The Brewers haven't won four straight games or swept a series of any kind at any point this season. They'll get a chance to do both of those things for the first time tonight.

Standing between the Brewers and a 5-2 road trip is Chad Billingsley (3.88 ERA, 3.85 FIP), who has struggled a bit lately. Billingsley has thrown five innings or less in four of his last seven starts, and posted a 5.35 ERA over that time while allowing opposing batters to hit .310/.401/.497 against him. He pitched five innings against the Astros on Saturday and allowed two runs on five hits, walking three and striking out eight. He's thrown under 100 pitches in four straight outings.

While Billingsley's results have wavered a bit lately, his stuff looks about the same. He throws a low-90's fastball about 60% of the time, and mixes in a curve, change, slider and cutter. All five pitches are around league average. Only about 44% of his pitches are in the strike zone this season, down from 48% last year.

Billingsley was pretty good against the Brewers on April 17, allowing two runs on five hits over six innings with no walks and two strikeouts. Mat Gamel took him deep in that game. Five Brewers have faced him ten times or more:

He'll face Zack Greinke (3.66 ERA, 2.12 FIP), looking to bounce back from a disaster start on Saturday. Greinke finished just 2.1 innings against the Diamondbacks in that game, allowing seven runs on ten hits and walking three while striking out just three. On the bright side, he only threw 69 pitches in the outing so he should be rested.

Greinke allowed a home run in the third inning of Saturday's game, snapping a stretch of 33 consecutive innings without one. He's still given up just two this season, and his 0.3 HR/9 is even lower than it was in 2009 when he won the AL Cy Young.

Greinke received a no-decision when the Brewers faced the Dodgers on April 18 but pitched well enough to win, allowing two runs on just four hits over seven innings with two walks and seven strikeouts. Three Dodgers have faced him ten times or more:

Tonight's lineup is missing a certain someone:

Norichika Aoki LF
Nyjer Morgan CF
Corey Hart RF
Aramis Ramirez 3B
Taylor Green 1B
Rickie Weeks 2B
Martin Maldonado C
Edwin Maysonet SS
Zack Greinke P

And in the bullpen:

John Axford pitched one inning last night (18 pitches), and has appeared in four consecutive games.
Francisco Rodriguez pitched one inning last night (10 pitches), and has appeared in three consecutive games.
Manny Parra pitched one inning (8 pitches) last night.
Jose Veras and Tim Dillard last pitched on Sunday.
Juan Perez last pitched on Saturday.
Kameron Loe is the man that time forgot.

As I mentioned in this morning's Mug, today features one of the Brewers' worst road days of the year. They're playing a night game in Los Angeles tonight (a 9:10 Central time start), then getting on an airplane and flying home to host the Pirates at Miller Park tomorrow night. In a roughly 25 hour stretch starting tonight they'll play two baseball games and log roughly 1750 air miles in between.

The Brewers have 26 days this season where they play in a city on one day, then a different city the next. This, as you might expect, is the shortest turnaround.

This chart operates under the following assumptions:

• A three hour baseball game in the departing city, which is roughly the median time of Brewer games in 2012.
• A two hour window between the end of the game in the departing city and the team flight taking off. This is probably optimistic.
• An average flight speed of 500 mph.

The best Brewer trip of 2012, by this measure, is their last one. They'll play an 11:35 am game in Cincinnati on September 27, then fly home for a 7:10 start the next night. Their estimated time between arrival and the first pitch of the home game is 25 hours and 57 minutes.

This week's poll was open from Tuesday at noon through Wednesday, and received 246 responses. Here are some notable results:

• Just 37% of voters feel that this Brewer team can still make the playoffs, down from 56% last week.
• 57% of fans say poor play has been more of a factor in the Brewers' slow start than injuries.
• 65% of voters say Cody Ransom should be the Brewers' primary shortstop at this point.
• Voters gave votes of confidence to Rickie Weeks and Nyjer Morgan, with 74% and 60% of voters saying they think the respective players will turn it around.

Follow the jump for the full results.

Continue reading this post »

Some things to read while your books tip over.

The Brewers kept us up late last night but rewarded us for the effort, beating the Dodgers 6-3 to tie their longest winning streak of the season at three games. We've got the recap here, if you didn't stay up until 1 am to read it last night.

Yovani Gallardo had a solid outing through six innings last night but it was tarnished by Ron Roenicke's decision to leave him in to allow the first three batters to reach in the seventh. J.P. Breen of Disciples of Uecker notes that Gallardo is tied for the major league lead with nine quality starts this season. He's also pitched six straight.

Carlos Gomez had a big night last night, tying a career high with four hits and driving in the Brewers' first two runs. Ryan Kartje of FS Wisconsin says Gomez might finally be getting back to his pre-injury form.

Martin Maldonado also had a good night last night, going 1-for-3 and driving in his first major league run with a safety squeeze in the sixth inning, the Brewers' sixth successful squeeze in 2012. @SessileFielder wants to assign Maldonado a TMNT-themed nickname.

Last night's win brought the Brewers back within six games of .500 at 22-28, still leaving them a lot of work to do to get back into contention. Mark Attanasio, however, said "we still think we can win."

Other notes from the field:

• This is the first time the Dodgers have lost three straight games in 2012. A Brewer sweep tonight would be their first ever, home or away, against Los Angeles.
• Dodger outfielder Matt Kemp left last night's game in the first inning after re-aggravating his hamstring injury and expects to go back on the DL. He was just activated on Tuesday.
  
• Dodgers manager Don Mattingly missed last night's game after injuring his calf in the weight room.
• John Axford worked around a walk to pitch a scoreless ninth last night for his tenth save. He's appeared in four straight games, starting with Sunday's "just to get some work in" appearance against the Diamondbacks.
• Norichika Aoki had two hits last night, extending the Brewers' longest active streak to six games.
• Martin Maldonado was hit by a pitch last night, and he's now the 250th Brewer to be hit by at least one. Plunk Everyone has more on the accomplishment.
• Aramis Ramirez grounded into a double play last night, his sixth of the season, and only a bad defensive play saved him from also getting his seventh. Last night's Stat of the Night looked at the most notable Brewers to hit more double plays than home runs.
• We've also got highlights from last night's turning points and a transcript of Ron Roenicke's postgame comments.

The Brewers wrap up their series in Los Angeles with a 9:10 start tonight, and Tyler Emerick has the MLB.com preview. Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs gave tonight's Zack Greinke/Chad Billingsley matchup a six out of ten on his NERD scale. The game will be on MLB Network, for those of you living outside the Brewers and Dodgers' blackout regions and hoping to see it.

Hopefully the Brewers got some sleep last night, because they're going to have a long travel night tonight. The team has to return to Milwaukee following tonight's game (a ridiculous west coast getaway night contest) to host the Pirates at Miller Park tomorrow.

Rickie Weeks was on base three times last night, doubling and drawing two walks. He's still only hitting .156/.293/.295, though, and nullacct has a look at hitters that have maintained a batting average that low for a full season.

Ryan Braun went 0-for-3 last night with two walks (one intentional), and his OPS remains above 1.000 on the season. He also circled the bases in 23.67 seconds following his home run on Tuesday. MLB Trade Rumors notes that he's one of just five players in baseball under contract through 2020.

Looking back a day, there's still a fair amount of chatter out there about Michael Fiers' solid debut outing Tuesday night. J.P. Breen of FanGraphs has a look at his fastball, and why he was able to be successful while throwing the sub-90 mph pitch over 70% of the time. Fiers was also the Prospect of the Day at Minor League Ball. Adam McCalvy talked to Fiers about his newfound fame.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Lucroy got some bad news yesterday: His broken hand is going to require surgery to insert a pin, and he's now expected to be out six weeks (the long end of his original 4-6 week prognosis). Lucroy says he's planning on being around to do whatever he can to help the team's healthy catchers and pitchers.

In further proof that people will always find a new low, Lucroy said his wife has been receiving hate mail after her dropped suitcase led to this injury. TheJay's tweet sums up that situation pretty nicely:

Finding a ballplayer's wife's contact info is like becoming invisible, you can't have a good reason for it.

— Theron Schultz (@TheronJay) May 30, 2012

At any rate, Jon Morosi of Fox Sports says Lucroy's injury is a further indication that the Brewers need to sell before the trade deadline.

In the minors:

• The affiliates went 2-2 last night, and Huntsville had 12 hits in their 6-4 win over Tennessee to move within a game and a half of first place in the Southern League North division. Minor League Notes are off today, but Disciples of Uecker has more on last night's games.
• Wisconsin infielder Greg Hopkins was an honorable mention for MLB Depth Charts' Under the Radar NL Minor League Hitting Performance of the Week for May 23-29. Hopkins had 13 hits and three home runs in that span.
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Sounds pitcher Brian Baker.
• Mass Haas of Brewerfan.net has a look at the players the Brewers drafted but did not sign between 2003 and 2005. The 2005 class in particular has several players that really could have helped this team.

When the Brewers return to Miller Park tomorrow night they'll have a new ballpark feature for you to check out: John Steinmiller has a photo of the team's new "logo wall."

If you'd like more Brewer coverage today but you're sick of reading, I made an appearance yesterday on the Bucs Dugout Podcast to help preview this weekend's Brewers/Pirates series.

Finally, congratulations are due out this morning to Hebel, yesterday's winner in our SB Nation Pick 6 contest. Here's the full leaderboard:

Tonight's abbreviated major league schedule doesn't start until after 6, so you've still got plenty of time to make your picks for today.

Around baseball:

Cubs: Signed pitcher Shane Lindsay to a minor league deal and released pitcher Nate Robertson.
Diamondbacks: Placed outfielder Jason Kubel on paternity leave.
Mets: Placed shortstop Ronny Cedeno on the DL with a calf strain.
Rockies: Are expected to place shortstop Troy Tulowitzki on the DL with a groin strain and designated pitcher Jamie Moyer for assignment.
Tigers: Placed pitcher Doug Fister on the DL with a strained left side.

The Reds, Cardinals and Astros all lost last night, moving the Brewers into a tie for fourth place in the division and back to within six games of first place. You know that and more if you've read this morning's edition of Around the NL Central.

In former Brewers: It seems increasingly likely that Rule 5 pick Lucas Luetge is going to stick with the Mariners. He's pitched 11.1 scoreless innings to open the 2012 season, and has held opposing lefties to a .083/.290/.083 line.

Retractable roof ballparks are great, but it turns out they can't always protect the Marlins from Miami's unpredictable weather. A surprise rainstorm last night flooded the dugouts and soaked the press box and luxury suites before the grounds crew was able to close the roof at Marlins Park yesterday. It apparently takes 23 minutes to close the roof.

Another day, another story about the unprofessional actions of a tenured major league umpire. Apparently home plate umpire Laz Diaz would not allow Yankees catcher Russell Martin to throw new baseballs back to his pitchers following foul balls last night, telling Martin he had to "earn the privilege" to do so. If that's true Diaz should "earn the privilege" to never officiate a professional game again.

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks the sixth anniversary of an ugly loss to the Pirates in Pittsburgh where infielder Jose Castillo hit his sixth home run in five games. Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times notes that it's also the anniversary of a brawl between the Brewers and Indians in 1996 that started when Albert Belle broke Fernando Vina's nose with a forearm while trying to break up a double play.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm late for my race.

Drink up.

In recent years the Brewers have largely dominated the Pirates, but it's worth noting that it hasn't always been that way. On this day in 2006 the Brewers dropped their third consecutive game in Pittsburgh, and had been outscored 32-5 over those three days.

Pirate infielder Jose Castillo was the star of the series, hitting four home runs in the first three games. This was part of a streak where he hit six home runs in five games, representing nearly half of his full season total (14). The Pirates completed a four game sweep of the Brewers the next day, and went 9-7 against the Crew that season.

With help from Brewerfan.net and the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:

• AZL Brewer Mike Schaub, who turns 20.
• 2001 Brewer Mac Suzuki, who turns 37.
• 1996 Brewer Tim VanEgmond, who turns 43.
• 1981-82 Brewer Dwight Bernard, who turns 60. We covered his birthday in this space last year.

Aramis Ramirez squashed a potential Brewer rally in the fifth inning tonight by grounding into a 4-6-3 double play. It was his sixth GIDP of the season, which is a significantly lower number than I expected. He should have had another one in the eighth, but got an RBI groundout instead when the Dodgers failed to turn it.

However, Ramirez still has more double plays (6) than home runs (4) this season. At the moment he looks like a good bet to join this list of five seasons in franchise history where a player has hit 15 or more home runs, but grounded into double plays more often:

If I extended that list a little further, Casey McGehee and Yuniesky Betancourt would be the seventh and eighth entries on it: The two combined to hit 26 home runs but ground into 35 double plays last season.

1) Carlos Gomez's fourth inning two-run single: +.179 WPA (Video)

Hours upon hours ago, the Brewers trailed 1-0 in this game. They loaded the bases with one out against Clayton Kershaw in the fourth, though, and Carlos Gomez gave them their first lead with this single through the left side.

2) Tony Gwynn Jr's seventh inning double play: +.148 WPA

The Brewers found themselves in a major jam in the seventh inning, allowing four straight hits and bringing the go-ahead run to the plate with none out. Manny Parra worked out of the jam, though, getting a strikeout and this ground ball to end the threat and maintain a 5-3 lead.

3) Elian Herrera's two run single in the seventh: -.137 WPA (Video)

The two Dodger runs that scored in the seventh both came on this play and dropped the Brewer lead from 5-1 to 5-3 with no one out in the seventh.

4) Andre Ethier's first inning RBI double: -.123 WPA (Video)

The Dodgers had Yovani Gallardo on the ropes early tonight, forcing him to throw 35 pitches to record his first three outs. He only allowed one run in the inning, though, and it came on this double.

5) James Loney's seventh inning strikeout: +.098 WPA

Loney was just trying to bunt to advance the runners to second and third in this plate appearance with no one out and two runs in, but Manny Parra struck him out.

The next five:

6) Ivan De Jesus' seventh inning single: -.090 WPA
7) Aramis Ramirez's fifth inning double play: -.085 WPA (Video)
8) Cody Ransom's fourth inning walk: +.084 WPA
9) Yovani Gallardo's sixth inning RBI single: +.079 WPA (Video)
10) Rickie Weeks' sixth inning double: +.067 WPA

And the win expectancy graph:

Source: FanGraphs

As seen on FS Wisconsin:

On Clayton Kershaw:

I thought when he pitched against us at our place I thought we did a nice job against him as far as making him work and seeing a lot of pitches, which we did again. So our at bats I thought were really good today.

On getting production from the bottom of the order:

I think Carlos especially, this is how he was swinging before he got hurt. And we hadn't been seeing that so far, so it's good to get him back where he looks really good again. With that, the other guys doing what they need to do. Well-played ball game.

I couldn't catch this question:

You had to bring that up, didn't you? We're playing good. Pitching, really good again. Yovani, real nice outing. We were wondering about whether to put him out there for that last inning, may have been a little tired then but before that he had good command on his fastball, the slider was real good. He got a big hit for us so I know he's happy about that. But yeah, great pitching all three games.

What was his conversation with John Axford like before today's game?

Not too long. First thing he said when I saw him was "I'm good today." So I talked to Rick (Kranitz) and Rick had talked to him and he'd been out playing catch and felt like he was good. Unfortunately tomorrow we'll see what we need to do with him. But Frankie (Francisco Rodriguez) will be good. Frankie's good almost every day. So one of them will be good. Maybe both.

Why does it always seem like the Brewers need their closer right away after putting them in a game just to get work?

That's what I told Rick. I told him that yesterday, every time we do that this happens. Although maybe we should do it more often to make sure it happens. But no, Ax, still good stuff and Frankie same thing, good stuff. Manny (Parra) comes in in a tough situation and we don't know much about (Elian) Herrera right-handed and first pitch he does a nice job going the other way. And then Manny threw some really good pitches after that.

On Martin Maldonado's squeeze bunt:

Yeah, really good. I watched him bunt in BP today and before that play I asked him 'What do you think about it?' and he goes "Oh yeah!' So there really wasn't much doubt that he could do it and he acted like it was nothing to do it. That was a really good bunt and it's not that easy, so yeah, he did a great job on that.

W: Yovani Gallardo (4-4)
L: Clayton Kershaw (4-3)
S: John Axford (10)

HR: None

MVP: Carlos Gomez (+.162)
LVP: Aramis Ramirez (-.049)

Win Expectancy Graph and Star of the Game Voting

If you had told me on Sunday that the Brewers would clinch a winning road trip tonight by beating Clayton Kershaw, I might have laughed out loud. They've looked like a different team over the last three days after losing two of three in Arizona over the weekend.

Yovani Gallardo recovered from a rough first inning tonight to pitch six solid frames, allowing a run on five hits. Unfortunately, the Brewers opted not to get him out of the game with over 100 pitches at that point and he allowed the first three batters he faced in the seventh to reach before being lifted. Manny Parra allowed two of those runners to score but escaped further damage with a strikeout and double play to end the threat.

By only allowing two inherited runners to score Parra also preserved Gallardo's sixth consecutive quality start. He allowed three earned runs on eight hits over six innings tonight, walking three and striking out eight.

The Brewer bats, meanwhile, woke up against the NL's reigning Cy Young Award winner. They plated five runs on eight hits over 5.2 innings against Kershaw, who had his worst outing of the 2012 season. Corey Hart had three hits tonight and Carlos Gomez had four, the most he's had since 2010. The Brewers as a team had 14 in the game for just the second time this season.

John Axford recorded the final three outs tonight for his third save and fourth appearance in as many days. Yesterday I said I expected him to be unavailable today, but now he's almost certainly got to be unavailable tomorrow.

Tonight's win improved the Brewers to 3-14 this season in games where they didn't hit a home run.

The Brewers have already clinched a winning road trip, but they've got one more exceedingly late night game to play before returning home. Zack Greinke will face Chad Billingsley at 9:10 tomorrow night.

The 2012 Milwaukee Brewers have only won three consecutive games once all season. Tonight they'll get an opportunity to make it twice.

It won't be easy, though, as they're facing reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw (1.97 ERA, 3.13 FIP). For the second straight season Kershaw is the NL's best pitcher when it comes to limiting baserunners (a 0.903 WHIP), and he's sixth in the NL this season with 68.2 innings pitched. He's also only 24.

Kershaw has kept his ERA under 2 so far this season despite the fact that he's only striking out 7.5 batters per nine, down from 9.6 last season. Opposing batters are hitting just .220 on balls in play against him, implying that he's been pretty lucky. He'll throw a low-to-mid 90's fastball, a lot of sliders and the occasional curveball and changeup. The slider is his best pitch.

The Brewers missed Kershaw when these two teams met in April but lost to him on August 18 of last year. He pitched eight shutout innings in that game, allowing five hits and striking out six without walking a batter. Two current Brewers have faced him ten times or more:

He'll face Yovani Gallardo (4.19 ERA, 3.97 FIP), who is having one of his best months. Gallardo is riding a streak of five straight quality starts and has posted a 2.59 ERA in May. He pitched 7.1 innings against the Diamondbacks on Friday night and allowed a run on five hits, walking three and striking out five.

The trend with Gallardo remains pretty clear: In games where he faces the Cardinals he struggles, and in all others he's been very good. 14 of the 27 earned runs he's allowed this season have come against St. Louis, and he has a 2.21 ERA against everyone else. If he can pitch a quality start tonight he'll tie his career-long streak with six such games.

Gallardo faced the Dodgers on April 17 and was very good, allowing two runs on seven hits over seven innings with a walk and seven strikeouts. Four Dodgers have faced him ten times or more:

Here's tonight's lineup:

Corey Hart 1B
Norichika Aoki RF
Ryan Braun LF
Aramis Ramirez 1B
Rickie Weeks 2B
Cody Ransom SS
Carlos Gomez CF
Martin Maldonado C
Yovani Gallardo P

And in the bullpen:

John Axford pitched one inning (16 pitches) last night, and has appeared in three straight games.
Francisco Rodriguez pitched one inning (14 pitches) last night, and also pitched on Monday.
Jose Veras and Tim Dillard last pitched on Sunday.
Juan Perez last pitched on Saturday.
Manny Parra and Kameron Loe last pitched a week ago today.

The weather tonight should be similar to last night: The game time temperature will be around 67 and will fall into the low 60's as the night goes along.

About two weeks ago I wrote a post about an odd statistical quirk involving Nyjer Morgan, who at that point had set a Brewer franchise record by opening the season with 98 consecutive plate appearances without an RBI. I never expected to end up writing a follow-up to that post, but here we are: Morgan has hit .290/.371/.290 in 36 plate appearances since that post, but is still looking for RBI #1.

Morgan made four plate appearances last night and is now up to 134 this season. His 120 at bats to start a season without an RBI are a new major league record*, and he's only the seventh NL player since 1918 and the first since 1969 to break 100:

* - For non-pitchers. Also, B-Ref's game-by-game data only goes back to 1918, so it's possible there are others from before then.

No American Leaguer has broke 100 since Larry Milbourne of the 1982 Yankees, Twins and Indians went 112.

Morgan also was held without an RBI in his last 16 at bats of the 2011 regular season. Overall, his streak of 136 at bats without an RBI is now easily the longest for a non-pitcher in Brewer franchise history:

The Brewers' overall record belongs to Ben Sheets, who went 168 at bats between RBI from July of 2004 to April of 2008. Amazingly, Morgan might only be two weeks or so away from holding that record too.

Some things to read while getting your hand swatted.

I won't speak for everyone, but last night's win was a long overdue breath of fresh air for me. The Brewers edged out a 2-1 win over the Dodgers behind Ryan Braun's home run and seven solid innings from Michael Fiers and we've got the recap here, if you missed it.

Fiers was the big story last night, allowing a run on five hits over seven innings while striking out three and walking none. As you might expect, we've got lots more on him:

• Both Ron Roenicke and Dodger manager Don Mattingly compared Fiers' deceptive delivery to Diamondbacks pitcher Josh Collmenter.
• Fiers is the only Brewer pitcher to complete a seven+ inning outing in under 90 pitches this season.
• Fiers is the first Brewer to win his first major league start since Yovani Gallardo in 2007, and the first to do it on the road since Nick Nuegebauer in 2001.
• Carlos Gomez has a picture of Fiers once the guys in the clubhouse were done with him last night, and John Axford has a list of things he's wearing in said picture.
• Fiers and catcher Martin Maldonado are the first Brewer battery ever to make their first MLB starts in the same game.
• @Mass_Haas speculated that yesterday might have been the most lucrative day of Fiers' career.
  

Ryan Braun drew one of the louder negative reactions he's seen all season last night, as Dodger fans that used to cheer Manny Ramirez voiced their displeasure over his alleged positive test from last season. Braun told Adam McCalvy he's not fazed by it.

Other notes from the field:

• The Brewers are the first team in baseball to beat the Dodgers four times this season. All five of their games against the Dodgers this season have been decided by one run.
  
• Aramis Ramirez snapped a six game hitting streak last night, so the longest active Brewer streak now belongs to Norichika Aoki at five.
• Martin Maldonado's single in his first at bat was his first major league hit.
• Last night's lineup was the Brewers' 13th different alignment in as many days.
• We've got video highlights of last night's turning points and a transcript of Ron Roenicke's postgame comments.
• Last night's game was played in two hours and 30 minutes, tying it for the fastest Brewer game this season.
• 51,137 fans paid to see last night's game, the largest crowd to witness a Brewer game in 2012.

The Brewers are now one win away from turning a rough series in Arizona into a winning west coast road trip. They'll get their first shot at it tonight when they face the Dodgers again at 9:10, and Tyler Emerick has the MLB.com preview. Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs gave tonight's Yovani Gallardo/Clayton Kershaw matchup a 5 out of 10 on his NERD scale.

The Brewers had to clear a spot on the roster for Fiers before last night's game and did so by returning Mike McClendon to Nashville (FanShot). McClendon's only outing in his second stint with the team this season was his 2.2 scoreless innings in relief of Zack Greinke on Saturday.

Martin Maldonado had a good first game last night (and his presence behind the plate likely also helped Fiers, a former AAA teammate), but that doesn't change the fact that people are still talking about how this Brewer team will miss Jonathan Lucroy while he rehabs his broken hand. Howie Magner of Milwaukee Magazine says Lucroy's injury "defies belief," which makes it a perfect fit for the 2012 Brewers. Jeremy Blackman of NotGraphs compared Lucroy's injury to other, fictional, suitcase-related baseball injuries.

Watching the 2012 Brewers unravel a bit has been disconcerting for Brewer fans, but it's also raised an alarm elsewhere: Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times notes that the Mariners' decision to follow the Brewer model of rebuilding doesn't look as good as it used to. In a related note, Nicholas Zettel of Disciples of Uecker has a look at the decision to dismantle or not dismantle an expected winning team.

In the minors:

• The Brewers made an interesting roster move yesterday, promoting 19-year-old 2011 fifth round pick Michael Reed from extended spring training up to Huntsville. Reed hit .232/.295/.375 in 14 Arizona League games last season. Mass Haas has more on the move at Brewerfan.net.
• Elsewhere in roster moves, former major league catcher Jason Jaramillo has been promoted to Nashville to fill Martin Maldonado's spot.
• The affiliates went 2-3 last night and both wins came from Brevard County, who swept a doubleheader behind solid pitching performances from Jimmy Nelson and Brandon Williamson. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• Huntsville infielder Scooter Gennett extended his latest hitting streak to 12 games last night.
• Also at Huntsville, first baseman Hunter Morris leads the Southern League with 20 doubles this season and is on pace to break the league record.
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Brewer minor league pitching coordinator Lee Tunnell.
• Manny the Manatee was the only Brewer-affiliated mascot to advance to the second round in MiLB.com's Mascot Madness.

If frequently complain (and intend to continue complaining) when Brewer games go untelevised, because it seems like a waste to keep games off the air when an established market of people will watch them. With that said, it's worth noting that baseball has come a long way in this regard: In 1991 the Brewers were one of four teams with no cable agreement whatsoever, and the only way you could see the games was over-the-air via WCGV.

If you'd like more Brewer coverage today but you're sick of reading, my appearance last night on The Watercooler with Jimmie Kaska on Sports Radio 1400 in Eau Claire has been archived.

Or, if you'd prefer to talk Brewers in person, you could make plans to attend Miller Park Drunk's Pants Party 2 on July 15. My face was even photoshopped onto a picture to help promote it. I'll be stopping by to collect my royalties.

If you haven't yet, please take a moment today to vote in our BCB Tracking Poll. It will remain open through the day today and results will be posted tomorrow.

Finally, congratulations are due out this morning to coolig, yesterday's winner in our SB Nation Pick 6 contest. Here's the full leaderboard:

I finished 60th out of 60 yesterday, which makes sense because I spent the minimum $3 on my team. Today's first game starts at 11:05, so by the time you read this it'll probably already be too late to make your picks for today.

Around baseball:

Angels: Placed pitcher Jered Weaver on the DL with back spasms.
Indians: Placed DH Travis Hafner on the DL with a knee injury.
Padres: Signed pitcher Jason Marquis to a minor league deal.
Phillies: Placed pitcher Roy Halladay on the DL with a shoulder strain.
Rangers: Signed pitcher Roy Oswalt.
Twins: Returned outfielder Erik Komatsu, a rule 5 pick, to the Nationals.
Yankees: Claimed reliever Ryota Igarashi off waivers from the Blue Jays.

A 3-2 road trip to this point has allowed the Brewers to gain a couple of games in the standings on the Astros, who have lost four straight. A win and an Astro loss tonight would tie the Brewers for fourth place in the division. You know this and more if you've read this morning's edition of Around the NL Central.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to cover up this bite mark.

Drink up.

By this day in 1970 fans of the inaugural Milwaukee Brewers already knew their season wasn't going to provide much to cheer for. The Crew entered the game 13-30 on the season, and just 11,704 fans paid to watch their Sunday afternoon game against the Tigers. The fans that did appear, though, got to see history.

The Brewers gave up two runs in the top of the first but rebounded in a big way in the bottom half. Their first run scored on Ted Savage's RBI single, and a Hank Allen walk loaded the bases with none out. After Danny Walton and Jerry McNertney struck out, it looked like the Tigers might get out of it.

Second baseman Roberto Pena, however, had other ideas. He hit a ball to center that resulted in an inside-the-park grand slam and gave the Brewers a 5-2 lead. It was the Brewers' first slam since moving to Milwaukee, and one of just two inside-the-park slams in franchise history.

The Brewers allowed the Tigers to claw back into the game, but scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to secure a 9-7 victory.

With help from the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to 1972-73 Brewer John Felske. He turns 70, and we covered his birthday in this space last year.

Michael Fiers couldn't have been much better in his first major league start tonight, holding the Dodgers to a single run and needing just 89 pitches to complete seven innings. Brewer starting pitchers have completed seven or more innings 15 times this season, but Fiers is the first to do it in under 90 pitches and only the third in under 100:

However, Fiers' outing tonight was nowhere near a Brewer franchise record. Since pitch counts became an official stat the Brewers have had six pitchers complete at least seven innings while throwing less than 75 pitches. One of them even worked eight innings:

1) Jerry Hairston Jr's ninth inning double play: +.345 WPA

I think this play felt even bigger than it was. After John Axford allowed the first two batters in the ninth to reach with a one run cushion, he got two outs on one play with this chopper to Rickie Weeks.

2) Matt Kemp's ninth inning double: -.243 WPA

The Dodgers' MVP candidate made us all a little extra uncomfortable by doubling to left center following a long at bat to lead off the ninth inning, putting the potential tying run in scoring position.

3) Ryan Braun's first inning two-run home run: +.189 WPA (Video)

The Brewers' entire offensive output tonight came on this play, as Ryan Braun took a Nathan Eovaldi pitch to the opposite field to give Michael Fiers and the Crew an early 2-0 lead.

4) James Loney's ninth inning groundout: +.148 WPA (Video)

Off the bat I thought this might be a game-tying single, but Cody Ransom was able to make the play on a ball hit up the middle to record the game's final out.

5) Andre Ethier's sixth inning RBI double: -.141 WPA (Video)

The only blemish on Fiers' record tonight was this ball, which drove home Ivan De Jesus and brought the Dodgers back within one.

The next five:

6) Andre Ethier's ninth inning hit by pitch: -.076 WPA
7) Ivan De Jesus' sixth inning double: -.061 WPA
8) Jerry Hairston Jr's sixth inning groundout: +.060 WPA
9) Francisco Rodriguez strikes out Elian Herrera in the eighth: +.059 WPA
10) Michael Fiers strikes out Nathan Eovaldi in the fifth: +.058 WPA

Source: FanGraphs

As seen on FS Wisconsin:

On Michael Fiers:

Yeah, great job. Changed speeds well, pitched up in the zone really well.

Did he consider getting Fiers out of a close game in the sixth or seventh since he's a rookie?

I've never seen a rookie catcher catching a first start guy either.

On Nathan Eovaldi:

Eovaldi, ball-strike ratio absolutely incredible. We kept watching it, it was sliders, it was changeups, the explosive fastball. It was pretty impressive to watch that.

More on Fiers:

Yeah, he was up in the zone a lot which is hard to hit because he's got that deception. And then he's getting in on guys then coming back with nice changeups. He threw some good cutters. But I think because he was up with that in the zone he made it tough.

On the pitch Fiers threw to Andre Ethier:

He (Martin Maldonado) called for a fastball up and he threw it knee-high. And that's one of the few mistakes. Yeah, that was a great outing.

Was Martin Maldonado or Roenicke calling pitches tonight?

Maldonado's taking care of most of it. Sometimes he may look in and want a little help but he's calling it.

On John Axford's rough start to the ninth inning:

Kemp put together a great at bat and I thought Ax threw him some good pitches. The thing I always comment on in the dugout is that great hitters foul off really good pitches. And then they foul off enough to where you're going to make a mistake, which Ax did on the 3-2. He doesn't want to walk him, he's got a very good fastball going, and thigh-high on the outer third and Kemp does a great job of hitting.

On Jerry Hairston Jr failing to get the bunt down and hitting into a double play in the ninth:

That was a huge turning point. Ax is very difficult to bunt also. He's throwing, whatever he's throwing, 97 or 98, that's not easy to bunt.

Did a hostile crowd tonight motivate Ryan Braun?

I have seen him do it before, and sometimes it works in our favor.

Has he seen a right hander hit a ball down the right field line at Dodger Stadium like Braun did?

Well, in day games it happens a lot. In day games the ball travels really well here. In night games, you have to crush it to get out of here. And the later on it gets in the night as it gets a little cooler the ball does not go. That's why what Kemp does here with the opposite field home runs, that's pretty amazing to do here.

Mike Fiers will get another turn in the rotation, right?

Right. It'd be pretty tough to take him out of there wouldn't it?

W: Michael Fiers (1-0)
L: Nathan Eovaldi (0-1)
S: John Axford (9)

HR: Ryan Braun (14)

MVP: Michael Fiers (+.305)
LVP: Cody Ransom (-.075)

Win Expectancy Graph and Star of the Game Voting

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to see what Michael Fiers can do as a member of the full time rotation.

The Brewers got everything they could have hoped for from Fiers tonight and then some, as he allowed just one run on five hits, walking none and striking out three over seven innings. He needed just 89 pitches to record 21 outs, and was rewarded with his first major league win.

Meanwhile, both Brewer runs scored tonight on Ryan Braun's first inning opposite-field home run. Braun had two hits tonight after getting just one in his previous three games. The Brewers managed just five hits as a team tonight, but they were enough.

Martin Maldonado singled in his first at bat tonight, earning his first major league hit. He has one more Brewer hit than Brooks Conrad, who struck out in the eighth to drop to 0-for-22 this season.

John Axford made things interesting tonight, allowing a leadoff double to Matt Kemp and hitting Andre Ethier with a pitch in the ninth before getting a double play and a groundout to secure his ninth save. His appearance tonight was his third in as many days, and it's probably safe to assume he'll be unavailable tomorrow.

This series continues tomorrow, with Yovani Gallardo taking on Clayton Kershaw at 9:10.

I can't guarantee tonight's game will be good, but if you stay up late to watch it it should be interesting.

It's not often a pitcher like Nathan Eovaldi (making his first MLB start of 2012) enters a game as the more experienced starter, but he will tonight. Eovaldi is 22 years old and making just his eleventh major league appearance (seventh start), and his first of 2012. He pitched 34.2 innings for the Dodgers as a 21-year-old in 2011, posting a 3.63 ERA and walking over five batters per nine innings. Eovaldi's last start came on May 20 in AA, and he pitched an inning in relief for Chattanooga on Saturday.

Here's an excerpt from John Sickels' entry on Eovaldi in his 2012 Prospect Book:

His fastball has always been good, 93-98 MPH with movement.

...

Last year he was healthy, added a slider to his arsenal in place of an erratic curve, and also improved his changeup. Eovaldi's command remains inconsistent and his K/BB ratio in the majors was weak, so there is still work to do here.

...

He has the upside of a number two starter if he continues to progress with his command.

Eovaldi has walked 13 and struck out 30 while posting a 3.09 ERA in 35 innings in AA this season.

One of Eovaldi's starts in 2011 came against the Brewers on August 17. He pitched six innings in that game and held the Crew to two runs on five hits over six innings, walking three and striking out two. Ryan Braun and Nyjer Morgan each had a hit in that game.

Eovaldi's opponent will be Michael Fiers (making his first MLB appearance in 2012), making his first major league start. Fiers is 26 years old and was a 22nd round pick in the 2009 draft, and now he's the first player the Brewers selected that season to make the majors. He started for Nashville on Thursday and allowed five runs on four hits over seven innings. He's pitched seven innings in three of his last four appearances.

This is where I'd normally drop in a scouting report, but Noah did a great job writing one earlier today so I'll direct you to that instead. I will mention this, though: Fiers has 61 career minor league plate appearances and is a .138/.138/.190 hitter. Two of his three career extra base hits have come this season (both doubles).

This is Fiers' first time facing the Dodgers, and no current members of the team have faced him in the majors before. It's possible some of them could have seen him in AAA, AA or Low-A, though, as the Brewers and Dodgers have affiliates in the same leagues at those levels.

Here's tonight's lineup:

Corey Hart RF
Nyjer Morgan CF
Ryan Braun LF
Aramis Ramirez 3B
Taylor Green 1B
Rickie Weeks 2B
Cody Ransom SS
Martin Maldonado C
Michael Fiers P

And in the bullpen:

John Axford pitched one inning (24 pitches) last night, and also pitched on Sunday.
Francisco Rodriguez pitched one inning (28 pitches) last night.
Jose Veras pitched one inning (17 pitches) Sunday.
Tim Dillard pitched one inning (6 pitches) Sunday.
Juan Perez last pitched on Saturday.
Manny Parra and Kameron Loe last pitched on Wednesday.

Finally, the weather in California will not be an issue tonight. The game time temperature should be in the upper 60's and hold relatively steady through the night.

This week's poll includes questions on Rickie Weeks, Nyjer Morgan, the shortstop position and more. It will remain open through the day Wednesday, with results posted on Thursday. As always, please vote once.

Follow the jump to vote in the poll.

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Some things to read while reassessing your argument.

The Brewers opened a four game set in Los Angeles with a win last night behind a strong performance from Shaun Marcum, who threw a career-high 119 pitches and tied a Brewer career-high with nine strikeouts while allowing just one run on six hits over seven innings. The Brewers won the game 3-2 and -JP- has the recap, if you missed it.

Unfortunately, the win was not yesterday's big news. Jonathan Lucroy has become the latest Brewer added to the injury report, as he'll be out 4-6 weeks after suffering a "boxer's fracture" of his right hand when his wife dropped a suitcase on him in their hotel room before Monday's game (FanShot). Jon Heyman, like many of you, appears to be wondering how one gets a "boxer's fracture" from a falling suitcase. Adam McCalvy is suggesting drastic measures.

At any rate, Lucroy becomes the eighth Brewer to go on the disabled list since April 20, and Martin Maldonado will be called up to take his place. Since George Kottaras is nursing a sore hamstring, Maldonado will likely catch most days for now. He had a breakout year offensively in 2011 but was hitting .198/.270/.347 in 35 games for Nashville this season. He'll likely make his first major league start tonight.

Other notes from the field:

• John Axford recorded his eighth save last night and his first without a mustache since 2009.
• Axford hit 100 on the radar gun for the first time last night, but Adam McCalvy said it was a hot gun.
• Aramis Ramirez, playing in his first game since missing most of the weekend with an HBP-related elbow injury, was hit by a pitch again last night. Plunk Everyone has more.
• It's worth noting that Ramirez was hit ten times last year, so his HBP pace is roughly even with what you'd expect.
• We've got last night's turning points and a transcript of Ron Roenicke's postgame comments.

The two teams continue the series at 9:10 tonight and it should be interesting, as Michael Fiers is expected to make his first major league start and will face Dodgers top prospect Nathan Eovaldi, who was recalled from AA when Ted Lilly went on the DL with shoulder inflammation. AJ Cassavell of MLB.com has the preview. The Brewers, by the way, still need to make a roster move to activate Fiers.

The Brewers are likely to see Matt Kemp back in the lineup tonight. Kemp has been on the DL with a strained hamstring but homered in a rehab game last night and is expected to rejoin the Dodgers today.

The Brewers did get some good injury news yesterday: After missing this weekend's series due to elbow inflammation Kameron Loe was available to pitch last night.

Cody Ransom went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts at the plate last night but made a couple of nice defensive plays as the Brewers closed out the game in the ninth. Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts notes that Ransom has a history of big moments against the Dodgers.

Ryan Braun went 0-for-2 but drew a couple of walks yesterday to drop his season slash line to .309/.388/.600. Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness notes that Braun's OPS has not changed significantly from 2011 (when it was .994).

In the minors:

• The affiliates went 2-1 last night, with Matt Miller allowing just one unearned run on two hits over six innings in Wisconsin's 3-1 win over Peoria. You can read about that and big nights for Lee Haydel, Caleb Gindl and Josh Stinson in today's Minor League Notes.
• Keith Law, when asked about both pitchers yesterday, said Taylor Jungmann is more likely to be an impact major leaguer and Jed Bradley has gone backwards since being drafted.
• Brooks Conrad, who has since been recalled by the Brewers, was named Pacific Coast League Batter of the Week.
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Sounds manager Mike Guerrero.
• Wisconsin shortstop Yadiel Rivera is Disciples of Uecker's Prospect of the Week.

The Brewers had to make a difficult transition this winter following the premature passing of longtime Miller Park groundskeeper Gary Vanden Berg, who died of cancer in October. Lori Nickel of the JS (behind the paywall) has a great story on new director of grounds Justin Scott, his background and some of the challenges he faces keeping the grass green and healthy under the Miller Park roof.

Even if the Brewers don't sell another ticket, over two million fans will pay to see that green grass in 2012. Buster Olney of ESPN says Milwaukee deserves consideration for baseball's best fan base for continuing to show up and support the team.

If you'd like more Brewer coverage today but you're sick of reading, I've got a couple of options for you:

• I'll be making my weekly appearance on The Watercooler with Jimmie Kaska on Sports Radio 1400 WBIZ in Eau Claire at 5:15 today.
• From there, I'll move directly over to The Sports Den with "Downtown" Ollie Burrows on SportsFan 100.5 in Wausau at 5:30.

After that, I'll probably take a nap before tonight's game.

In power rankings:

• ESPN has the Brewers at 25th, up one spot.
• Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune has the Brewers holding steady at 25.

Finally, congratulations are due out this morning to Misterinformative, yesterday's winner in our SB Nation Pick 6 contest. Here's the full leaderboard:

Today's schedule opens at 1:20, so there's still time to make your picks for today. And while you're at it, don't forget about Prognostikeggers.

Around baseball:

Indians: Placed third baseman Jack Hannahan on the DL with a calf strain and designated pitcher Jairo Asencio for assignment.
Mets: Placed infielder Justin Turner on the DL with an ankle sprain and designated pitcher Manny Acosta for assignment.
Nationals: Placed infielder Chad Tracy on the DL with a strained groin.
Orioles: Placed reliever Stu Pomeranz on the DL with an oblique strain.
Padres: Claimed pitcher Neil Wagner off waivers from the Athletics.
Pirates: Placed pitcher Juan Cruz on the restricted list.

The division race got a little tighter yesterday, as the Reds lost (to the Pirates, who have drawn within three games) and the Cardinals won to narrow the gap between the two teams to half a game. You know this and more if you've read this morning's edition of Around the NL Central.

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks Jerry Hairston Jr.'s 36th birthday, and Plunk Everyone notes that his 82 career HBP are the most ever for a player born on May 29. Today is also the 18th anniversary of the 1994 ceremony where the Brewers retired Robin Yount's number.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I still have no idea how to iron this.

Drink up.

On this day in 1976 Jerry Wayne Hairston Jr. was born in Des Moines, Iowa, the son of the major league outfielder with the same name and the grandson of 1951 White Sox catcher Sam Hairston. He went to college at Southern Illinois before the Orioles selected him in the eleventh round (345th overall pick) of the 1997 draft. He made his big league debut as an Oriole the following season.

2012 is Hairston's 15th major league season, and the Dodgers are his ninth team. The Orioles traded Hairston to the Cubs in 2005 and he's since been a Ranger, Red, Yankee, Padre, National and, of course, a 2011 Milwaukee Brewer.

The Brewers acquired Hairston on July 30 of last year in exchange for outfield prospect Erik Komatsu, and he hit .274/.348/.379 in 45 games down the stretch as the Crew won the NL Central. He was also Milwaukee's primary third baseman during the playoffs and had at least one hit in ten of their eleven postseason games. Despite the fact that Hairston had played 14 seasons, 2011 was just his second postseason appearance.

The Brewers were unable to retain Hairston this winter, as he signed a two-year deal with the Dodgers. He had an RBI single against the Crew last night.

Hairston turns 36 today. With help from the B-Ref Play Index, we'd also like to wish a happy birthday to:

• 2000 Brewer Charlie Hayes, who turns 47.
• 1980 Brewer Fred Holdsworth, who turns 60.
• Seattle Pilot and 1970 Brewer John Kennedy, who turns 71.

Hey folks,

I wasn't around the site much this weekend, so this morning I was surprised to notice that a few of you appear to have wandered over to AZ Snakepit at some point during the Diamondbacks series and at least two of you got yourself warned or banned over there.

It's been a while since I've mentioned this policy, so now seems like as good a time as any to bring it up again: If you get yourself banned from an opposing team's site during a Brewer series, I will ban you here too. We don't appreciate it when other teams' fanbases troll us, so it's only fair that we make an effort not to do it to them. I personally try to avoid showing up in opposing team game threads during games, but if you insist on doing it please make sure you're not giving a bad name to the rest of us.

Thanks for your cooperation. Tonight's game preview should be up shortly.

The Brewers are in Los Angeles to open up a four game set tonight, their only visit to LA in 2012 and their last meeting with the Dodgers this season. We've already talked to True Blue LA once in 2012, so it's time now for a look at our favorite Brewer/Dodger moments from 2011. The Brewers went 4-2 against our friends from Los Angeles last season.

1) Brewers turn a triple play, Randy Wolf pitches eight shutout innings on August 15

Wolf was anything but dominant on this day, allowing eleven baserunners (six hits and five walks) over eight innings. He worked with the Brewer defense to limit the damage, though, getting a triple play and four double plays in a 3-0 victory.

If that embedded clip didn't work for you, you can see it here.

Follow the jump for more!

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Some things to read while getting older by the minute.

I'm getting much too used to writing things like this: The Brewers lost two of three again over the weekend, this time to the Diamondbacks. Yesterday's final score was 4-3, and we've got the recap here if you missed it. Adam McCalvy said it was "as crushing a ‪Brewers‬ loss as I have ever seen."

The Brewers had a 3-1 lead and a chance to blow the game open in the sixth inning yesterday, but Nyjer Morgan grounded into a bases-loaded double play to end the threat and was caught on camera failing to run out the ground ball. He later admitted he looked back to the plate to watch the play. He still doesn't have an RBI this season.

Saturday's loss featured a rare disaster start for Zack Greinke, who was unable to complete the third inning. MGL of The Book Blog was not impressed with Greinke's pitch selection in the game.

Meanwhile, the Brewers picked up a costly win on Friday, winning 7-1 but getting hit by three pitches in the game. Aramis Ramirez suffered a bruised elbow on the third pitch and missed Saturday and Sunday's games. He told reporters that the Brewers' rash of recent HBPs needs to stop. Plunk Everyone has more on the game.

Friday night's game also saw Cesar Izturis come up lame after rounding third base and he later went on the DL with a hamstring injury (FanShot). Izturis was hitting .216/.242/.261 this season but Nick Prill of The Brewers Bar says losing him still hurts.

One thing is certain: The Brewers' recent play has been pretty painful to watch at times. Jim Olski of the Green Bay Press Gazette says this team is in serious need of fun.

Other notes from the field:

• This weekend was the first time the Diamondbacks have won a home series since Opening Weekend.
• The Brewers are one of just four teams that have only recorded eight saves this season.
• Randy Wolf picked off two baserunners yesterday.
• We've got links to video highlights from yesterday's turning points.
• Rickie Weeks, Ryan Braun and Corey Hart circled the bases in 21.16, 21.23 and 22.21 seconds following their home runs Friday.

The west coast swing continues tonight as the Brewers travel to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers at 7:10. Jake Kaplan of MLB.com has the preview.

Tonight's game will likely feature the Brewer return of Brooks Conrad: He was recalled last night when Travis Ishikawa went on the DL following the game with an oblique strain (FanShot). Conrad is 0-for-21 as a Brewer this season but was hitting .405/.482/.905 for Nashville with home runs in four straight games.

It's also possible we won't see Kameron Loe tonight: He was unavailable this weekend due to elbow discomfort. Before this weekend he had thrown 129 pitches over the last seven days, including two innings on zero days' rest Wednesday.

Tuesday's game will likely feature the first major league start of 2009 22nd round pick Michael Fiers. Tom Haudricourt is reporting the Brewers will call him up for the game, but it hasn't been made official yet. Fiers has a 4.42 ERA with eight strikeouts and 2.9 walks per nine innings in ten starts for Nashville this season.

Meanwhile, the Brewers said they've called Roy Oswalt, but his price is too high.

The Brewers aren't the only team expected to call someone up from the minors to start tomorrow: The Dodgers are recalling top prospect Nathan Eovaldi from AA to pitch in place of Ted Lilly.

Jonathan Lucroy remains one of this team's rare bright spots. He's our Brewer of the Week for the second consecutive week.

Ryan Braun had a somewhat quiet weekend, going 2-for-12 with two walks and a home run. Baseball In-Depth notes that he's one of five players in the top ten in all of baseball in both hits and runs scored since the start of the 2011 season.

Baseball America is reporting that the Brewers have released 2008 second round pick Seth Lintz. Lintz is 22 and was in his fifth professional season, but had never advanced past Wisconsin. He had a 7.11 career ERA in the minors and an 11.00 mark this season.

Elsewhere in the minors:

• The affiliates went 1-2 yesterday with the lone win coming from Wisconsin, where the Timber Rattlers beat Peoria 3-2 on shortstop Yadiel Rivera's ninth inning home run. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• Wisconsin infielder Greg Hopkins had six RBI and ten total bases Saturday, becoming the first Timber Rattler to do that since the team became a Brewer affiliate in 2009.
• Seedlings to Stars included 17-year-old Dominican shortstop Orlando Arcia, 2011 second round pick Jorge Lopez and Wisconsin outfielder Ben McMahan on their "Fish Watch" list of intriguing players.
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has interviews with Vinnie Chulk and Sounds reliever Rob Wooten.
• Minor League Ball's Community Mock Draft has the Brewers selecting Georgia high school pitcher Lucas Sims and Nevada high school first baseman Joey Gallo with their first round picks.

Congratulations are due out this morning to Kiev 'n Rice, yesterday's winner in our SB Nation Pick 6 contest. Here's the full leaderboard:

Today's action starts at noon, so you're running out of time to get your picks in if you haven't already. And don't forget to make your Prognostikeggers predictions, too.

Around baseball:

Astros: Placed pitcher Fernando Abad on the DL with an intercostal strain.
Blue Jays: Placed outfielder Ben Francisco on the DL with a hamstring strain and designated pitcher Ryota Igarashi for assignment.
Braves: Placed third baseman Chipper Jones on the DL with a leg contusion.
Diamondbacks: Signed catcher Miguel Montero to a five year, $60 million contract extension.
Dodgers: Placed infielder Justin Sellers on the DL with a bulging disk in his back.
Indians: Placed catcher Carlos Santana on the seven-day DL with a concussion.
Marlins: Acquired outfielder Justin Ruggiano from the Astros for a minor league catcher.
Mets: Released pitcher D.J. Carrasco.
Orioles: Designated infielder Bill Hall for assignment and signed outfielder Adam Jones to a six year, $85 million contract extension.
Pirates: Designated outfielder Nate McLouth for assignment.
Rockies: Placed catcher Ramon Hernandez on the DL with a hand problem.
Twins: Designated outfielder Erik Komatsu for assignment.
Yankees: Signed pitcher John Maine to a minor league deal.

The Brewers lost a game in the standings to the Reds, Cardinals and Pirates yesterday, as the top three teams in the division all picked up wins. You know that and more if you've read this morning's edition of Around the NL Central.

Meanwhile, the Cubs lost again yesterday, and are now losers of 12 straight games. Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times notes that the Brewers haven't lost 12 straight games since 2004, and two franchises have never done it.

In former Brewers:

• 60ft6in asks if Pete Vuckovich was the worst Cy Young Award winner of all time.
• Jerry Hairston Jr. had five hits for the Dodgers yesterday and is now hitting .381.

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History remembers Jonathan Lucroy's walkoff suicide squeeze to beat the Giants one year ago today. Today is also 1953 Brewer Bill Doran's 54th birthday, and Plunk Everyone notes that his ten career HBP are the fourth most ever for a player born on May 28.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to start running.

Drink up.

At least now when Jonathan Lucroy gets an off day we get to see George Kottaras. A year ago on this day with Randy Wolf on the mound Lucroy sat out the first 8 1/2 innings in favor of Wil Nieves, but still got an opportunity to save the day in the ninth.

The Brewers and Giants headed to the bottom of the ninth on this day tied at 2, with Guillermo Mota on to pitch for San Francisco. He gave up singles to Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder and walked Yuniesky Betancourt intentionally to bring up Lucroy as a pinch hitter, and this is what happened:

It was the second time in as many years the Brewers won a walkoff game on May 28: In 2010 they broke a scoreless tie in the ninth with Corey Hart's homer for a 2-0 victory. We covered that event in this space last year. The Brewers won't get a walkoff win tonight: They're on the road.

With help from the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to 1993 Brewer Bill Doran. He turns 54.