Article: Brewers Start the Second Half Red-Hot

[Kyle Ginsbach]

It’s time to overreact. Who says no? Sure the Brewers have only played six games since the All-Star break, but we’d be lying to ourselves if we said those six games didn’t look promising.

 

In recent memory, the Craig Counsell's Brewers have very much been a second half team. Since 2018 (excluding the shortened 2019 season), they've played at a .607 rate after the All-Star break compared to a .533 before.

This year, the Brewers stumbled upon a golden opportunity by beginning the second half with a six-game homestand, and they took advantage. They won five of those six games, increased their lead in the division to three, and most importantly, sent the fans home happy.

The theme of the homestand was certainly offense, but the pitching side had some positive notes, too. Aaron Ashby turned in his best effort of the season in the only loss, going 7 innings, allowing two earned runs off of five hits, while striking out nine. Both Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff lacked their normal effectiveness in their three combined starts, but fought through and gave the team the chance to win. The bullpen, minus the 10-9 victory over the Rockies on Sunday, was fantastic too. 

However, the Brewers offense is what’s really worth noting. The Brewers bats scored 42 runs in the 6 games, good for an average of seven per game. They also drew 31 walks, and hit 12 home runs. Everyone is contributing too:

• Christian Yelich has yet to fail to record a hit in the second half, and is slashing .304/.467/.522.
• Hunter Renfroe has mashed four home runs and driven in 10.
• Kolten Wong, who had just a 695 OPS in the first half, has already recorded nine hits.
• Luis Urias, who's recorded two walk-offs in the second-half already, is slashing an absurd .381/.462/.714.

The damage from the offense is coming early and late, and it’s happening more often than not. Right now, the Crew’s bats are the perfect combination of patience and power.

Looking forward, the Brewers next nine games are scheduled against the Red Sox, Pirates, and Reds. All three teams rank in the bottom third in team ERA. If the Brewers want to continue to build momentum offensively, the next three series are the perfect way to do it. It's also reasonable to believe the pitching staff simply just needs time to begin to regroup and get healthy, and with a red-hot offense, there's no better time than now.

Obviously we can’t pretend this type of outburst is sustainable. It’s simply not. However, all signs are encouraging. The pitching hasn’t lived up to the standards they’ve set for themselves, and the offense has picked them up. The run production will almost surely slow down, but the run prevention might pick up. If the Brewers continue to ride the trends they’ve set over the last week it’ll almost surely lead to a division crown come October.

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