Two of Four in Atlanta and Two of Three in St. Louis Would Salvage Road Trip

A seemingly tall order, especially after yesterday's loss, but it just might be possible. After a disappointing series in Houston in which miscues and a non-existent offense led to a series loss, strong performances in Atlanta and St. Louis might just lead to success on this road trip. The Braves have not been playing well, though they'll certainly put up a bigger fight than when the Brewers took three of four from them in the first home stand of the season. Indeed, they'll be looking to get back on track beginning with this series against the Brewers. From their perspective yesterday was a good start. Still, I like the Crew's chances to at least split the series. The offense will come around and Zack Greinke's long awaited debut, along with the return of Nyjer Morgan, could provide a needed boost on Wednesday and Tuesday, respectively. Let's face it, for the benefits Gomez brings to a game, and, yes, he does bring benefits, the Brewers need a better hitter in the two-spot and Morgan would be a great fit.

Estrada Effective Through Six, Axford Notches First Save

Most Brewers fans probably didn't expect much from Marco Estrada yesterday, called up from the minor leagues to start in place of the injured Zack Greinke. Although Estrada fell short of a quality start thanks to a Jason Heyward three-run home run in the sixth, he made it through that inning with the lead intact. Zach Braddock, Kameron Loe, and John Axford combined for three scoreless innings to secure the win and Axford's first save of the season.

Yovani Gallardo Beats Braves

Brewers fans witnessed a classic performance by 25-year-old ace Yovani Gallardo on Tuesday vs the Braves. With the Brewers facing a potential 0-5 start to the season, Gallardo put his team on his shoulders and went the distance to end the streak at four. Pitching a complete game, two-hit shutout, Gallardo allowed two walks and faced only one batter over the minimum. No Brave reached second base safely, the closest being Dan Uggla, tagged out by Rickie Weeks after sliding past the bag while stealing second. Even more impressively, Gallardo gathered only two strikeouts in the game while inducing 16 groundouts, two of which led to double plays.

Time For a Lineup Shuffle?

The Brewers lost again yesterday despite an excellent outing by Chris Narveson (6 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K), pushing their record to a disappointing 0-4 to begin the season. Another tough loss for the Crew, who saw their 1-0 lead slip away in the eighth inning when Takashi Saito, a pitcher historically good at keeping the ball in the park, gave up two solo home runs to give Atlanta the lead. Surely most Brewers fans didn't expect their best performance by a starting pitcher to begin the season from Chris Narveson, and the Narve Dog indeed looked somewhat shaky in the first inning. He quickly overcame what I'm calling his "home opener nerves," settled in, and mostly made Braves' hitters look foolish for six innings.

Through those innings no Brave passed first base. Had the Narve Dog been more economical with his pitches he surely could have stayed in the game longer. Unfortunately, such performances sometimes go to waste, and Brewers' bats just couldn't provide enough offense for the bullpen to secure the win. It's far too early to start worrying, but it's probably time for Ron Roenicke to shuffle his lineup, if not only for the day.