What a game last night. Ken Macha and Doug Melvin were scrambling to find some video footage and intel on newly summoned lefty John Koronka of the Marlins. The 28 year-old southpaw was called up Sunday to face the Brewers' arsenal of right handed hitters. After watching the game last night, it appears they didn't get that information on Koronka until the fifth inning. That was when the floodgates opened and the Crew unleashed their bats.
Prince Fielder led the charge with two homeruns (both were two-run shots) a single, and 4 RBI's. He was honed in on the ball and even had a solid at-bat his fourth time at the plate, narrowly missing his third homerun of the night.
"Obviously, Prince Fielder killed me...He's a big league hitter who hits mistakes and that's exactly what he did. Two swings of the bat by him, cost me the game."
Koronka quoted by the Seattle Post
Rickie Weeks (8) & Mike Cameron (7) also added solo shots, respectively.
Milwaukee now leads the National League in homeruns, surpassing the Nationals and Reds.
JJ Hardy continued showing signs of life by have a two-hit night that included a double.
Manny Parra held on for the win, improving his record to 2-4. This despite giving up 3 runs early-on in the game. Regardless, Parra has now had 4 solid starts over the past couple of weeks. This is a good sign. Parra gave up 6 hits but shelled 8 batters, which is common when you face the strike out-heavy Marlins.
Yet again, the Brewer bullpen solidified the game by tossing 3 hitless/scoreless innings and 4 strike outs. I can't say enough about this bullpen. This is what Milwaukee has been missing the past 5 years. Now that the starting rotation is cranking out quality outings, teamed up with a productive bullpen, Milwaukee should be able to squeek out a number of wins. Even if the bats go silent, which is highly unlikely.
Trevor Hoffman looked most impressive, striking out two, only throwing 12 pitches. He has YET to walk a batter!
Listening to MLB Radio on XM yesterday on my way home from work, I am finally starting to hear some Brewer-awareness by guests on the show. Most notably being the TV announcer to the Cubs, Len Kasper. He was discussing the 4-team log jam at the top in the NL Central. He briefly covered the Brewers being the biggest surprise with their solid starting pitching. Kasper questioned the Reds and if they will continue their power hitting (2nd in HR's in the NL). Of course, a good portion of the interview dealt with him explaining the "excellent" counter-balance of offense and defense of the Cubs. Yadda Yadda Yadda. He also felt that Milton Bradley is starting to break out of his slump.
One thing I do like about the Cubs, is their ability to sign solid players in the first couple of months in to the season. I mean what the hell???? They pick up Ryan Freel....and we pick up Catalanotto, who isn't a bad pick-up by any means. But Freel is solid defensively and at the plate. Also, look no further than Jim Edmonds. You know, the guy that jacked 2 homeruns in one inning against the White Sox last year!
Milwaukee has won 18 out of their last 21 games and 7 of their last 9! THIS blog post mentions, however, that the Crew is 11-12 on the season against teams above .500 and is 5-0 against last place Pittsburgh. They fail to keep in mind that 6 of those losses came against their arch rivals (who they recently took a series from) the Chicago Cubs, Reds, and the Giants.
Regardless, wasn't in the Cubs who had a similar showing early last season?
**The Milwaukee Brewers' starting rotation now leads the league in quality starts (19)!***
Other media outlets and blogs are taking note as well!
No surprise here, most major league teams are witnessing a dip in attendance. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers have already passed their record season from last year (3mm) and have a 3% increase thus far in to the season!
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