If you’re not one of those baseball nerds who follows every single thing going on in the Milwaukee BrewersOrganization, don’t worry, because The Sports Bank’s Nick Grays has you covered with what happened in the past week and what’s going on in the future.
And if you are one of those nerds, feel free to join in on some good old analysis of America’s pastime in the Brew City.
This week we discuss a split in Colorado, Ryan Braun’s calf injury and the continuing road trip on the west coast!
Standings:
Milwaukee Brewers (51-45) (14-14-3 in series)
– FIRST in the NL Central
– Lead the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals by .5 games
– Run differential at -12 (down 11 from last week)
– Brewers are 18-31 on the road
Last Week’s Headlines:
Brewers Show Improvement With a Split in Colorado
Milwaukee was a no-show in the first two games of the four-game series as they were outscored 16-3 by the Rockies. Manager Ron Roenicke decided to change the line-up a bit and it seemed to make all the difference with the Brewers salvaging the series with two straight wins.
The last two games of the series were very entertaining to say the least. Josh Wilson came in and produced two multi-hit games. Rickie Weeks provided a lot of protection behind Prince Fielder and Corey Hart looked like he knew what he was doing in the lead-off spot.
It was very important for the Brewers to win at least one in Colorado because after the first two, almost everyone was questioning whether they can contend in a division playing on the road like they do. After the two wins, they find their selves back in first place and completely in contention for the NL Central.
All You Need to Know about Ryan Braun’s Injury
On Saturday, superstar Ryan Braun was forced to leave the game in the sixth inning because of soreness in his calf. Over the last couple of weeks, Braun’s calf has been a hot topic because it’s forced him to miss a few games.
Rumor has it that the injury is nothing to worry about and the team is simply being cautious to make sure that Braun doesn’t visit the DL this season.
Roenicke had this to say about Braun:
“I’m hoping the time he had off before the break helped heal up that area. Right now, I’m hoping we’re just kind of day to day and hopefully it just continues to get better and we don’t get to the point where we need to back him off for a couple weeks.”
While Braun heals up the calf, Mark Kotsay has taken his place in right-field and actually has played pretty well. Braun did appear in Sunday’s game to pinch-hit, grounding out to the shortstop in the ninth inning.
In Case You Missed It:
(7/12) “Prince Fielder Earns All-Star MVP Award while Leading the NL to Victory”
(7/12) “Milwaukee Brewers Acquire Francisco Rodriguez from New York Mets”
Looking Ahead:
Brewers are West Coast Chillin
No breaks for the Brewers as they continue their 11-game road trip against NL West opponents. Monday kicks off a four-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks (51-44) who are fresh off a series win against the Dodgers. We’ll see if Fielder can hit some more home-runs at Chase Field like he did during the All-Star break.
Following that, the Brewers travel to San Francisco to take on the first place Giants (55-41) who are an impressive 28-16 at home. It will be a great chance for Marcum, Wolf and Gallardo to showcase their skills in one of the league’s premier pitching parks.
Monday, July 18th 7:40 PM (@ Arizona)
Probable Pitchers: LHP Randy Wolf (6-6) vs. RHP Josh Collmenter (4-5)
Tuesday, July 19th 7:40 PM (@ Arizona)
Probable Pitchers: RHP Yovani Gallardo (10-6) vs. RHP Barry Enright (1-3)
Wednesday, July 20th 7:40 PM (@Arizona)
Probable Pitchers: LHP Chris Narveson (6-6) vs. LHP Joe Saunders (6-8)
Thursday, July 21st 7:40 PM (@ Arizona)
Probable Pitchers: RHP Zack Greinke (7-3) vs. RHP Ian Kennedy (10-3)
Friday, July 22nd 9:15 PM (@ San Francisco)
Probable Pitchers: RHP Shaun Marcum (8-3) vs. LHP Barry Zito (3-2)
Saturday, July 23rd 8:05 PM (@ San Francisco)
Probable Pitchers: LHP Randy Wolf (6-6) vs. RHP Matt Cain (8-5)
Sunday, July 24th 3:05 PM (@ San Francisco)
Probable Pitchers: RHP Yovani Gallardo (10-6) vs. RHP Ryan Vogelsong (6-1)
What did you think about the series in Colorado and should we worry about Braun’s absence? How will the team fare in Arizona and San Francisco? Let me know by commenting below!
Nick Grays is a senior writer at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, and Milwaukee Brewers. He also enjoys to share Fantasy Advice from time-to-time. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best.