July 24- ATL 9 MIL 4
48-48 3½ back STL
Back to .500 and Feeling the Division Slip Away
I thought this division would be tough, but now that the Cards have Matt Holliay and Chicago and Houston (hooray Cecil Cooper) climbing back into it, I'm doubting weather the Crew have the ability to stay in the race.
Friday's loss to Atlanta showed just how many holes there are in the pitching staff. Although Counsell's 2 run double and Braun's 2 run homer in the 5th tied the game and kept Manny Parra off the hook for a little while, the bullpen just couldn't hold things together. Villanueva, Chris Smith and McClung gave up 5 in 3⅔ innings and Javier Vazquez was solid after the fifth, striking out Fielder 4 times in his 7 innings of work.
Showing posts with label McClung. Show all posts
Showing posts with label McClung. Show all posts
7.26.2009
July 22- PIT 8 MIL 7
48-47 -2 on STL
Pittsburgh Figuring Out Crew
For a long time, the Pirates could do nothing right against the Crew. Now, thanks to Jeff Suppan serving up 4 taters in 3⅓ inlcluding 2 to Ryan Doumit, the Pirates were able to take 2 of 3 from the Brewers and send the Crew back to Miller with a 3-4 road trip result.
The offense did try to overcome Suppan's start with a good offensive day. Ryan Braun brought 2 in with a dinger in the 1st and 3 more in 5th with a bases loaded, 3 run double in the 5th. That 5th also contained a Casey McGehee 2 run shot that chased Pat Maholm from the game.
All that, plus a Bill Hall RBI, gave the Crew a somewhat comfortable 7-5 lead until Seth McClung surrendured 2 in the bottom of the 5th which set up Brandon Moss' leadoff homer in the 9th off Mitch Stetter. Moss was batting .250 with 0 home runs off lefty's coming into the game, however Stetter fell behind a let one get over the plate to give 21,000 in Pittsburgh something to cheer about.
48-47 -2 on STL
Pittsburgh Figuring Out Crew
For a long time, the Pirates could do nothing right against the Crew. Now, thanks to Jeff Suppan serving up 4 taters in 3⅓ inlcluding 2 to Ryan Doumit, the Pirates were able to take 2 of 3 from the Brewers and send the Crew back to Miller with a 3-4 road trip result.
The offense did try to overcome Suppan's start with a good offensive day. Ryan Braun brought 2 in with a dinger in the 1st and 3 more in 5th with a bases loaded, 3 run double in the 5th. That 5th also contained a Casey McGehee 2 run shot that chased Pat Maholm from the game.
All that, plus a Bill Hall RBI, gave the Crew a somewhat comfortable 7-5 lead until Seth McClung surrendured 2 in the bottom of the 5th which set up Brandon Moss' leadoff homer in the 9th off Mitch Stetter. Moss was batting .250 with 0 home runs off lefty's coming into the game, however Stetter fell behind a let one get over the plate to give 21,000 in Pittsburgh something to cheer about.
7.20.2009
7.4.09- MIL 11 CHI 2
43-38 EVEN w/ STL
McGehee's Big Day Beats Cubs
The offense got started early against Rich Harden and Casey McGehee and Mike Cameron made the Cubs pay for pitching around Prince Fielder. Twice McGehee followed intentional walks to the slugger with RBI single and he finished the day 4-5 with 5 RBI, 3 runs and a double short of the cycle. That added to Cameron's 4 RBI day, which included a 3 run, 1st inning dinger gave Braden Looper plenty of breathing room as he worked out of bases loaded jams in the both the first and second inning and got his 2nd straight win.
7.2.09- CHI 9 MIL 5
42-37, EVEN w/ STL
Derrick Lee Destroys Crew at Wrigley
The Cubs have been underachieving all season, and for the most part, the Brewer's have been overachieving. The overachievement did not however apply to Seth McClung, making his 2nd start of the season in place of Dave Bush. McClung didn't make it out of the 4th and put the Brewer's in a 4-0 hole right off the bat with a 3 run tater to Derrick Lee and a solo shot by Jake Fox. With his pitch count soaring, McClung was lifted in the 4th after surrenduring another homer to Geovany Soto and putting two more Cubs on. Chris Smith came on in relief and walked the bases loaded which set up Lee's 2nd dinger of the day, a Grand Slam.
Macha would not say after the game if McClung would make another start before the All-Star break... my guess is no, although I don't know what the other option is. If the team is serious about making a playoff run, they need to deal for a starter. However, I hate to see the cupboard scraped bare.
Mike Cameron and Prince Fielder had home runs for the Crew to make the score respectable, but the defecit never seemed over-comable, especially with the way Carlos Marmol came in to pitch the 9th. With 3 games left in the series, I'm really just hoping for a split, although the team should be able to do better than that.
43-38 EVEN w/ STL
McGehee's Big Day Beats Cubs
The offense got started early against Rich Harden and Casey McGehee and Mike Cameron made the Cubs pay for pitching around Prince Fielder. Twice McGehee followed intentional walks to the slugger with RBI single and he finished the day 4-5 with 5 RBI, 3 runs and a double short of the cycle. That added to Cameron's 4 RBI day, which included a 3 run, 1st inning dinger gave Braden Looper plenty of breathing room as he worked out of bases loaded jams in the both the first and second inning and got his 2nd straight win.
7.2.09- CHI 9 MIL 5
42-37, EVEN w/ STL
Derrick Lee Destroys Crew at Wrigley
The Cubs have been underachieving all season, and for the most part, the Brewer's have been overachieving. The overachievement did not however apply to Seth McClung, making his 2nd start of the season in place of Dave Bush. McClung didn't make it out of the 4th and put the Brewer's in a 4-0 hole right off the bat with a 3 run tater to Derrick Lee and a solo shot by Jake Fox. With his pitch count soaring, McClung was lifted in the 4th after surrenduring another homer to Geovany Soto and putting two more Cubs on. Chris Smith came on in relief and walked the bases loaded which set up Lee's 2nd dinger of the day, a Grand Slam.
Macha would not say after the game if McClung would make another start before the All-Star break... my guess is no, although I don't know what the other option is. If the team is serious about making a playoff run, they need to deal for a starter. However, I hate to see the cupboard scraped bare.
Mike Cameron and Prince Fielder had home runs for the Crew to make the score respectable, but the defecit never seemed over-comable, especially with the way Carlos Marmol came in to pitch the 9th. With 3 games left in the series, I'm really just hoping for a split, although the team should be able to do better than that.
6.24.2009
June 24- MIN 7 MIL 3
37-33 -2.0 on STL
Twinkies Take Advantage of Mistakes at Miller
It was not the way to start the homestand. A team that was 11-21 on the road jumps over some early errors to give the Crew it's 4th straight loss. Jeff Suppan got charged with 7 runs, but only 4 were earned. A 1st inning wild pitch that kept the inning alive and gave the Twins 3 runs off the bat was not the least of the Brewer's charity. There was also a Casey McGehee drop on a throw from Cameron that turned a Carlos Gomez single into a man on second that scored on a following single in the 2nd. Then in the 3rd, J.J. misplays a DP ball, safe all around and eventually 3 more runs.
The offense couldn't cash anything in off of Nelson Liriano other than a 2 run single by Cameron and an RBI double for McGehee. Liriano was 2-8 coming into the game, but was able to foil the Brewers long enough to qualify for the win. The Crew left 12 men on base and missed opportunities early, stranding 2 in each of the first 5 innings.
Some mystery was solved regarding the starters for the remainder of the week. With Parra in Nashville (where he K'ed Manny Ramirez in a rehab start on Tuesday) and Bush on the D.L., Mike Burns will start in Bush's spot Thursday and Seth McClung will get another chance in the rotation, taking the bump on Saturday for Parra's spot.
37-33 -2.0 on STL
Twinkies Take Advantage of Mistakes at Miller
It was not the way to start the homestand. A team that was 11-21 on the road jumps over some early errors to give the Crew it's 4th straight loss. Jeff Suppan got charged with 7 runs, but only 4 were earned. A 1st inning wild pitch that kept the inning alive and gave the Twins 3 runs off the bat was not the least of the Brewer's charity. There was also a Casey McGehee drop on a throw from Cameron that turned a Carlos Gomez single into a man on second that scored on a following single in the 2nd. Then in the 3rd, J.J. misplays a DP ball, safe all around and eventually 3 more runs.
The offense couldn't cash anything in off of Nelson Liriano other than a 2 run single by Cameron and an RBI double for McGehee. Liriano was 2-8 coming into the game, but was able to foil the Brewers long enough to qualify for the win. The Crew left 12 men on base and missed opportunities early, stranding 2 in each of the first 5 innings.
Some mystery was solved regarding the starters for the remainder of the week. With Parra in Nashville (where he K'ed Manny Ramirez in a rehab start on Tuesday) and Bush on the D.L., Mike Burns will start in Bush's spot Thursday and Seth McClung will get another chance in the rotation, taking the bump on Saturday for Parra's spot.
6.03.2009
June 3- MIL 9 FLA 6
31-22 1 game in front of STL
Bullpen Pulls it Together Again
This was the 5th straight start where the Crew didn't get at least 6 innings from a starter. Macha pulled Looper with 2 outs in the 5 after he saw the Marlins erode a 9-1 defecit to a 9-5 defecit. McClung got Dan Uggla to strike out with the bases loaded to end the Florida threat and he went on to get the win. The Crew was able to build that lead with a monster 5th inning of their own which included 3 consecutive walks to Hall, Kendall and Looper by Hayden Penn. For loading the bases with Murderers Row, the Marlins released Penn after the game. It was great to see some offense in this game, especially against newcomer Sean West who had looked impressive in his 1st 2 starts, but not great to see it shut off after the 5th. Still, a split in Florida is possible, so I'll keep hope alive.
June 2- FLA 10 MIL 3
30-22 Tied with STL
Another Short Outing for Parra
Parra became the 4 consecutive starter to work less than 6 innings in his 10 run, 4 inning outing that did nothing to help a battered bullpen. Mike Burns arrived a few hours before game time from Nashville and was able to shut down the Marlins for the final 4 innings. The bats worked starter Anibal Sanchez in the first, running his pitch count to 40 and chasing him after 3, but that didn't translate to runs. A sacrafice fly by Parra was the only damage and Burk Badenhop shut the Crew down for another 5. It was Corey Hart's home run in the 9th that was the remainder of the Crews output.
It certainly seems like the Brewer's pitching is coming back down to earth.
31-22 1 game in front of STL
Bullpen Pulls it Together Again
This was the 5th straight start where the Crew didn't get at least 6 innings from a starter. Macha pulled Looper with 2 outs in the 5 after he saw the Marlins erode a 9-1 defecit to a 9-5 defecit. McClung got Dan Uggla to strike out with the bases loaded to end the Florida threat and he went on to get the win. The Crew was able to build that lead with a monster 5th inning of their own which included 3 consecutive walks to Hall, Kendall and Looper by Hayden Penn. For loading the bases with Murderers Row, the Marlins released Penn after the game. It was great to see some offense in this game, especially against newcomer Sean West who had looked impressive in his 1st 2 starts, but not great to see it shut off after the 5th. Still, a split in Florida is possible, so I'll keep hope alive.
June 2- FLA 10 MIL 3
30-22 Tied with STL
Another Short Outing for Parra
Parra became the 4 consecutive starter to work less than 6 innings in his 10 run, 4 inning outing that did nothing to help a battered bullpen. Mike Burns arrived a few hours before game time from Nashville and was able to shut down the Marlins for the final 4 innings. The bats worked starter Anibal Sanchez in the first, running his pitch count to 40 and chasing him after 3, but that didn't translate to runs. A sacrafice fly by Parra was the only damage and Burk Badenhop shut the Crew down for another 5. It was Corey Hart's home run in the 9th that was the remainder of the Crews output.
It certainly seems like the Brewer's pitching is coming back down to earth.
5.26.2008
Brewers beat Washington 4-3 in 11
Now 24-27
I can't get too excited about a split with Washington. The team has nowhere near the talent of the Crew, yet, in terms of record, the Nationals are playing no worse than the Crew. Sheet's had his second gutsy start in a row, which is a euphimism for him seeming to struggle because the offense sputtered on various scoring chances and he had to work out of a few jams. His routine for giving up Taters in the 1st, then locking it down happened again when Christian Guzman took him yard. But he left after only giving up 2, I don't know what more the bats could ask for. You also couldn't ask for more from the pen. Shouse looked good striking out the side before giving up a game tying bomb and Villanueva struck out 5 in a row. They did their work in my opinion. Who didn't do his work was Russel Branyan, still suffering from "Contact-itis" with 4 Ks. Kapler gets a pinch hit RBI in the 11th and Torres works 1-2-3 to win it.
Although the bullpen did an acceptable job today, management of the bullpen still seems to be a trouble for Yost. Yesterday, Mota gave up the winning run on a wild pitch after working into a 2nd inning for a 2nd consecutive day. Tim Dillard, Mike DeFelice and Zach Jackson, have all been called up from Nashville to try and stop the bleeding, and so far, only DeFelice seems to be a clinker. But it seems like if Yost doesn't use them in just the right way, the whole bullpen falls apart for a week. Of course, Prince and Brauny dumping some 8 run games on a few teams would help the bullpen also. More help will be coming when Julian Tavarez joins the pen after passing his physical, but Melvin should not have had to resort to these measures. Signing Gagne, a washed up closer and releasing Vargas seem like pretty dumb moves right now. Vargas pitched a fine game for the Mets in Colorado Saturday and guess what, Dana Eveland has a sub-3 ERA and 4 wins for the A's. I hate it when former Brewers succeed, especially when it's pitchers like Eveland and Davis who I thought were finished anyway.
Saturday, the Brewers got a surprising performance out of McClung in his new role as Starter (Villy sent to the pen) but hit the wall around 5 innings, which doesn't surprise me. If Yost plans long term for McClung to be a starter, I hope he can at least work himself into a 7 inning pitcher.
Now 24-27
I can't get too excited about a split with Washington. The team has nowhere near the talent of the Crew, yet, in terms of record, the Nationals are playing no worse than the Crew. Sheet's had his second gutsy start in a row, which is a euphimism for him seeming to struggle because the offense sputtered on various scoring chances and he had to work out of a few jams. His routine for giving up Taters in the 1st, then locking it down happened again when Christian Guzman took him yard. But he left after only giving up 2, I don't know what more the bats could ask for. You also couldn't ask for more from the pen. Shouse looked good striking out the side before giving up a game tying bomb and Villanueva struck out 5 in a row. They did their work in my opinion. Who didn't do his work was Russel Branyan, still suffering from "Contact-itis" with 4 Ks. Kapler gets a pinch hit RBI in the 11th and Torres works 1-2-3 to win it.
Although the bullpen did an acceptable job today, management of the bullpen still seems to be a trouble for Yost. Yesterday, Mota gave up the winning run on a wild pitch after working into a 2nd inning for a 2nd consecutive day. Tim Dillard, Mike DeFelice and Zach Jackson, have all been called up from Nashville to try and stop the bleeding, and so far, only DeFelice seems to be a clinker. But it seems like if Yost doesn't use them in just the right way, the whole bullpen falls apart for a week. Of course, Prince and Brauny dumping some 8 run games on a few teams would help the bullpen also. More help will be coming when Julian Tavarez joins the pen after passing his physical, but Melvin should not have had to resort to these measures. Signing Gagne, a washed up closer and releasing Vargas seem like pretty dumb moves right now. Vargas pitched a fine game for the Mets in Colorado Saturday and guess what, Dana Eveland has a sub-3 ERA and 4 wins for the A's. I hate it when former Brewers succeed, especially when it's pitchers like Eveland and Davis who I thought were finished anyway.
Saturday, the Brewers got a surprising performance out of McClung in his new role as Starter (Villy sent to the pen) but hit the wall around 5 innings, which doesn't surprise me. If Yost plans long term for McClung to be a starter, I hope he can at least work himself into a 7 inning pitcher.
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