30-25: Greinke-Hart Lead The Way

 

Milwaukee collected it's 30th victory before June

     Zack Greinke improved his record to 4-1 for the season by leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 7-2 win over the Reds last night.  Greinke didn't even have to bring his A game and he still went 109 pitches, 6 innings which saw him give up 2 earned on 6 hits, 3 walks, and 6 strike outs.  He labored much of the outing and I was waiting for him to hit the wall; but was I wrong.  He worked his way out of  a couple of jams just fine.  Then it was up to the pen to not blow it, which they did perfectly.  Estrada, Loe, and Axford combined for 3 innings with the latter fanning 3.

Corey Hart hit his 5th HR of the season which put Milwaukee ahead for good.  He also collected a nicely placed single which drove in a run. 
Rickie Weeks is the 2nd best lead-off hitter in the NL right now, behind Jose Reyes.  He also collected a RBI on 2 hits as did Nyjer Morgan.  Prince Fielder went o'fer but did reach base on a walk.
Casey McGehee continued to struggle by putting up a golden sombero; his BA fell to .246 on the year. 

Is it time to bring up Mat Gamel yet?  I'm not even talking about McGehee's struggles, I'm talking about giving the kid a second shot (or should I say 3rd).  He is now hitting .307 on the year in Nashville while starting at 1B for the Sounds. He's leading the team in RBI (32), Runs (35), Hits (59), Doubles (15), and has 6 errors on the season.  Yes, he's getting groomed for 1B once Prince leaves next season...but he can also play 3B and therefore he should be brought up soon to share some time with McGehee until the latter gathers himself.

Speaking of call-ups, Brett Lawrie is off the charts right now in AAA-Las Vegas for the Blue Jays.  The ex-Brewers prospect (Marcum trade) is hitting .354 on the season and leads all of the Pacific Coast League in doubles with 79 and is tied for 2nd with 15 Home Runs.  It's looking like the Blue Jays are going to bite the bullet on his early arbitration and summon him up tomorrow of Friday.  Ironically enough, Lawrie probably heard the new earlier today and then found himself in the xray chair late last night when he was plucked on the wrist while taking an AB.  The xrays should that it was just bruised....but it still had to scare the hell out of Lawrie.  So will he still be brought up this week or will they wait until the following week?  Regardless, this kid is going to be a damn star.  He belongs in Toronto, his home country.  It's too bad that he seems like a douche bag when he's with his friends....

Milwaukee didn't gain any ground on the Cardinals last night, some how those annoying bastards pulled out a win against the Giants last night on ESPN.  I watched some of the game and turned it off in the 8th, right before the Cards hit back-to-back-to-back doubles and they took the lead. 

Speaking of the Red Birds....they are allegedly interested in Heath Bell...which makes perfect sense now that Ryan Franklin is a nobody.

RYAN BRAUN is leading all NL outfielders in votes so far in All Star ballots.  He could be the first Brewer ever to start 4 consecutive All Star games....insane..
Rickie Weeks is second in All Star voting for 2B with 3000 less than Brandon Phillips. 
Prince Fielder is third place for 1B votes.