Simulated 2020 Baseball Season (JosephC)

[brewcrewdue80]

Chris lee looked like the most consistent RP, certainly deserves a spot more than Williams. Wow on that move.

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 24 - Brewers 3, Blue Jays 1

 

Drew Rasmussen has a sore shoulder and is listed as day-to-day for a couple days. Since there is a day off tomorrow, there is probably a really good chance that he will be available for the next game.

 

The pitching matchup in this one was Brewer ace Freddy Peralta versus Shun Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi had been shuttled back and forth between MLB and AAA, and came into the game with a rather ugly 9.20 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, 6.70 FIP in the majors..making the Brewers look like a significant favorite in this one.

 

Both sides ended up getting fine pitching. Yamaguchi gave up a 2 run home run to Christian Yelich in the first and a solo shot to Ryan Braun in the sixth and that was it for Brewer scoring. There was the odd baserunner here and there for the Brewers but not many real offensive threats. Peralta was rolling right along until he got into the sixth inning. The Blue Jays got three consecutive singles to start the inning and load the bases (Ruben Tejada, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Randl Grichuck), and then Rowdy Tellez hit a a sacrifice fly to score one run. Alex Claudio came into the game. Teoscar Hernandez singled, loading the bases once again. Derek Fisher came up and hit a grounder to Keston Hiura who threw to home plate for a force out. Then Reese McGuire struck out to end the inning. The Blue Jays posted 4 of their 7 hits in that inning but was only able to score 1 run in all of that. Ray Black and Josh Hader closed this one out and both looked sharp.

 

Cardinals in first place, the Reds are 1/2 game back, the Brewers are 1 game back and the Pirates are 3 games back.

 

Brewers are off tomorrow, then have a 3 game home series against the Pirates, and then go on the road for 4 against the Cubs and 3 against the Cardinals. I am looking forward to getting back to some NL Central games.

 

In other league news, Rockies reliever Phillip Diehl is out for the year with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament. The 25-year old had made him MLB debut this season (5 innings, 3.60 ERA, 2.20 WHIP, 2.37 FIP).

 

[attachment=2]6_24_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_24_batters.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_24_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 25 - scheduled day off

 

26 man roster-

Rotation = Brandon Woodruff, Brent Suter, Freddy Peralta, Corbin Burnes, Josh Lindblom

Bullpen = Josh Hader (closer), Corey Knebel (setup), Devin Williams (setup), Adrian Houser (middle), Ray Black (middle), David Phelps (middle), Alex Claudio (middle), Drew Rasmussen (long)

Catchers = Omar Narvaez, Manny Pina

Infielders = Ryan Braun, Keston Hiura, Eric Sogard, Luis Urias, Brock Holt, Jedd Gyorko

Outfielders = Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, Avisail Garcia, Ben Gamel, Keon Broxton

 

DL = Logan Morrison (on rehab assignment, one day), Justin Smoak (six days)

 

Other 40 man roster players (36 players)-

Pitchers = Chris Lee (waivers), J.P Feyereisen, Eric Yardley

Catcher = David Freitas

Infielders = Orlando Arcia, Ryon Healy, Ronny Rodriguez

Outfielders = Tyrone Taylor

 

More injuries-

Royals pitcher Danny Duffy has a torn flexor tendon in his elbow and will miss the rest of the season. Duffy was performing horribly in the sim (71 2/3 innings, 8.04 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 5.43 FIP).

Red Sox pitcher Miguel Aguilar will miss the rest of the season with shoulder inflammation. The 28 year old had made his MLB debut this season. In 18 innings he had a 6.00 ERA, 2.06 WHIP, 4.59 FIP.

 

[attachment=2]6_25_team stats.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_25_batting stats.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_25_pitching stats.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

[attachment=3]6_25_NL Standings.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=2]6_25_AL Standings.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_25_NL Wild Card.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_25_AL Wild Card.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 26 - Brewers 4, Pirates 2

 

Chris Lee has cleared waivers and been assigned to AAA. So I pulled up the split pages for Lee and, after checking the numbers, his demotion doesn't seem that odd. June stats = 11 games, 9 1/3 innings, 14 hits, 9 earned runs, 2 home runs allowed, 9 walks, 10 strikeouts, 8.68 ERA, 2.46 WHIP, 7.56 FIP. Great early, terrible recently. There have been lots of bad stretches like this by various Brewer pitchers this year, but Lee was sort of a scrap-heap pickup that the Brewers hadn't invested much in and, fair or not, those guys just have less leeway than former prospects (Houser) or guys the team has sunk some money into (Lindblom).

 

The Brewers had played one series against the Pirates earlier this year and went 3-0 with a 20-11 run differential. Despite the Pirates playing much better recently, this is exactly the type of team the Brewers need to win games against if they are going to hang in the race.

 

Corbin Burnes started for the Brewers and the Pirates scored the game's first run in the top of the second. Adam Frazier had a one-out single, was advanced to second on a walk to Ke'Bryan Hayes, and then scored on a single by Jacob Stallings. James Marvel was on the mound for the Pirates, and the Brewers were able to even the score in the bottom of the second when Luis Urias knocked in Ryan Braun on a single. The Brewers took the lead in the bottom of the third when Lorenzo Cain singled, eventually made it to third base on two wild pitches by Marvel, and then scored on a Christian Yelich sacrifice fly. The Brewers got run #3 in the game when Cain singled and Yelich knocked him in with a triple.

 

The top of the seventh was the key half-inning in the ballgame. Adrian Houser made his first relief appearance of the year, coming into the game in the sixth. He gave up a walk in that inning but got Adam Frazier to ground into a double play to end that inning. Houser was back on the hill to start the seventh. Ke'Bryan Hayes started off the inning with a double, and Houser was replaced by Devin Williams. Jacob Stallings grounded out to first, and Hayes advanced to third on the play. Williams then walked Jason Martin, then walked Jarrod Dyson to load the bases, then walked Bryan Reynolds to force in a run and cut the Brewer lead to 3-2. Craig Counsell put Alex Claudio in the game. Claudio struck out Josh Bell and then got Gregory Polanco on a lazy fly ball to centerfield to end the inning and preserve the Brewer lead.

 

Lorenzo Cain hit a solo home run in bottom of the seventh to conclude the game's scoring.

 

Corey Knebel and Josh Hader finished out the game for the Brewers and both pitchers looked good. Hader is having an incredible month. 10 games, 8 2/3 innings pitched, 2 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 16 strikeouts, 0.00 ERA, 0.46 WHIP, 0.37 FIP.

 

Standings after today's games - Cardinals in first place, the Brewers and Reds tied at 1/2 game back and the Pirates are 2 1/2 games back.

 

[attachment=2]6_26_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_26_batting.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_26_pitching.jpg[/attachment]

[DuWayne Steurer]

So.... Cody Bellinger is Babe Ruth, and Yelich is non-peak Geoff Jenkins. Oof. Can't help but feel like even a .900-ish OPS from Yelich in this sim would be worth about 2 more wins at this point in the season.

[JosephC]

The Brewer offense has really sagged in June and it's primarily due to Yelich and Hiura.

 

June splits-

Yelich = .228/.333/.418/.751

Hiura = .227/.266/.360/.626

 

Almost everybody else at or exceeding expectations-

Cain = .330/.371/.495/.866

Urias = .270/.349/.405/.755

Garcia = .292/.338/.492/.830 (finally!)

Sogard = .344/.411/.516/.927

Narvaez = .340/.379/.472/.851

Braun = .283/.298/.500/.798

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 27 - Pirates 9, Brewers 3

 

Roster move made-

Logan Morrison put on 26-man roster, Ben Gamel optioned to AAA

 

Perhaps the most frustrating loss of the year so far. There were a couple losses against the Marlins earlier that were really bad, but this one would definitely rank right up there.

 

The pitching matchup definitely favored the Pirates. Hector Noesi on the hill with a sparkling 2.42 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 3.55 FIP stat line. Noesi started two games to begin the year, then got bounced to the bullpen for a month when Mitch Keller came off the DL and took a rotation spot. Noesi had worked his ERA down to a ridiculous 0.30 when the Pirates put him back in the rotation in mid-May. Not bad for a 33 year old that didn't pitch in the majors from 2016-2018 and didn't have the best stat line in 2015 and 2019. Josh Lindblom was on the hill for Milwaukee.

 

Not really going to go into too much detail prior to the 8th inning, as that is when the game swung. Omar Narvaez smacked a home run in the fourth inning to continue his hot hitting. Lindblom did a pretty nice job against a seemingly hapless Pirates offense (14th in the NL in run scoring entering this game, only San Francisco was worse), only allowing one run in six innings of work. The Brewers held a 3-1 lead going into the 8th inning, and it seemed like a fairly safe margin considering how bad Pittsburgh's offense had looked.

 

Corey Knebel started the 8th and gave up singles to Josh Bell and Gregory Polanco. He then struck out Kevin Newman, considering how shaky Knebel has been, he probably only faced Newman because he had to face him to complete the 3 batter requirement. So Ray Black comes into the ballgame, runners at first and third with one out and a two run lead. Ke'Bryan Hayes, who hasn't done real well so far despite his lofty prospect status, promptly hits a 1-2 pitch for a 3-run home run to give the Pirates a 4-3 lead. Black retired the next two hitters to finish the inning.

 

The Brewers were still down 4-3 heading into the 9th but it still felt like there was a decent chance that they could come back and win this game. Black got the first out of the inning and was replaced by David Phelps, who has been excellent recently. That's when this one turned into a laugher. Phelps proceeded to load the bases and then walked Kevin Newman to force in a run. Alex Claudio came in and walked Ke'Bryan Hayes to force in another run. Then mix in some more singles and walks and the Brewers were quickly in a 6 run hole and had no chance of winning the game. Claudio was so bad that Drew Rasmussen had to come into the game and get the final out.

 

Just a real hard one to swallow, especially having entered the game with a 3-game winning streak. It's kind of getting to that time of year where Stearns would have to figure out if they are a buyer or seller and it's hard to figure how the engine is going to react with a 40-40 record. The Brewers are only 1/2 game out of first place, but they also only have the 8th best record in the NL.

 

Cardinals in first place, Brewers and Reds tied at 1/2 game back and the Pirates are 1 1/2 games back.

 

[attachment=2]6_27_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_27_batters.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_27_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[brewcrewdue80]

Well, for what it's worth, I think Claudio was the mvp of the game the game prior looking at the pitching stats. Williams must have left him with the bases loaded and 1out in the 7th with a 3-2 lead and got them out of that inning.

 

Looking at the hitting stats. lots of 6th/7th but only 11th in runs scored.

Pitching stats, my word, the team based on 11th in runs scored and 14th in SP ERA. You have to hope the simulation takes on an epic run in late August and for September as what they are waiting on. This sim really punishing the Brewers.

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 28 - Brewers 5, Pirates 1

 

Nice easy win for the Brewers. Brent Suter took the mound and had no problem with the hapless Pirate offense. Chris Stratton took the mound for the Pirates with a 0-9 record, a 6+ ERA and a 6+ FIP and the Brewers struck for 2 first inning runs. Lorenzo Cain singled and then Avisail Garcia doubled, placing runners on second and third base. Christian Yelich hit a deep sacrifice fly to centerfield that scored Cain and advanced Garcia to third base, and then Garcia scored on a ground out by Hiura. The Brewers scored three more runs in the sixth inning on a RBI single by Luis Urias and a 2-run single by Manny Pina.

 

Suter only allowed 4 hits and a walk over 6 innings and the Pirates never mounted a serious threat. Adrian Houser got 1 2/3 innings of work out of the bullpen and looked great. He allowed 1 run but that was a runner he left on first base that came around to score after David Phelps got in the ballgame. Phelps looked shaky but had a five run lead to work with and was able to finish out the game. There was some glitch that shows that Hader came in the ballgame but Hader never entered the game.

 

Drew Rasmussen left the game with a sore shoulder just as he had a few days ago. It's already being described as a 4 day, day-to-day type injury but probably should be of some concern as it's now happened twice in a relatively short time-frame.

 

The win puts the Brewers back in first place as the Cardinals suffered an 11-6 loss to the Red Sox. The Brewers are 1/2 game ahead of St. Louis, 1 game ahead of Cincinnati and 2 games ahead of Pittsburgh.

 

A couple of trades were made today-

 

The Cubs have traded catcher Victor Caratini to the Pirates for pitcher Nick Burdi and shortstop Cole Tucker. Caratini's offense has slipped back to pre-2019 levels, as he has a slash line of .229/.349/.318/.668 so far in 2020. Burdi is having a very good season although he missed some time earlier with a strained triceps. He has a 2.49 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 3.52 FIP. Tucker is only 23 years old, was a pretty solid prospect but didn't do that well in 2019 in the majors (.626 OPS in 159 plate appearances), the vast majority of his plate appearances have been in AAA this year and haven't been real impressive either (103 plate appearances, .271/.320/.333/.654).

 

The A's have traded relief pitcher Liam Hendriks to the Astros for 3 prospects: RHP-Enoli Paredes, 3B-Eudy Ramos, RHP-George Rodriguez. Hendriks has been fantastic again this year, 31 innings, 2.03 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 3.42 FIP and was definitely one of the best reliever candidates on the market. Paredes is easily the highest rated of the three prospects. The 24-year old has a 4.62 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 5.03 FIP line in AAA which isn't that impressive. Despite the mediocre numbers, his prospect ranking falls in the Hedbert Perez region if comparing him against the Brewer's system. Ramos is 24-years old and had a .296/.344/.451/.795 slash line in A+. George Rodriguez is a 23-year old that hasn't pitched this year (no injury indicated) and his ratings make him look like nothing more than organizational filler.

 

[attachment=2]6_28_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_28_batting.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_28_pitching.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

June 29 - Brewers 11, Cubs 4

 

Excellent lop-sided win for the Brewers, but it could turn out to be a disaster as Christian Yelich and Corey Knebel both left the game with injuries. Post-game report has both of them as "out" with further information on the injuries as "pending...". Yelich appeared to suffer a shoulder injury, and Knebel left the game in the ninth with what appeared to be an elbow injury.

 

The pitching matchup was Brandon Woodruff against Jharel Cotton. Cotton had been pitching really well but struggled in his last time out (5 runs in 3 innings against the Reds) and had a poor start to this ballgame. The Brewers loaded the bases in the first and scored the first run on a bases loaded walk to Keston Hiura and scored the second run on a bases loaded walk to Ryan Braun. Cotton was able to get Eric Sogard to ground into a double-play to end the inning, otherwise it could have been much worse. Cotton breezed through the second and third innings, and then gave up another run in the fourth on a Brandon Woodruff double. The wheels came off in the fifth inning when the Brewers got two more runs, one on an Omar Narvaez single and one on a Ryan Braun single.

 

Casey Sadler came into the ballgame and got Eric Sogard on a ground ball to end the fifth inning. But Sadler clearly didn't have it when he came out for the sixth. The first five batters of the inning reached base, then Jeremy Jeffress came in to try and put out the fire but surrendered a single to Narvaez, a sacrifice fly to Braun and then a double by Sogard. The Brewers ended up with an 11-4 lead after the top of the sixth inning and that was the final score.

 

Woodruff gave up 4 runs in 5 innings and the pitching line doesn't look all that great, but I thought Woodruff looked pretty solid in this game. He began the game by retiring the first six batters, then gave up a home run to David Bote, and then retired five of the next six batters he faced (and the one batter that reached base was erased on a double play). Woodruff then ran into some trouble in the fifth. The first three at-bats of the inning were a single by Wilson Contreras, a triple by Jason Heyward and another home run by David Bote for three quick runs. He then surrendered a walk but retired the three batters after that. Woodruff was only up to 66 pitches, but coming off a 3-run inning and with the lead down to 5-4, quick-hook Counsell pinch-hit for Woodruff in the top of the sixth. That moved worked as Brock Holt was the pinch-hitter, he singled and was in the mix of the big 6-run inning for the Brewers.

 

Drew Rasmussen listed with that sore shoulder but he was used in the ballgame which was a bit of a surprise.

 

The Brewers are in first place, the Cardinals are 1 1/2 game back, the Reds and Pirates are both 2 games back.

 

In other league news, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer suffered a mild calf injury and is listed as day-to-day for a week.

 

[attachment=2]6_29_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_29_batting.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_29_pitching.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

The June 30 game has been rained out and rescheduled for tomorrow. Instead of doing two games tomorrow, I've simmed through the first game of tomorrow's double-header and will do that game today, and then do game two tomorrow.

 

July 1 - Cubs 3, Brewers 1 (game one)

 

So there was no injury news on Christian Yelich or Corey Knebel on June 30. On the morning of July 1, it was announced that Yelich has a separated shoulder and will be out for 3 weeks. Knebel's diagnosis is still listed as "pending..." and that's generally a bad sign to still have that listing after this amount of time.

 

Roster move made-

Christian Yelich put on the DL, Ben Gamel recalled from AAA

Brock Holt got the start in LF in game one below, but Ryan Braun is now listed as the starter in left field. In other injury news, Justin Smoak's injury time is listed as just one more day, so I'm assuming he'll be starting a short rehab stint on July 2.

 

Pitching matchup in game one was Freddy Peralta versus Jose Quintana. Quintana entered this game with a 6.78 ERA and a FIP well north of 5.

 

But Quintana had little difficulty with the Yelich-less Brewer lineup. The Brewers were the first team to score and did so in the second inning. Omar Narvaez had a 2-out single, advanced to second base on a passed ball, and then was driven home on a Holt single. Sogard then grounded out to end the inning. That should have been an unearned run due to the passed ball but OOTP incorrectly scored it as an earned run. Other than that, Quintana mostly breezed through his six innings of work. He wasn't dominant, there were baserunners, but the Brewers never mounted a real threat after the second inning.

 

This set up the back of the Cubs bullpen to show off their new late inning configuration. Brandon Morrow to Craig Kimbrel to Nick Burdi. Kimbrel has a 7.48 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, 3.86 FIP and is now out of the closer's role. Holt was able to get a walk off of Morrow in the seventh, Urias got a single off of Kimbrel in the eighth, but those were the only two baserunners for Milwaukee in the last three innings.

 

Freddy Peralta was effectively wild. The box score shows 4 walks in 5 innings but there were continuously high pitch counts for each batter in the first few innings and Peralta was pulled after the fifth inning with 87 pitches. He walked three batters in the third inning to load the bases, but was able to get Willson Contreras to ground out to get out of the jam. Nonetheless, 5 innings of work and 0 runs allowed.

 

Alex Claudio relieved Peralta. He struck out Contreras, gave up a single to Jason Heyward, gave up a triple to David Bote to score the Cubs first run, a single to Albert Almora to score the second run, then a sacrifice bunt to Quintana and was removed from the game. The Cubs added an insurance run in the eighth inning on an Almora sacrifice fly.

 

Disappointing loss when considering the pitching matchup. Hopefully this will not be the new normal for the offense without Yelich. We can all scratch our heads about the mediocre number (for him) from the sim, but those numbers still have him #1 on the team in home runs (16), #2 in RBIs (47), #2 in runs scored (48), #4 in hits (76), #1 in walks (49), #2 in total bases (147), #1 in stolen bases (13), #3 in OPS among hitters with at least 100 plate appearances (.843) and #3 in batter's WAR (1.8).

 

In other news, Brice Turang had a very rough go in his first exposure to AA and has been sent back to Carolina. Turang's slash line in Biloxi was .102/.214/.122/.337 in 56 plate appearances.

 

[attachment=2]6_30_game summary_1.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=1]6_30_batting_1.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]6_30_pitching_1.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

July 1 - Cubs 8, Brewers 6 (game 2)

 

The pitching matchup in this one was Corbin Burnes versus John Lester but it turned into a bullpen game as both pitchers left the game early with injuries. Lester left after the first inning with a foot injury and Burnes left after the second inning with a hand injury. Hopefully Burnes' problem is just blister(s), but there has been no further details yet. No update on the status of Lester yet either.

 

Lester leaving the game early was likely a plus for the Cubs as he gave up three runs in the one inning he did work. Lorenzo Cain led off with a double, was eventually singled home by Luis Urias and then Avisail Garcia continued his hot hitting with a 2-run home run.

 

Burnes gave up a single to Javier Baez in the first (who was thrown out by Manny Pina when trying to steal second) and a double to Jason Heyward in the second, but overall looked pretty good before he left the game.

 

The Brewer bullpen, excluding Hader, turned out to pretty much be a disaster. Relievers not named Hader combined for 4 innings, were charged with 8 earned runs on 10 hits and 3 walks. Kris Bryant hit a solo home run against Drew Rasmussen in the fourth, and Albert Almora hit a solo home run off of David Phelps later in the inning. The game was tied going into the bottom of the sixth inning with Adrian Houser on the mound. Almora singled and Devin Williams came into the game. Catcher P.J. Higgins, making his major league debut singled and Almora moved to third base. Daniel Descalso came up and popped out for the first out of the inning. Ian Happ drew a walk to load the bases. Alex Claudio came into the game at that point. Javier Baez popped out for out #2 and it looked like Claudio might be able to wiggle out of the inning with no damage done. Anthony Rizzo then came up and hit a 1-2 pitch for a 407 foot grand slam. Kris Bryant then came up and hit a solo home run. Adrian Houser gave up that single to start off the inning, and ends up being the tough-luck loser.

 

The Brewers got 2 runs in the eighth inning when Ryan Braun doubled in Lorenzo Cain and Luis Urias singled in Braun. The score was 8-5 going into the bottom of the ninth, and the Brewers definitely made it interesting. New Cubs closer Nick Burdi took the mound. Eric Sogard was the leadoff hitter and he singled, and then Manny Pina singled which sent Sogard to second base. Omar Narvaez pinch-hit and came through with another single, Sogard held up at third, so the Brewers had the bases loaded, tying run on first base with nobody out. Lorenzo Cain came up and grounded into a double play on a 2-0 pitch, Sogard scored on the play but it was the rally killer. Keston Hiura then flew out to end the game.

 

The double-header loss knocks the Brewers out of first place. The Cardinals now in front, the Brewers and PIRATES tied at 1/2 game back, with the Reds 1 1/2 game back and the Cubs 9 1/2 games back.

 

In other league news, the official international signing period begins and, in past versions of the game, this is where most of the better international players come from. The Brewers had the newsworthy signing of Alex Pistoni (fictional) earlier, but the international players that tend to be something mostly come out of this signing period. The top five players based on potential ratings are:

C-Edgar Almaguer (16 years old, Dominican Republic)

RF-Ruben Juarez (16 years old, Mexico)

C-Mathieu de la Rosa (16 years old, Venezuela)

SP-Federico Alfaro (15 years old, Dominican Republic)

CF-Jesus de la Rosa (16 years old, Dominican Republic)

Looks like the Brewers have 2.81 million budgeted for this group of players. But I don't think the game has a hard-capped pool, and in previous versions of the game you could go over-budget here if the overall finances allowed it.

 

MLB June Players of the Month have been announced-

NL Hitter = Juan Soto/Reds = 124 PA, .337/.444/.760/1.203, 12 HR, 26 RBI, 30 R, 20 BB, 19 SO

AL Hitter = Josh Donaldson/Twins = 117 PA, .322/.479/.689/1.168, 10 HR, 24 RBI, 23 R, 26 BB, 23 SO

NL Pitcher = Max Scherzer/Nationals = 39 2/3 IP, 5-0 record, 0.91 ERA, 0.66 WHIP, 4 BB, 54 SO, 1.93 FIP

AL Pitcher = Zack Greinke/Astros = 30 2/3 IP, 4-0 record, 1.76 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 3 BB, 30 SO, 3.10 FIP

NL Rookie = Mitch Keller/ Pirates = 29 1/3 IP, 2-0 record, 0.92 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 8 BB, 26 SO, 2.78 FIP

AL Rookie = Jared Walsh/Angels = 105 PA, .292/.390/.640/1.031, 7 HR, 24 RBI, 12 R, 14 BB, 29 SO

 

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[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

July 2 - Brewers 6, Cubs 2

 

Roster moves made-

Justin Smoak activated from the DL, Ben Gamel optioned to AAA

J.P. Feyereisen recalled, Drew Rasmussen optioned to AAA

 

Pitching matchup looked pretty lop-sided with Yu Darvish taking the mound for the Cubs and Josh Lindblom taking the mound for the Brewers. Darvish came into the game with a 3.59 ERA and solid numbers across the board...9.8 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9. Nonetheless, for whatever reason I felt the Brewers had a good chance in this one. The Brewers had been 0-9 in Lindblom starts, and it's pretty much impossible for a streak like that to continue. Also, the Cubs are simply a bad team and coming off a double-header win yesterday, just seemed like they would drop this game.

 

And, as anticipated, bad luck hit the Cubs in the second inning. The Brewers scored three runs off of a series of moderately hit, well placed ground balls. Ryan Braun started the inning with a ground ball single perfectly placed between the third baseman and shortstop. That was followed by an Omar Narvaez walk. Luis Urias came up and put another ground ball between third and short, that scored Braun and moved Narvaez to second. Justin Smoak came up and bounced one between second and first for another single that loaded the bases. Brock Holt then tapped a weak single up the middle to score Narvaez. Josh Lindblom struck out for the first out of the inning. Lorenzo Cain hit a sacrifice fly on a lazy ball to centerfield to score the third run of the inning.

 

The sixth inning was the inning where the Cubs really looked like a last place team. The Brewers entered the inning with a nice 4-1 led, but were handed a couple gift runs by the Cubs. Rex Brothers came into the game and walked Narvaez and Urias to start the inning. Smoak came up and had a deep fly ball out to centerfield. Newly acquired Trevor Rosenthal replaced Brothers. Rosenthal walked Holt to load the bases, and then walked...of all people...Lindblom to force in a run. Lorenzo Cain then came up and hit into a fielder's choice to score another run. Rosenthal then walked Eric Sogard before Albert Alzolay came into the game and ended the inning on a Keston Hiura ground out. So two runs scored on zero hits and five walks, which included a bases loaded walk to a pitcher.

 

Lindblom gave up 2 runs in 5 2/3 innings and pitched well. The Cubs scored a 2-out run in the fourth on a double by Willson Contreras, and Lindblom retired Jason Heyward in the next at-bat to end the inning. Ian Happ hit a solo home run to lead off the sixth inning. That was it. Devin Williams and J.P. Feyereisen were the first two out of the bullpen and both looked great. For some reason Adrian Houser was brought into the game to get the final out and he struck out Heyward to end the game. The Cubs ended the game with only 4 hits and 2 walks.

 

St. Louis still leads the division with the Brewers 1/2 game back, the Pirates 1 game back and the Reds 2 1/2 games back. The Brewers now head to St. Louis for a three game series.

 

[attachment=2]7_2_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

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[attachment=0]7_2_pitching.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

I was just looking at the Baseball Reference version of the sim and see that the Brewers traded Ethan Small, OF-Leugim Castillo and 2B-Didimo Bracho to Pittsburgh for Chris Archer. Thankfully, Archer has already been traded to the Yankees in my sim (Archer's numbers as a Yankee = 45 innings, 5.20 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 4.79 FIP). Have to wonder if this is some foreshadowing of an Ethan Small trade?

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

July 3 - Brewers 8, Cardinals 1

 

The injury news is in on Corey Knebel and it's about as bad as it can be. Torn UCL, out for 12-13 months. Not only a likely season ender, but one would have to think if this happened in real life that it would also be the end of his time in a Milwaukee uniform. Knebel hadn't been very good in the sim, but he is highly rated and there was a good chance that he would have improved and been a difference maker for the team down the stretch. Knebel has been put on the 60-day DL, so the Brewers are down to 35 players on the 40-man roster.

 

Roster moves made-

Corey Knebel put on the 60-day DL, Drew Rasmussen recalled from AAA

Logan Morrison DFA'ed and placed on waivers, Ben Gamel recalled from AAA

Just a week ago it looked like the Brewers were heading into an impossible situation with Smoak, Braun and Morrison...three first baseman on the roster all at the same time. I figured that the Yelich injury, which bounced Braun to the outfield, would help them delay a decision until Yelich got back. However, the sim just went ahead and made the inevitable move right now. The Brewers will likely lose Morrison's bat, but I can't see too many fans being upset by this as Gamel has been great in the sim and really deserves a spot on the 26-man roster. The Brewers also still have Ryon Healy stashed away in AAA and he's already on the 40-man roster, so there is another insurance policy already in-house.

 

On to today's game. The Brewers win in a rout. The pitching matchup was Brent Suter versus John Gant. Gant had mostly pitched out of the bullpen, this was his third start of the year, but overall had been really good (3.40 ERA). The Brewers had little difficulty with him, posting 5 runs in the second and ending his day after 3 innings. To start off the second inning, Omar Narvaez walked, Justin Smoak walked and then Luis Urias was hit with a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. Eric Sogard then hit into a force play at second base that scored Narvaez. Ben Gamel came up and doubled which scored Smoak and Sogard for runs #2 and #3. Brent Suter came up and doubled, scoring Gamel for the fourth run. Lorenzo Cain came up and grounded out, and Suter advanced to third base on the play. Avisail Garcia was the next man up and he singled, scoring Suter for the team's fifth run. Keston Hiura struck out to end the inning.

 

The Brewers scored another run in the sixth inning when Gamel grounded out on a fielder's choice that scored Smoak from third. Smoak had singled to lead off the inning and had advanced to third on a double by Urias. The Brewers scored two more runs in the seventh inning on two bases loaded walks (have been seeing a lot of these lately). The first walk was drawn by Smoak and the second by Urias.

 

Suter cruised through five innings, got to the sixth and gave up a lead off triple to Kolten Wong and a single to Paul Goldschmidt and quick-hook Counsell immediately removed Suter. The Cardinals had very little going on in this ballgame as Brewer pitching scattered 5 hits and 3 walks. Drew Rasmussen, J.P. Feyereisen, David Phelps and Alex Claudio all pitched in relief. Phelps didn't look good, walked two of the three batters he faced, but the other three relievers all had good performances.

 

The win puts the Brewers in first place. The Cardinals are 1/2 game back, the Pirates are 1 1/2 games back and the now struggling Reds slip to 3 games back.

 

[attachment=2]7_3_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

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[attachment=0]7_3_pitching.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

July 4 - Cardinals 6, Brewers 5 (12 innings)

 

Roster move made-

Chris Lee recalled, J.P. Feyereisen optioned to AA

 

Tough loss for the Brewers today. The pitching matchup was Brandon Woodruff against Kwang-Hyun Kim. Kim had a rough outing his last time out (6 runs in 4 1/3 innings against the Nationals), but overall has been very good for St. Louis and entered this game with a 3.34 ERA.

 

The Brewers got the game's first run in inning #1 when Lorenzo Cain scored on a Ryan Braun sacrifice fly. The Brewers pushed the lead to 3-0 in the third when Luis Urias doubled in Ryan Braun and crossed the plate later in the inning on a wild pitch.

 

Woodruff worked out a first inning jam. He allowed singles to Kolten Wong and Matt Carpenter but got Paul Goldschmidt to roll into a double play to end the inning. Woodruff then went on a roll, retiring the Cardinals 6 up and 6 down over the next two innings, and then ran into trouble in the third. He allowed a single to Matt Carpenter and a couple walks, and Paul DeJong came up with the bases loaded and knocked in three runs with a double to tie the game.

 

There was no scoring for the next seven frames, stretching the ballgame to 12 innings. Then, against Miguel Socolovich, Justin Smoak smacked a 2-run home run to give the Brewers a 5-3 lead. Things were looking pretty good at this point. Drew Rasmussen had thrown a 1-2-3 inning in the 11th and came back out for the 12th. Yadier Molina was the first man up and he singled on the first pitch. Ex-Brewer Brad Miller pinch-hit and got a double, sending Molina to third base. Devin Williams came into the ballgame. Wong was hit by a pitch, loading the bases and putting the winning run on first base. Tommy Edman came up and singled, scoring two runs and tying the game at 5. The Cardinals now had the winning run on second, still with nobody out. Carpenter came up and drew a walk. Goldschmidt came up and hit a fly ball to deep centerfield, allowing Wong to easily score on a game-winning sacrifice fly.

 

The Cardinals are back in first place. The Brewers are 1/2 game back, the Pirates are 2 games back and the Reds are 2 1/2 games back.

 

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[attachment=0]7_4_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

July 5 - Cardinals 2, Brewers 0

 

Roster move made-

J.P. Feyereisen recalled, Drew Rasmussen optioned to AAA

 

Christian Yelich has been down for a few days now, but with a double-header, Pina starting every third day and occasional starts for Holt and Gamel, today is the first time the Brewers have fielded the new "regular" starting lineup without Yelich. Unfortunately, it did not help much as Alex Reyes took the hill for the Cardinals and he has been fantastic. Reyes began the year as a reliever but moved into the rotation full-time on May 12. His stat line after today's game is: 25 games, 10 starts, 70 2/3 innings, 1.78 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 0.6 HR/9, 4.7 BB/9, 12.6 K/9, 3.09 FIP and opponents have hit .178/.286/.285/.571 off of him.

 

Reyes had no problems with the Brewer lineup. He threw 6 1/3 inning with 4 hits allowed and 10 strikeouts and looked just as dominant as the stat line indicates. Three relievers, including ex-Brewers Tyler Webb, finished off the game without allowing a run. The one time the Brewers mounted a real threat was in the ninth, and while watching it did have that feel that the Brewers were going to sneak up and steal this one away. The Brewers got a one-out single from Keston Hiura, and then a two-out double by Omar Narvaez to put the tying run at second with one out left. Luis Urias came up and hit a hard liner to center, but right at Dexter Fowler who caught it for the final out. I've looked back and this is the first time the Brewers have been shutout this year, pretty impressive to go 88 games before being shutout for the first time.

 

Apparently sim Counsell does not believe it possible for a starting pitcher to pitch on three days rest (even though he continues to pull them after only throwing 80-85 pitches), so due to the double-header a few days ago, the Brewers did not have a starter with at least 4 days rest for this game. So it became a bullpen game with Adrian Houser being the first pitcher to take the hill. The Cardinals got a first inning run on back-to-back Matt Carpenter and Paul Goldschmidt doubles. Houser allowed a single to Brad Miller to start the second and retired Molina on a fly ball. Alex Claudio came into the ballgame and Miller eventually scored on a single by the pitcher, Alex Reyes. So Houser got charged for both runs, although the second run was really more Claudio's responsibility. The rest of the bullpen did a nice job and didn't allow a run.

 

The game has tagged Keston Hiura as a cold hitter. Over the last 7 games (27 at bats), Hiura has a .148/.207/.148/.355 line. But the struggles go back a bit further than that. Hiura had a .212/.272/.341/.613 line in the month of June. He hasn't hit a home run since June 7. I think it's about time the engine moves him to 6th or 7th in the lineup but I doubt that happens.

 

In other league news-

 

Reds first baseman Joey Votto torn a MCL and will miss the next 10 months. Votto was having a pretty good season for the Reds, .274/.384/.415/.799, so this figures to be a pretty significant loss for them.

 

Padres reliever Pierce Johnson suffered a torn flexor tendon in his elbow and will miss the next 7 months. Johnson had thrown 36 innings and had a 5.00 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 4.09 FIP stat line.

 

And we have a trade, unfortunately what looks like a really good trade for the Cardinals. The Cardinals get reliever Yusmeiro Petit from the A's for right-handed pitcher Michael Baird and right-handed pitcher Ronnie Williams. Petit just keeps rolling along, in 39 innings this year he has a 3.69 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 3.81 FIP. Neither of the prospects the A's receive would qualify as an organizational top 30 type. Baird is 24 years old and had posted a 4.67 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 6.07 FIP in 34 2/3 AAA innings. Despite the ugly numbers, he is still considered a decent prospect. Williams is 24 years old and had posted a 7.88 ERA, 1.94 WHIP, 4.78 FIP in 32 innings of A+ ball. He looks like nothing more than organizational filler. I would have loved to see the Brewers make this deal.

 

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[attachment=0]7_5_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

July 6 - scheduled day off

 

Roster move made-

Drew Rasmussen recalled, J.P. Feyereisen optioned to AA

 

26 man roster-

Rotation = Brandon Woodruff, Brent Suter, Freddy Peralta, Corbin Burnes, Josh Lindblom

Bullpen = Josh Hader (closer), Adrian Houser (setup), Devin Williams (setup), Alex Claudio (middle), Ray Black (middle), David Phelps (middle), Chris Lee (long), Drew Rasmussen (long)

Catchers = Omar Narvaez, Manny Pina

Infielders = Justin Smoak, Keston Hiura, Eric Sogard, Luis Urias, Brock Holt, Jedd Gyorko

Outfielders = Ryan Braun, Lorenzo Cain, Avisail Garcia, Ben Gamel, Keon Broxton

 

DL = Christian Yelich (separated shoulder, out 2-3 weeks), Corey Knebel (torn ucl, out 12-13 months)

 

Other 40 man roster players (35 players)-

Pitchers = J.P Feyereisen, Eric Yardley

Catcher = David Freitas

Infielders = Orlando Arcia, Ryon Healy, Ronny Rodriguez (elbow strain, out for 5 weeks)

Outfielders = Tyrone Taylor

 

Logan Morrison has cleared waivers and is still on the DFA list (4 more days).

 

A couple more trades made-

 

Braves get - RHP-Junior Guerra (87 2/3 innings, 4.31 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 3.90 FIP)

Diamondbacks get - C-Logan Brown (23 years old, in A+ - 225 PA, .225/.307/.350/.657), RHP-Nolan Kingham (23 years old, in AA - 28 2/3 innings, 2.83 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 3.05 FIP)

Neither of the prospects are considered organizational top 30 type prospects. Will be interesting to see how Guerra fits into the Braves plans as their pitching has been top-notch and there is not an obvious spot for him. Could be that they would send Kyle Wright back to the minors (7 MLB games this season, 3 starts), he would be on pace to pass 1 year of service time, so if they send him back to the minors they would get another year out of him.

 

Nationals get - RHP-Matt Magill (2 1/3 innings, 0.00 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 4.68 FIP)

Mariners get - RHP-Brian Rapp (24 years old, in A - 11 innings pitched, 3.27 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 2.61 FIP), RHP-Erick Tejeda (18 years old, in R - 16 1/3 innings pitched, 6.06 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, 4.02 FIP), LF-Evan Lee (23 years old, in A - 70 plate appearances, .316/.397/.491/.888)

None of these guys are considered organizational top 30 type prospects. Washington's bullpen is still awful. Magill is coming off a torn triceps injury and has hardly pitched this year.

 

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[attachment=0]7_6_AL Wild Card.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

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[attachment=1]7_6_batters.jpg[/attachment]

 

[attachment=0]7_6_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

July 7 - Brewers 7, Rays 6

 

Brewers win the game on a walk-off, grand slam by Ryan Braun for perhaps the most dramatic and best victory all season.

 

The pitching matchup was Trevor Richards against Freddy Peralta. Peralta was excellent, throwing 5 1/3 innings and leaving the ballgame with a runner on first base and a 3-0 lead. Alex Claudio came into the ballgame and allowed two singles and then a grand slam to Kevan Smith, giving the Rays a 4-3 lead. The Rays tacked two more on in the 7th against Ray Black to push it to a three run lead.

 

Rays closer Nick Anderson came in to start the 9th and looked terrible. He hit the first two batters he faced, Ben Gamel and pinch-hitter Jedd Gyorko, and then struck out Lorenzo Cain. Eric Sogard came up and singled to load the bases, which also chased Anderson from the game. Diego Castillo took the hill for the Rays. He struck out Keston Hiura to put the Brewers down to their final out, but then Braun came to the plate and hit a 2-1 pitch for a 394 foot home run.

 

The earlier Brewer runs came on a 2-run home run by Justin Smoak in the second and a Hiura double in the third that scored Sogard.

 

The Cardinals remain in first place. The Brewers are 1 1/2 games back, the Pirates are 2 1/2 games back and the Reds are 3 1/2 games back.

 

In other league news-

 

Dodger first baseman Max Muncy broke his wrist and will be out for 6 weeks. Muncy is having a big year with a .283/.402/.529/.930 line.

 

Trade made-

Phillies get - LHP-Daniel Norris (84 2/3 innings, 5.95 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 5.31 FIP)

Tigers get - LF-Jay Bruce (108 plate appearances, .250/.343/.565/.908), LF-Ben Pelletier (21 years old, in A+ - 121 plate appearances, .200/.231/.322/.553)

Pelletier is a long-shot prospect, so this is basically a Norris for Bruce swap. Phillies traded Vince Velasquez earlier and now have to try and fill that hole with Norris...seems like quite a downgrade (Velasquez scheduled to start tomorrow against the Brewers). Bruce has some nice stats this year but wasn't getting any playing time for Philadelphia with Bryce Harper, Andrew McCutchen and Kevin Kiermaier in the outfield and Rhys Hopkins at first base.

 

[attachment=2]7_7_game summary.jpg[/attachment]

 

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[attachment=0]7_7_pitchers.jpg[/attachment]

[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

July 8 - Rays 7, Brewers 4

 

This game was mostly about the Brewers blowing scoring chance after scoring chance. The Brewers had 12 hits, including 2 home runs, and 4 walks, but could only manage 4 runs out of all of that. The final box score had them with 11 men left on base, but it seems like a whole lot more when watching the game.

 

Pitching matchup was Vince Velasquez versus Corbin Burnes. The stats look fairly reasonable for each, but neither pitched very well. A bunch of baserunners resulted in early exits for both. Especially Burnes, who only lasted 3 1/3 innings and was yanked after throwing 82 pitches.

 

The Rays jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first. Manuel Margot led off the game with a bunt single and advanced to second on a ground out. Austin Meadows singled to knock in Margot, and then later scored on a Hunter Renfroe sacrifice fly. The Rays scored another run in the second when Mike Zunino doubled, and then Luis Urias made a bad throw on a routine grounder from Velasquez that scored Zunino.

 

Ryan Braun doubled to start the second inning and then left the game with an injury. Post-game already shows that Braun suffered a quad injury and is listed as day-to-day for one week, so he might not miss any time. Ben Gamel was the pinch-runner and later scored on an Eric Sogard ground out.

 

Each team scored two runs in the seventh inning. Meadows hit a 2-run home run off of Devin Williams in the top half of the inning, and Lorenzo Cain responded with a 2-run home run off of Peter Fairbanks in the bottom half of the inning.

 

Eric Sogard hit a solo home run (off the foul pole) in the bottom of the eighth inning off of Colin Poche to make the score Rays 5, Brewers 4, and it looked like the team was primed for another comeback victory.

 

Chris Lee took the hill in the top of the ninth. He struck out Meadows, allowed a double to Nate Lowe and then Renfroe was intentionally walked. Counsell then went to Josh Hader to try and preserve the 1-run deficit. Hader struck out Brandon Lowe, but then allowed a double by Willy Adames that scored both of the baserunners.

 

But it really came down to blown chances by the Brewers. Fourth inning, 2 on with 1 out and no runs scored. Fifth inning, bases loaded with 1 out and no runs scored. Sixth inning, Smoak walks to start inning and then gets thrown out trying to steal. Next two men reach base and the Brewers are unable to score.

 

The Cardinals win and are on a four game winning streak. The Brewers are 2 1/2 games back, the Pirates and the Reds tied at 3 1/2 games back.

 

A few days ago I mentioned an international pool of players, and in older versions of the game the guys that eventually prove to be the best international players tend to come out of this pool. The Brewers signed one of these players, a right fielder named Cesar Quintero (Venezuela). Quintero has the potential to have an above average hit tool, but is listed as being below average in power potential, speed and throwing arm. He turns 16 years old tomorrow, so plenty of time for development. There are 28 players in this pool, and Quintero's overall potential ranking puts him at 15th out of the 28 players. Quintero is not listed on the Brewer's prospect list at all (and it goes 100 deep). Earlier I was saying that there wasn't a hard cap for these signings and thought that teams might only be limited by the international budget assigned, but I was wrong about that. There is a 5 million dollar cap that applies to all teams. However, 23 of the 28 have already signed and none have gotten a signing bonus, so I'm not sure if that is a glitch or I have a game setting incorrect or if just the top couple of guys are going to get big bonuses. Or maybe, since Quintero was in the middle of the pack of these players, and still doesn't get an organizational top 100 ranking, maybe they've changed the game in the last four years and this pool of players doesn't contain the quality it has in previous games.

 

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[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

July 9 - Brewers 5, Rockies 4

 

The Brewers score a second dramatic ninth inning comeback victory for the second time in three days.

 

The Rockies are a bad team. They entered this series with a 38-54 record. Coors Field is a big wild card in past versions of the game, get in that park and anything can happen. But I thought it was a real benefit for the Brewers to get the Rockies for 4 games in Miller Park before heading into the All-Star game. Nice chance to enter the break with a record over .500.

 

The pitching matchup was German Marquez versus Brent Suter. Suter had a rough start, allowing 3 runs in the first inning that all started with 2 outs. Charlie Blackmon doubled, Nolen Arenado knocked him in with a single and David Dahl hit a 2-run home run. The Brewers got a run back in the bottom of the 2nd. Brock Holt drew a walk and Ben Gamel knocked him in with a double.

 

The Rockies scored their 4th and final run in the top of the 4th. Brian Dozier had a bunt hit to start off the inning, and then later scored on a single by Troy Wolters. The Brewers scored 2 runs off of Marquez in the 7th. Omar Narvaez hit a solo home run, and Ben Gamel singled to score Brock Holt who had doubled to get on base.

 

So the Brewers entered the bottom half of the 9th with the Rockies up by a 4-3 score. Closer Scott Oberg came into the ballgame. Justin Smoak started the inning with a lazy flyball out to center. Narvaez singled. Luis Urias came up and doubled, which scored Narvaez and tied the ballgame. There was a throw to the plate on the play that allowed Urias to advance to third base. Brock Holt then drew a 4-pitch unintentional walk (may have been the unintentional intentional). Wade Davis came into the game in a tough situation with the winning run on third and only one out. Ben Gamel came up and singled with the infield drawn in to score Urias and win the game for the Brewers.

 

The win draws the Brewers to 1 1/2 games behind the Cardinals. The Pirates are 2 1/2 games back and the Reds are 3 games back.

 

Max Scherzer has some wrist soreness and is listed as day-to-day for two weeks. Seemingly minor injuries like this don't often get highlighted in the game, but Scherzer is in the running for the Cy Young Award (131 innings, 11-3 records, 2.06 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 2.56 FIP).

 

We also have a minor trade-

Reds get- LHP-T.J. McFarland (41 2/3 innings, 4.54 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 4.38 FIP)

A's get- RF-Narciso Crook (24 years old, in AA ball - 71 plate appearances, .169/.239/.308/.547)

Crook had a solid year between AAA and AA last year but hasn't been good this year and isn't considered much of a prospect. This is the third reliever the A's have traded in the last two weeks (Liam Hendricks to the Astros, Yusmeiro Petit to the Cardinals, T.J. McFarland to the Reds). The highest regarded prospect they've gotten back in these deals is RHP-Enoli Paredes, and he is the guy who has gotten called up to replace McFarland in the bullpen. The A's still have Jake Diekman and old friend Joakim Soria in the bullpen.

 

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[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

July 10 - Brewers 4, Rockies 3

 

Roster move made-

Logan Morrison released

I thought there might be a chance that the Brewers would send down Gamel and delay this decision until Yelich returns, but Gamel is playing well and the Brewers seem well-stocked at first base.

 

I have other things to do so no game comments today, please see the box score screenshots below.

 

The Brewers still 1 1/2 games behind the Cardinals.

 

Trade made-

Nationals get- RHP-Keone Kela (35 1/3 innings, 3.82 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 4.91 FIP)

Pirates get- RHP-Mason Denaburg (20 years old, in A- ball - 21 1/3 innings, 4.22 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 3.39 FIP)

Kela is the third reliever the Nationals have traded for in an effort to try and fix their awful bullpen (following Brandon Kintzler and Matt Magill). Denaburg maybe the best prospect that's been traded so far. He was the Nationals first round pick in 2018 (27th overall) and is now listed at #14 on the Pirates organizational prospects list.

 

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[JosephC]

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/

 

July 11 - Brewers 4, Rockies 0

 

This was the series game to be worried about as a Brewer fan as Josh Lindblom took the hill, but Lindblom was magnificent against a completely listless Rockies team.

 

Ashton Goudeau, entering the game with a 6.75 ERA, took the mound for the Rockies and struggled right out of the gate. Lorenzo Cain singled and Avisail Garcia knocked him in with a double. Keston Hiura then doubled to score Garcia. Ryan Braun walked. Justin Smoak struck out for the first out of the inning. Luis Urias grounded into a fielder's choice at second to put runners on first and third with two outs. Eric Sogard came up and singled to score Hiura. Manny Pina then ended the three-run first inning with a fly out on a medium hit ball to centerfield.

 

The Brewers got an unneeded insurance run in the fourth when Pina doubled and later scored on a Cain single.

 

Lindblom threw 6 2/3 innings of shutout ball, allowing 5 hits and 2 walks against 7 strikeouts. Lindblom has now put 3 pretty good starts together...18 1/3 innings, 14 hits, 3 runs (all earned), 1 home run allowed, 6 walks, 15 strikeouts. It's taken over half of the season, but it looks like the rotation is finally starting to get a little bit of stability.

 

The Brewers move to within 1/2 game of St. Louis. The Pirates are 1 1/2 games back and the Reds are 4 games back.

 

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