Brewers Narrowly Miss Series Win in Cincinnati

Last night as Joey Votto came to the plate against Kameron Loe I thought to myself that the next two matchups (Loe vs Votto, Jay Bruce) would likely decide the game. If Loe can keep the ball away from those two bats the Brewers would probably win the game and the series. Unfortunately for the Brewers, Votto's success against Loe continued (4-7, 3 HR) as he blasted a game-winning two-run home run. All that stood between the Brewers and a hard-fought series win at Great American Ballpark were the bats of two of the hottest hitters in baseball in Votto and Bruce (Bruce hit a two-run homer in the seventh).

Now Comes a Real Test

The Brewers have been playing some great baseball lately, winning thirteen of sixteen games since returning from a lackluster road trip through Houston, Atlanta, and St. Louis. They've won eleven of twelve at home and have swept their past three home series. Tonight they host the San Francisco Giants before leaving town for trips to Cincinnati and Florida. They've played well against teams they need to beat if they want to contend in their division, but a better test begins tonight as Shaun Marcum takes the mound against Tim Lincecum and the World Champion Giants. Runs will likely be at a premium.

The Brewers can prove a lot over the next couple of weeks. Strong showings these next three series will position them well for a tough June that will feature the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays. The Giants will be no pushovers this weekend, in spite of losing Buster Posey to a broken leg, and the best home team in the National League needs to show that their success can transfer to the road, especially against the tough division rival Reds.

Estrada Shines as Brewers Beat Reds For First Time in 2011

Marco Estrada has been more than serviceable in the Brewers starting rotation while Zack Greinke remains on the DL. Yesterday he pitched seven strong innings against the Reds (2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K), his only blemish being a solid changeup that Brandon Phillips golfed for a two-run home run. John Axford pitched a clean ninth, striking out Joey Votto before retiring Brandon Phillips and Edgar Renteria. Axford's fifth save of the year secured the win for Kameron Loe after solo home runs by Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, and Rickie Weeks. A much needed win, it gives the Crew a chance for a series victory against a team that has owned them for what is starting to feel like forever. Equally important, Corey Hart made his first appearance of the year last night as a pinch hitter.

Brewers Host Reds After Taking Two of Three From Astros

The Brewers won their series against the Astros yesterday led by another strong start by Randy Wolf (8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 K, 1 HR). It's a good thing they won, because many of us would have been pretty mad if they lost the series after bungling Saturday's game. I was at Saturday's game with a group of friends and family. It was actually a pretty exciting game, and we had a great time. Yes, the 8th inning was a circus act (much thanks to Jaymes Langrehr at the Brewers Bar for this awesome version of it). It was definitely a game of wasted opportunities, but I was sure excited when Braun scored off of Prince's double in the bottom of the ninth, and it was great to see Axford pitch a clean inning for the first time this year. (I snagged a picture of Prince swinging for that hit, included in this post. The ball hasn't reached him yet and can be seen just above the third base line.)

Brewers Secure Series Win in Philly, Move Into First Place

Brandon Kinztler earned his first Major League win on Monday

After dropping three straight to the Nationals this weekend the Brewers won the first two games of their series in Philadelphia against the NL East leading Phillies. Combined with a Reds loss to the Diamondbacks, the win puts the Brewers in first place for the first time this season (shared with Cincinnati). The Nationals entered this weekend's series with a record of 5-7 while the Phillies were sitting at 10-4 before Monday's contest. The assumption before the road trip began was that the Brewers should be able to win series against the Pirates (which they did) and the Nationals (needless to say, they didn't), and would probably only win one while facing the Phillies and dual-aces Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. Baseball is an unpredictable sport, and one thing is certain about the 2011 Brewers: like any team, they're going to have their ups and downs, but when they play well, they are a force to be reckoned with.

Few Positives in Series vs Reds

By the 6th inning of Sunday's game vs the Reds the Brewers must have thought the series couldn't end soon enough. After Opening Day's deflating ninth inning loss, the Brewers failed to compete in games two and three. Consequently, many more negatives than positives come to mind when thinking of the series. Brewers' pitchers threw for a combined 6.57 ERA, second only to the Houston Astros for last in the National League. Needless to say, Brewers fans didn't see that coming after this offseason's moves to improve the team's pitching. Yovani Gallardo stands as the only starter with a sub-five ERA (3.00) and the staff's numbers would have been worse without scoreless outings by Zach Braddock, Sergio Mitre, and Takashi Saito.

The team batted .223 after leaving the Cactus League with by far the highest team average. In large part this average owes itself to poor performances at the plate by Mark Kotsay and Yuniesky Betancourt, batting 0-18 collectively (Yun-E6 0-11, Kotsay 0-7). Many now hope (myself included) that Nyjer Morgan and even Craig Counsell see more playing time in weeks to come. Others fared better than Brewers' fans favorite whipping boys of 2011, and some positives can certainly be pulled from the series as the Brewers move on to host the Braves.

Brewers Bats Begin Season With a Bang, Axford Blows Save With Walk-off Home Run

The Brewers began their season with a bang today as Rickie Weeks and Carlos Gomez led off with back-to-back home runs. Ryan Braun hit a solo shot in the fifth and went 2-3 with two walks for the day. Despite Yovani Gallardo's quality start (7 H, 3 BB, 4 K, 2 ER) the Brewers couldn't grab the win in the Reds' home opener.

Happy Opening Day 2011!

I don't have much to write today, except that I'm very excited that Opening Day is finally here!

Here are today's lineups:

Brewers
2B Rickie Weeks
CF Carlos Gomez
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
3B Casey McGehee
RF Mark Kotsay
SS Yuniesky Betancourt
C Wil Nieves
RHP Yovani Gallardo

Reds
CF Drew Stubbs
2B Brandon Phillips
1B Joey Votto
3B Scott Rolen
RF Jay Bruce
LF Jonny Gomes
C Roberto Hernandez
SS Paul Janish
RHP Edinson Volquez

GO BREWERS!

Gallardo to Start Opening Day in Cincinnati

Yesterday Ron Roenicke announced his plans to line up the Brewers starters (sans Zack Greinke) to open the season. For the second consecutive year Yovani Gallardo gets the nod on opening day. He'll face off against Reds ace Edinson Volquez in Cincinnati on March 31. Said Gallardo: "It's very exciting for me, and it just gives me that opportunity to go out there and show what I'm capable of doing."

Brewers vs Reds On FS Wisconsin Today at 2:05 CST

The Cincinnati Reds host the Brewers today in what will be the Brewers' first televised game of the year. Yovani Gallardo makes his second appearance of the spring, starting vs Homer Bailey. For those of you outside of Wisconsin, the game will be rebroadcast on MLB Network tonight at 8:30 CST.

Also, here's a fine piece by Jaymes Langrehr of The Brewers Bar on Shaun Marcum's cutter, including other thoughts on Marcum's pitches.

Brewers Starting Rotation Thoughts

Answering fans' questions last week, Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com discussed how the Brewers should line up their starting pitchers for the first couple of weeks of the regular season. Of course, things might happen during Spring Training that would lead to a reconsideration of the starting pitching order, but most fans expect Zack Greinke to start on opening day, followed by Yovani Gallardo, Shaun Marcum, Randy Wolf, and Chris Narveson. McCalvy suggested a slightly different order, and I agree with him.

A more competitive NL Central in 2011

Here's an article by Anthony Castrovince about competitiveness in the NL Central in 2011. Castrovince writes that with two non-contending teams from 2010 (Brewers, Cubs) making major moves to improve their clubs (Greinke and Marcum, Garza), what on paper looked like a two horse race between the Cardinals and Reds in 2011 may instead turn out to be one of the most competitive divisions in baseball.

Today's trivia question: What was the most recent year in which the winner of the NL Central division was not decided until the final weeks of the regular season?