Nationals @ Brewers: A Lackluster Sunday Blowout Prevents the Sweep

Game 1 -- Brewers 7, Nationals 0
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL202205200.shtml

Eric Lauer tossed yet another gem, going seven strong shutout innings, striking out five, scattering five hits, and walking none. Lauer worked efficiently, using just 83 pitches to get through seven. Nationals starter Erick Fedde worked through five scoreless as well, pitching into the sixth, until the Brewers finally struck for a pair of runs.

Rowdy Tellez's eighth home run of the season put the Brewers up 2-0, which would be all the lead the Crew needed. Tyrone Taylor would add his second home run of the season in the eighth inning, a three-run shot, as the Brewers put a five-spot on the board. 

Devin Williams and Aaron Ashby pitched the eighth and ninth innings to finish the game for Lauer, who picked up the win and pushed his record to 4-1, lowering his E.R.A to 2.16 on the season. Lauer makes a strong case each start for "ace" status. He's cut his walk rate almost in half while seeing a significant jump in strikeout rate. The Lauer/Urias for Grisham/Davies trade can and will be dissected and debated further, but in 2022, the Brewers are seeing the better end of it so far.

Game 2 - Brewers 5, Nationals 1
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL202205210.shtml

The Brewers looked to break through against lefty starter Patrick Corbin, while Brandon Woodruff put together a pair of solid back-to-back starts for the Crew.  Woodruff delivered, going six innings and allowing just one run on five hits and no walks. Unlike yesterday's game, the Brewers did not wait long to get the offense going. On the first pitch of the bottom of the first, Andrew McCutchen put the Brewers on the board.

The Brewers tallied again in the first on a sacrifice fly by Hunter Renfroe. The Nationals struck back with a solo home run by Lane Thomas in the third, but that would be all Nat's offense would muster in this contest. 

The Brewers would put three on the board in the fifth, first with a solo home run by Luis Urias and with two outs, a two-run single by Keston Huira.

Hiura has quietly pushed his line back up to a respectable .244/.333/.444 on the season for a .778 OPS. He's still striking out at a high rate, but if he's carrying an OPS around .775 - .800, the team must be willing to live with the lack of contact. He's handling first base adequately, and if he can fill in second base from time to time and spell McCutchen at DH, there's a role on the team for his power bat.

After Woodruff worked through six innings, Trevor Gott and Brad Boxberger worked the seventh and eighth inning without incident. Hoby Milner came in to start the ninth. Josh Hader recorded the last out to rack up his fifteenth save after allowing two singles and getting the second out of the inning on a tapper back to the mound. Despite the uneven results experienced in the early season, today's victory moves Woodruff's record to 5-2.

Game 3 - Nationals 8, Brewers 2
https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401354858

Freddy Peralta starts for the Brewers today. Mike Brosseau was given his first career MLB start at shortstop. He misplayed at least two balls and booted another, leading to multiple extra runners for Peralta early. Brosseau has done well with the bat off the bench and played a decent third base, but he looked completely out of place at short today.

The Nationals tallied once in the second and third innings but seemed to be doing so on soft contact and fielding miscues. Going into the fourth, the first three batters reached base, and Peralta was pulled for what appeared to be a shoulder injury.  This was later reported as "shoulder stiffness" and is concerning, so Brewer management (and fans) will wait to see what examination reveals Monday or later.

The Nationals strung together seven straight base hits and scored six runs in the fourth, increasing the lead to 8-0 before Brent Suter could get out of the inning.

The Brewers gave fans a brief glimmer of hope in the bottom of the fifth inning. Tyrone Taylor hit a solo home run to center. The Crew then loaded the bases with just one out. Andrew McCutchen grounded into a fielder's choice to drive in a second run, putting men on the corners with two outs, before Christian Yelich was retired to end the brief rally with a fly out to the warning track in deepest center field.

The Brewers would threaten a few more times but grounded into three double plays on the day. The scoring would prove to be finished at 8-2, and the Brewers dropped the finale to the Nats and lost their starting pitcher. Peralta took the loss, dropping to 3-2 on the season. A minor bright spot on the day was Luis Perdomo pitching three quick scoreless innings in relief and soaking up some innings while hopefully proving he's capable of being a viable blowout time option for the bullpen. 

The Brewers take the series with the Nationals and head out on a three-city, eleven-game road trip, traveling first to San Diego. 

ETA: Per Lane Grindel on the post-game radio -- Freddy Peralta has been placed on 10-day IL as a precautionary measure.