Article: With Injuries Stacking Up, Crew Drop Three of Four to the Padres

[DuWayne Steurer]

With several key players on the IL or unable to take the field, the Brewers play a four game set against the San Diego Padres. The Brewers are looking to hang on to first place as the St. Louis Cardinals stay hot, winners of seven of their past ten games.

 

 

Game 1 -- Brewers 5, Padres 4
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL202206020.shtml

Adrian Houser started game one for the Brewers against Sean Manaea for the Padres. Houser was only able to work five innings, as he ran his pitch count to 100 pitches in those five innings. He gave up just one run on five hits and three walks, working around danger and keeping the club in the ballgame. 

WIth the game knotted at 1-1 after five innings, the Padres punched in two runs of struggling reliever Brent Suter in the sixth inning.  Peter Strzelecki made his major league debut for the Crew in the eighth inning in relief, and pitched two innings, giving up a run on two hits, two walks and striking out three.

The Brewers headed to the bottom of the ninth down three when the offense came alive, so to speak.  Keston Hiura lead off with a single. Taylor Rodgers then hit Kolten Wong and Victor Caratini to load the bases. Jace Peterson came up and provided the big hit.

With the score still knotted at four, and the winning run at third, Andrew McCutchen came up, mired in an 0-32 slump.

With that, Strzelecki was made a winner in his big league debut.

Game 2 -- Padres 7, Brewers 0
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL202206030.shtml

Corbin Burnes went up against Joe Musgrave, and Burnes just didn't have it, right from the start tonight. Burnes gave up a run in the first, a run in the second, and three in the third. His command wasn't there, and it took him 95 pitches to get through 3 2/3 innings tonight. Hopefully it's one of those games Burnes can put in the rear view and come out next time and dominate. 

As for the Brewers offense tonight, to say Joe Musgrove had it working would be putting it mildly.  Musgrove no hit the Brewers through 7 2/3 innings until Kolten Wong socked a double off the wall.  

Corbin Burnes record falls to 3-3 on the season.

Game 3 -- Padres 4, Brewers 0 
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL202206040.shtml

Another day, another shutout. Aaron Ashby took the ball and the mound for the Brewers as the patchwork lineup continued to look for offense. 

The Brewers were able to get some men on base today, scattering six hits and drawing three walks, but just couldn't scratch any runs across for the second day in a row. With Renfroe, Adames, Brosseau, and Narvaez still on the IL, and Urias being held out, players like Pablo Reyes being pressed into every day action really puts a dent into the offensive capability of the lineup. It's tough when a team's best offensive starters are out, but Brosseau has been one of the Brewers best bench and utility bats. 

Aaron Ashby pitched well, striking out nine, and walking none. He gave up a short-porch homerun to Jake Cronenworth in the fifth inning that really sealed the deal for the game and the struggling offense. Ashby's record drops to 1-4. 

Game 4 -- Padres 6, Brewers 4
https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401355047

Eric Lauer took the mound for the Brewers in the series finale. Lauer pitched well today, but was saddled with two unearned runs in the fifth inning off of an error by Pablo Reyes. Lauer was given an early lead by the Crew today as Kolten Wong launched a solo home run in the bottom of the first, and that held up til the fifth inning, when the Padres pushed three across, due in part to a fielding gaffe by Reyes.

It looked like the Brewers were headed for another miserable offensive day until the bottom of the eighth when Reyes got on board with an infield single and Kolten Wong provided all the offense again with a two run shot off the facade in right field. 

Brad Boxberger, Devin WIlliams, and Josh Hader pitched the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings in succession without allowing a baserunner, and striking out six batters. In the eighth, it looked like the Brewers might break through and take the lead and somehow secure a series split when Jace Peterson flew out softly to the shortstop with the bases loaded to end the inning. 

In the tenth, Jake Cronenworth struck again, hitting a three run home run off of Trevor Gott. The Brewers scored once in the bottom of the tenth, but failing to score again, falling for the third time in a row and dropping the season series to the Padres, four games to three. 

After playing eighteen games in seventeen days, the day off tomorrow comes at a much needed time, and gives an extra day for a few of the key offensive performers to get healthy. The Brewers will still be in first place on Tuesday, and have the roughest part of the schedule behind them. 

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