Wolf began the fourth by hitting the first two batters he faced. The next batter, Yadier Molina, singled to load the bases. After inducing a ground ball and a force out at home, and the pitcher up to bat, it looked like the Crew might be able to get out of the inning with minimal damage. But that didn't happen. Instead, Wolf gave up a grand slam to Cardinal's starting pitcher Jake Westbrook, the first homer of his career. 6-2 Cardinals.

Wolf pitched another inning and then gave way to the bullpen. Marco Estrada allowed another two runs on RBIs to Corey Patterson and Furcal. Chris Narveson and Frankie De La Cruz finished out the game. The offense didn't put up much of a fight after that. 

This is only the second time this season that the Crew has lost back-to-back games at Miller Park. Their lead is down to 8.5 games.

If there's a silver lining to this game, it belongs to Taylor Green, who singled in his first ever major league AB. Congrats to him!

Yesterday was no fun. Hopefully today will be better.

There have been a couple links in the Mug recently talking about how Brewers not named Braun, Fielder, Greinke, or Plush are getting over-looked for the fine season they are having. Randy Wolf (11-8, 3.37 ERA, 4.19 FIP) is definitely one of those Brewers. What's been most impressive about Wolf this season has been his consistency. He's pitched at least six innings in every starts since June 8th (15 starts). He's only had four disaster starts this year. His last start was more of the same: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K against the Cubs. All of his main peripherals have improved this year compared to last year (except K/9, which is only down very slightly). If it were not for his 2009 season, this season would easily be the best season of Wolf's career.

Wolf has had some recent success against the Cards. In his last three starts versus them he is 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA. Overall in his career against the Cards Wolf is 7-7 with a 3.80 ERA. Eight Cardinals have faced him at least 10 times

Wolf will be facing Jake Westbrook (10-7, 4.75 ERA, 4.33 FIP). The righty Westbrook had a rough start to his season, but his numbers have slowly been improving since. But unlike Wolf who has been consistently good, Westbrook has been consistently mediocre. And his last start was more of the same: 6 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 5 BB, 3 K against the Pirates. Still, he hasn't allowed more than 4 ER in an outing since early July, and he's pitched at least 6 innings in eight of his last 11 starts. Westbrook will be carrying an unsightly 1.494 WHIP into tonight. He allows plenty of hits (9.9/9) and plenty of walks (3.5/9), both of which are above his career averages.  

Westbrook last faced the Crew back on Aug. 10th, where he allowed 3 ER over 8 innings. In his career against the Crew Westbrook is 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA. Four Brewers have faced him at least 10 times.

Tonight's lineup

Hart RF
Morgan CF
Braun LF
Fielder 1B
McGehee 3B
Betancourt SS
Hairston Jr. 2B
Kottaras C
Wolf P

In the bullpen...
Kameron Loe pitched 1 inning (14 pitches) yesterday.
Marco Estrada pitched 1 inning (24 pitches) yesterday.
Francisco Rodriguez pitched .1 inning (8 pitches) Sunday.
John Axford pitched 1 inning  (17 pitches) Sunday.
LaTroy Hawkins pitched .1 inning (19 pitches) Saturday.
Takashi Saito pitched .1 inning (4 pitches) Friday.
Chris Narveson and Frankie De La Cruz haven't pitched in over a week.

W: Edwin Jackson (11-9)
L: Shaun Marcum (11-5)
S: Fernando Salas (23)

HR: none

MVP: Nyjer Morgan (+.208)
LVP: Mark Kotsay (-.346)

Win Expectancy Graph

Somewhere, Tom Haudricourt is complaining about the Brewers defense. And indeed he should, because it really failed the Crew tonight.

The game started off pretty slowly, with both teams being held scoreless through the first four innings. Then, in the fifth inning, the Cardinals got their first two runners on base via two Brewer errors, courtesy of Prince Fielder and Jerry Hairston Jr. Both runners would end up scoring after an Edwin Jackson RBI single and a Jon Jay sacrifice fly. The Crew was able to get out of the inning without further damage.

The Crew looked primed for a big inning when Corey Hart and Nyjer Morgan hit back-to-back double (both of which just barely missed making it over the wall) to lead off the fifth. Unfortunately, they would only end up getting one across, as Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, and Casey McGehee wewre retired in order after that.

Shaun Marcum ended up as the tough luck loser in tonight's game. He pitched a great game, allowing only four hits over seven innings. Both of his runs were unearned. Kameron Loe and Marco Estrada finished off the game, both pitching scoreless innings.

The ninth inning was mildly interesting, yet terribly predictable. After Prince Fielder and Casey McGehee reached base via walks to keep out hope alive. But that hope died quickly. Yuni Betancourt laid down a poor bunt and the Cards were able to get the lead runner out. Mark Kotsay pinch hit for Hairston grounded into a double play to end the game.

W: Chris Narveson (7-6)
L: Ryan Dempster (7-8)
S: John Axford (28)

HR: Ramirez (19)

MVP: Kameron Loe (+.339)
LVP: Chris Narveson (-.151)

Win Expectancy Graph

If you missed the first inning of this game, you missed a whole lot. And by "a whole lot," I mean all of the scoring.

It looked like it was going to be a slugfest from the start, as Aramis Ramirez gave the Cubs an early lead with a 2-run homer of starter Chris Narveson.

But their lead didn't last long. The Crew fired back with three runs in the bottom of the first with a bloop RBI double from Ryan Braun and a 2-RBI triple by Casey McGehee. The Brewers collected four hits in that inning off Ryan Dempster, matching the number of hits they collected against Dempster in their last start against him in May.

Things got a little dicey (and by "a little," I mean very) in the sixth inning for Narveson. He loaded the bases with a single, double and a walk before recording an out. Ron Roenicke made the curious decision to bring in Kameron Loe. But Loe did his best Houdini impression and managed to get out of the inning with two ground balls, including a double play.

LaTroy Hawkins, Francisco Rodriguez, and John Axford finished off the game to secure the win. Axford's save, which was a little more exciting thanks to a Rickie weeks error, was his 25th save in a row. The feat ties him with Doug Jones for the franchise record for consecutive saves. 

The offensive star of the night was Ryan Braun, who was the only Brewer to collect more than one hit. And he collected three.

Well, losing two in a row is kinda sucky. But I'll take a 5-6 west coast road trip any day. Especially considering the road woes this year. But now we're back home in friendly Miller Park. And waiting for them is...

Aw crap. Of course it's Ryan Dempster (7-7, 5.00 ERA, 3.70 FIP). In his last start Dempster only lasted 3 innings against the Phillies. He gave up 6 ER on 3 BB and 7 H. However, in the start before that, Dempster pitched 8 shutout innings against the Marlins. The righty really is having a roller coaster-like season. He's had seven disaster starts and nine quality starts (21 total starts this season). Dempster is having a bit of a down year, but that didn't stop him from still dominating the Crew the last time he faced them. In May he faced the Crew at Wrigley Field and pitched 7 shutout innings, giving up only 4 hits and 1 walk.

In his career against the Crew, Dempster is 15-3 with a 2.50 ERA. Nine Brewers have faced Dempster at least 10 times. I'm thinking Randy Wolf should be the first player off the bench to PH today.

Chris Narveson (6-6, 4.45 ERA, 3.42 FIP) will hope that the rest of the team can figure out Dempster. But I guess if there's one pitcher on the Brewers who handles the Cubs as well as dempster handles the Brewers, it would be the Narv-dog. In 11 appearances (four starts) against the Cubs, Narveson is 5-0 with a 3.38 ERA. This year he has faced the Cubs twice. In his first start in April he pitched 7 shutout innings, striking out 9. In May he pitched 5.1 innings and gave 4 runs. Narveson is also running on a bit of a hot streak. He hasn;t given up more than three runs in an outing since July second. His time out he pitched 7 shutout innings against the Dbacks, giving up only 4 hits and not allowing any free passes.

Five Cubs have faced Narveson at least 10 times.

Tonight's lineup:

Corey Hart   RF
Tony Plush   CF
Ryan Braun   LF
Prince Fielder   1B
Rickie Weeks   2B
Casey McGehee   3B
Yuni Betancourt   SS
Jonathan Lucroy   C
Chris Narveson   LHP

In the bullpen...
Takashi Saito pitched 1 inning (21 pitches) Sunday.
LaTroy Hawkins pitched 1 inning (18 pitches) Saturday.
Kameron Loe pitched .1 inning (13 pitches) Saturday.
Marco Estrada pitched .2 innings (3 pitches) Saturday.
Francisco Rodriguez pitched 1 inning (11 pitches) friday.
John Axford pitched 1 inning (18 pitches) Friday.
Tim Dillard has not pitched since last Monday.

Weather:
Looks like it's going to be a great night to tailgate. Gametime temperature at 77 degrees. Winds from the east at 8 MPH.

W: Takashi Saito (2-1)
L: Ryan Cook (0-1)
S: John Axford 26)

HR: Braun (18)

MVP: Chris Narveson (+.494)
LVP: Francisco Rodriguez (-.321)

Win Expectancy Graph

The game started off with a bang, as Ryan Braun gave the Crew an early 1-0 lead with a solo home run, his second in as many days. And that was it for a while. Both starters, Chris Narveson and Joe Saunders were pretty dominant for the next five innings

The crew tacked on another in the seventh when Jonathan Lucroy drove in Casey McGehee with an RBI single, giving Chris Narveson and the Crew a 2-run lead. One could argue (and most probably would) that Narveson could have stayed in the game longer. He has seven shut-out innings under his belt, only 87 pitches, and had retired the last 10 batters in order. But that wasn't the case. Instead Ron Roenicke brought in new set-up man Francisco Rodriguez. All would have ended well, but with the help of a misplayed ball by Prince Fielder, the Dbacks were able to score two runs off of Rodriguez and tie the game in the bottom of the eighth.

Takashi Saito began the bottom on the ninth by giving up a lead-off double to Justin Upton, who promptly took third base on a ball in the dirt. With the DBacks winning run a mere 90 feet away with nobody out, RRR brought in Ryan Braun as a fifth infielder. Saito managed to get two ground-outs before getting Sean Burroughs to fly out to Nyjer Morgan, ending the threat.

On to extra innings. Mark Kotsay led off the tenth with a single and immediately took second on a wild pitch. After Corey Hart walk, both base runners were awarded an extra base on a balk by DBacks pitcher Ryan Cook, who was making his major league debut. Tony Plush singled to drive in Kotsay and give the Crew the lead. The Crew added two more before the inning was over with RBI singles from Ryan Braun and Rickie Weeks to take a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the tenth. John Axford faced the minimum in the tenth to earn the save and secure the win.

Unfortunately, it's not all roses and sunshine, as both teams lost a player during tonight's game. Stephen Drew fractured his ankle while sliding into home. Also, Carlos Gomez fractured his collarbone after making a spectacular catch and landing on his shoulder. 

Which Brewers team will show up in Phoenix today? The one that was shut out on Monday? Or the one that scored 11 runs on Tuesday? I'd be okay with something in the middle, as long as good Nav-dog shows up too.

Chris Narveson (6-6, 4.74 ERA, 3.50 FIP) will lead the Crew into battle tonight against the Dbacks. Narveson is coming off an extremely average start in his last time out. He pitched 6 innings and gave up 3 runs, all earned, on 5 hits and 3 walks, striking out 5 against the Rockies. That start was his second quality start in a row, a feat Narveson hasn't accomplished since mid-May. Arizona missed Narveson when they were in Milwaukee earlier this season. In his career against the Dbacks, Narv-dog is 1-0 with a 4.32 ERA. No Dback has faced him more than 10 times.

The Narv-dog will be facing off against Joe Saunders (6-8, 3.89 ERA, 4.88 FIP), who is also coming off a very mediocre start, where he gave up 3 runs, all earned, in 6 innings on 5 hits and a walk, striking out 4 Dodgers. This season Saunders has been about as consistent as you can get. He's failed to pitch at least 6 innings only three times, and given up more than 4 runs in a start only 3 times also. Infact, Saunders is a very average pitcher in many ways. He's gives up plenty of hits (8.89/9), doesn't strike out a ton (5.2/9), and walks a few too (3.4/9). Just how average is he? His ERA+ is 101.

In his career against the Brewers, Saunders is 0-1 with a 9.53 ERA. The last time he faced the Brewers was last June 14th as a member of the Angels where he gave up 6 runs over 5.2 innings. Three Brewers have faced Saunders at least 10 times.

Tonight's lineup (via Tom Haudricourt):

Corey Hart RF
Carlos Gomez CF
Ryan Braun LF
Prince Fielder 1B
Rickie Weeks 2B
Casey McGehee 3B
Yuniesky Betancourt SS
Jonathan Lucroy C
Chris Narveson P

In the bullpen...
Marco Estrada pitched 2 innings (31 pitches) last night.
Kameron Loe pitched 1 inning (7 pitches) last night.
Tim Dillard pitched .2 innings (16 pitches) Monday.
LaTroy Hawkins, Takashi Saito, Francisco Rodriguez and John Axford haven't pitched since Sunday.

Yovani Gallardo(9-5, 3.92 ERA, 3.78 FIP) will try to right the ship this afternoon. He's coming off back-to-back starts of the quality variety against the Twins. Last Friday he pitched 7 innings giving up only 3 runs and 5 H. But he also gave up 4 walks and took a loss. Yo has had some recent success, but he has been rather inconsistent over the last month or so. In his six starts since June he has pitched 6, 4,7, 3, 7, and 7 innings, respectively. All of those starts have either been quality starts or disaster starts. In his career against the DBacks Gallardo is 1-0 with a 1.06 ERA. Only Kelly Johnsonhas faced Gallardo at least 10 times. He has yet to collect a hit in 10 ABs, but he does have 3 walks.

Yo will be facing Arizona rookie Josh Collmenter(3.17 ERA, 3.87 FIP), who is off to a pretty good start to his career. Drafted in the 15^thround of the 2007 draft, Collmenter didn't exactly move quickly through the minors, but had solid numbers nonetheless. The righty's success has a lot to do with limiting his base runners. He's allowing only 7.4 H/9 and a wee 1.9 BB/9, which all adds up to a shiny 1.028 WHIP. He doesn't strike out a ton, 6.1 K/9, but his 3.20 K/BB ratio sure is nice.

With all that being said, Collmenter is having a rough go of it recently. Less than a month ago his ERA was 1.12. But it's been on a steady incline ever since. In his last start Collmenter gave up 5 ER in 4.2 innings against the A's. In the start before that he gave up 6 ER in 6 innings against the Tigers. Hopefully, this trend will continue today.

Today's lineup still has a lack of Braun:
Rickie Weeks   2B
Tony Plush   CF
Corey Hart   RF
Prince Fielder   1B
Mark Kotsay   LF
Jonathan Lucroy   C
Mat Gamel   3B
Craig Counsell   SS
Yovani Gallardo   RHP

In the bullpen:

LaTroy Hawkings pitched 1 inning (18 pitches) Monday.
Kameron Loepitched .2 innings (9 pitches) Monday.
John Axford pitched 1 inning (23 pitches) Monday.
Zach Braddock pitched 1 inning (10 pitches) yesterday.
Marco Estrada pitched 2 innings (28 pitches) yesterday.
Takashi Saito pitched 1 inning (10 pitches) Saturday.

Weather:
It should be a beautiful day for baseball. Highs in the upper 70's at game time. Clear skies with a 10% of precipitation. Winds at about 8 MPH from the NNE.

Not much tonight from RRR.

On Shaun Marcum's outing:

I think he threw the ball well. These guys take pitches and they get on base a lot. They walk. So you never have any easy innings. He battled through those first four. Then you get to the fifth and his pitch count is up there. But I thought he threw the ball well. Big at-bat by Posada. Thought he had him struck out on a pitch. Next pitch he hits a [single]. Then he throws a changeup in a spot where Marcum can hit it good. But I thought he threw the ball well. 

On the team being one big hit away:

Burnett's got good stuff. He's got a real live fastball. He's got a great curveball. And when he needed to he threw that curveball in a good spot. We did have chances. He had guys on base. First four innings, three of them they turned double plays in. Then we get the bases loaded again and we don't get that hit. But this guy's got a really good curveball. When he gets it in a spot where he wants too it's tough to hit.

On Gamel's near hit:

Gamel crushed that ball. I'm surprised it didn't get over [Swisher's] head. I didn't know if the was carrying or not but later in the game Cano hits the ball off the wall. But that's a big play for them. If that ball gets over his head we've got a lot going on.

W: A.J. Burnett (8-6)
L: Shaun Marcum (7-3)
S: Mariano Rivera (20)

HR: Martin (10), Posada (9)

MVP: Ryan Braun (+.155)
LVP: Corey Hart (-.178)

Win Expectancy Graph

Well I guess I got my wish. This game wasn't quite as painful as yesterday. But it was painful nonetheless.

Thing started off well enough. The Brewers got on the board first when Ryan Braun singled to drive in Nyjer Morgan, giving the Crew a 1-0 lead. The hit was extended Braun's hitting streak to a career-high 19 games. The Crew held that lead for next three innings, although the Yankees where knocking at the door the entire time.

And they blew that door down in the fourth inning. The Yankees scored a single tally on a Nick Swisher single to drive in Robinson Cano before Marcum could even record an out in the fourth inning. The next two batters reached to set the table for Russell Martin, who then hit a three-run homer, giving the Yankees a 4-1 lead.

The Crew got one back in the sixth, but the Yankees answered right back with a run in the bottom of the sixth on a Jorge Posada instant-replay-reviewed home run. That was all the Yanks needed. The Brewers briefly threatened in the eighth when they had two on with one out, but Corey Hart struck out to end the threat.

Mariano Rivera came on in the ninth and retired the side in order.

I'm just hoping today's game won't be as painful as last night's.

Scroll down for a plethora of information on tonight's game.

Go Brewers!

I'm kind of really glad that I had oodles of homework to do last night, because I got to miss most of the Bronx Massacre. Just how bad was last night's loss? It was the Brewers' worse loss of the season, run-wise. By losing by 10 runs last night, the Crew set a new season record for run differential in a loss. The previous record has been nine runs against Boston on the 19th and nine runs against the Reds on April 3rd.

And what makes baseball such a great sport you ask? Not four days yore the Crew had their biggest run differential in a win, beating the Twins 11-1. The greatest difference in a win before that game was their 9-0 win against the Phillies April 19th.

And now for something completely different.

Shaun Marcum (7-2, 2.95 ERA, 3.16 FIP) will try to get himself and the Brewers back in the win column tonight. Marcum has pitched a total of four innings and thrown 98 pitches over his last two starts while dealing with a left hip flexor strain. In his last start Marcum threw three innings against the Rays, giving up 2 ER on 2 H and 1 BB, with both runs scoring on a Kelly Shoppach homer. Things are looking a bit better this time around though, as Marcum will have no restrictions tonight and says the hip is now "a non-issue." It's a good thing his hip is a non-issue, because something tells me that with the overworked bullpen, it doesn't matter how good or bad he's pitching, he's probably going to be staying out there for a while.

And if last night is any indicator, there might be bad pitching. Much like Zack Greinke, Shaun Marcum does not have a very good record against the Yankees. In his career against the Bombers Marcum is 1-4 with a 6.55 ERA in 11 games (9 starts). Four Yankees have faced Marcum at least 10 times:

Yankee mystery man A.J. Burnett (7-6, 4.15, 4.56 FIP) will lead the Pinstripers into battle tonight. Burnett has been alternating between wild and dominant, and sometimes both. He's walked 5 batters in a game 5 times this year. He's leading the league in wild pitches. All this is adding up to high pitch counts, and it's a treat when Burnett makes it into the seventh inning.

Despite all of this, Burnett has done a relatively decent enough job limiting the damage; he's allowed more than 3 runs only 5 times this season in 16 starts. So far this season, Burnett's ERA is looking significantly better than last, and his FIP is also slightly improved. This is do in large part to luck (.245 BABIP). His WHIP is down all the way from 1.512 to 1.264, mainly because he is giving up more than two fewer hits this year compared to last. Other than that, his peripherals this year are fairly similar to last year. In his career against the Brew Crew Burnett is 1-2 with a 6.39 ERA. Four Brewers have faced him at least 10 times.

Tonight's lineups:

In the bullpen...
Marco Estrada pitched 3 innings (62 pitches) yesterday.
Zach Braddock pitched 1  inning (21 pitches) yesterday.
LaTroy Hawkins pitched1 inning (14 pitches) yesterday.
Tim Dillard pitched 1 inning (19 pitches) yesterday.
Kameron Loe pitched 1 inning (14 pitches) Sunday,
John Axford pitched 1 inning (13 pitches) Sunday.

Will the Shaun Marcum last more than one inning? Will Ryan Braun stretch his hitting streak to 14 games? Can the Crew take the series from the Rays? Join us for what will hopefully be the exciting conclusing to the series!

Scroll down to find the usual.

Go Brewers!

The Brewers have only won four of their last six games, BUT they have only lost two series at home this season. Which trend will prevail this afternoon?

We'll all watch cautiously as Shaun Marcum (7-2, 2.85 ERA, 3.05 FIP) takes the mound for the first time since suffering a strained hip flexor his one inning start last Friday in Boston. I may be the only one who is equal parts concerned about Marcum as I am impressed that he only allowed 2 ER in that one inning in Boston, despite throwing 44 pitches. Marcum was just cleared to pitch last night, and Ron Roenicke says that they will go "inning by inning" after the third with Marcum today. His last outing was only the second time this season that Marcum has failed to pitch at least 6 innings; the other such start was his first start of the season.

I was a little surprised that Shaun Marcum has only 48.1 career innings against the Rays. In those 48.1 innings (7 starts) Marcum is 2-2 with a 3.17 ERA. Five Rays have faced Marcum at least 10 times.

The Crew will have the pleasure of facing David Price (7-6, 3.61 ERA, 3.00 FIP) this afternoon. Much like Marcum, the lefty Price is also coming off a below-average start against the Red Sox, in which he allowed 3 ER over 5 innings on 5 H and 5 BB. Price finished second in the Cy Young voting last year, and even though his ERA is a good run above what it was last year, he's been even more dominant this year. He' s allowing more hits this year (8.0/9, up from 7.3 last year), but he's really cut down on his walks (1.8/9, down from 3.4 last year). His K/9 is also up just slightly this year. Strangly enough, even with the slightly inflated ERA, Price is getting a little lucky this year, with a .285 BABIP.

Price has never faced Milwaukee, and only three current Brewers, Yuni B, Mark Kotsay, and Carlos Gomez have ever faced him. Of those three Yuni has seen him the most, with 5 AB against. Not surprisingly, none them have ever collected a hit against Price.

Today's lineup

Rickie Weeks   2B
Corey Hart   RF
Ryan Braun   LF
Prince Fielder   1B
Casey McGehee   3B
Yuniesky Betancourt   SS
Carlos Gomez   CF
Jonathan Lucroy   C
Shaun Marcum   RHP

In the bullpen...
Kameron Loe pitched 1 inning (14 pitches) last night.
John Axford pitched 1 inning (11 pitches) last night.
Tim Dillard pitched .1 inning (15 pitches) Monday.
Mark DiFelice pitched 1 inning (25 pitches) Monday.
LaTroy Hawkins pitched 1 inning (14 pitches) Monday.
Sergio Mitre pitched 3 innings (48 pitches) Sunday.
Marco Estrada pitched 4 innings (66 pitches) Friday.

Game coverage notice:
For some reason, today's game is not on TV, so we're going to have to rely Uecker for coverage of today's game. Or hope that MLBNetwork shows some of it.

W: Chris Narveson (4-4)
L: Carlos Zambrano (5-4)

HR: Rickie Weeks (13), Jeff Baker, Reed Johnson

MVP: Corey Hart (+.149)
LVP: Chris Narveson (-.091)

Win Expectancy Graph

An hour and forty minutes after the game was supposed to start, the Brewers came out and made it worth our wait.

The first few innings of this game were very frustrating, as the Brewers looked like they had been replaced with the players from Major League. Rickie Weeks and Nyjer Morgan led off the game with back-to-back hits. But with Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, and Casey McGehee due up, they couldn't score. In the bottom of that inning Jeff Baker hit a solo home run to give the Cubs an early 1-0 lead. the next few innings were filled with more screw ups; bad base running, defensive miscues, and a lack of clutch hitting.

But then things started to turn around. Braun led off the fourth with a double, and after Prince Fielder was unintentionally intentionally walked Corey Hart singled to drive in both runners and give the Crew a 2-1 lead. They would tack on three more in the fifth with a nice 2-RBI double by McGehee, and an RBI double from Hart.

With a 5-1 lead, things were looking pretty good for the Crew. But that didn't last long. Chris Narveson, who had done a good job at holding the Cubs down for the first four innings, suddenly lost his control. He began the bottom of the fifth by walking Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano. He then walked Starlin Castro in four pitches, and then gave up a three-run homer to Reed Johnson. After yet another walk, Narveson settled down and finished the inning with no further damage, but with the Cubs now only trailing by one.

Narveson came back out for the sixth, but was replaced by Tim Dillard after allowing the second batter to reach. Dillard retired the final two batters. The Crew rallied again in the seventh, scoring two more on an RBI single by Yuniesky Betancourt (for real, with two outs even!). Rickie Weeks, hit an absolute bomb onto the street in the eighth to give the Brewers another BMIR and an 8-4 lead. Kameron Loe allowed a run in the bottom of the eighth, but the Crew got that run back in the top of the ninth with a sac fly, courtesy of Jonathan Lucroy. 

John Axford came on to pitch the ninth in a non-save situation, pitching a scoreless inning to give the Crew the win. With the Cardinal's loss today, the Brewers now once again sit alone atop the NL Central standings.

Rickie Weeks was the offensive star of the game, collecting two doubles and a home run. Corey Hart and Ryan Braun also had three hits, with Braun collecting two doubles. Prince Fielder reached base four times with his three walks and a single. But the real surprise of this game was the bottom of the lineup. The top of the order (Weeks, Morgan, Braun, and Fielder) only has one RBI, while the bottom of the order (McGehee, Hart, Betancourt, and Lucroy) each had two RBIs.