Bacon's Forever Franchise

[bacon96]

Game 63: @ Boston Red Sox
The reigning rookie of the month, Nellie Orvella got us started in Boston with a two run home run. This was Nellie's 10th home run and he has to be the favorite for NL Rookie of the Year at this point in the season. The Sox would rebound to get a couple runs of their own due to some poor defense yet again but our starter, Jacob Quantrill, powered through the struggles behind him, turning in one of his best starts on the season. We picked up two more runs, one each in the sixth and seventh, first from a double of the bat of Orvella and then a Kenny Story double. The bullpen would slam the door causing the final here to be a 4-2 Brewers win.



Game 64:
We got Wright an early lead in this game and the team needed it since Austin left with an injury in the middle of the fourth inning. Wright may need an IL stint but we are more worried about this game than that right now. Sidney Knight came in and threw 3+ innings after Wright left then it was Tony Labandeira before he handed it off to our A relievers. We scored three more runs to add on in the ninth which made it seem like we wouldn't need our closer but Roseboro gave up three of his own. D.J. Ryan came in to close the door but was unable so we got free baseball in this one. Both teams scored in the 12th so we keep on keeping on. A single by Michael McCoy pushed across another run in the 13th and then Kendall Thompson shut down the Sox so we win 8-7.

Game 65:
Shawn Malone had a rough time in Boston and we kinda needed him to go long to save the bullpen so at least he did that. Malone gave up six before exiting in the sixth where he gave up a Grand Slam to Percy Hopkins. Ben Robinson was dominant for Boston but the boat began to leak in the 8th when Michael McCoy hit one over the Green Monster in left. Versus their bullpen Alexander Goodwin also hit a homer but that wasn't enough, 6-3 win for the Red Sox.

Series Recap:
With all three games being close, the bullpens made the difference in this series. Our 'pen combined to throw 15.2 innings while yielding twelve hits and five walks but struck out 16 while collecting two saves and four total holds. Performances like this as a collective are what we need to sustain success long term.

What's Next?
We head back to Milwaukee as we'll host the San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds on this next homestand after we rest on a travel day. The Dads are just 34-33 and they're right in the middle of the NL West. They're coming off winning four of their last five and also had an off day before getting to The Good Land. Players like Kole Robertson, Train Lucas and even Jackson Gorzelanny look like they'll be headed to the All Star Game this summer in Los Angeles.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Game 66: v. San Diego Padres
The Padres starter Alec Thigpen had himself a day and his offense put in the work as well. D.J. Fader played the game of his life as the little speedster hit two home runs early then Dallas Phillips added a long ball of his own but there was plenty of offense spread around in between the dingers. We got one real late but the bullpen would allow a couple of runs as well. Final 11-1, Padres.

Game 67:
We completely flipped the script in game number two of the series. Instead, it was B.J. Butler who was dominant and our offense who scored seven runs early on. Dylan Bell cleared the bases with a triple and then both Nick Paxton and Troy Drennan brought it two runs themselves. Butler allowed a run in the seventh but was very strong in this one otherwise. He turned it over to the bullpen where Bernie Beerbrat, making his first appearance with us, was excellent out of the bullpen. W 10-1.

Game 68:
After two blowouts, we finally played a close game versus the Padres. Jacob Quantrill was shaky early. He walked in a run in the first inning and had four walks total but was really able to settle down after allowing two total in the first two innings. Padres starter Alexzander Starks was also excellent over his five frames. He struck out seven while only allowing four hits and two runs, both coming in the first. The star of this game for the Padres was Kris Dodson. Batting ninth in a left v. left matchup, Dodson collected four hits including one that went over the fence. The game stayed tied after nine so we got free baseball in the finale. The Padres scored two in the 12th but we would match their runs to force a 13th. In that 13th, the Padres scored three and we would only get one back so we would lose 8-6 in 13 innings.

Series Recap:
We dropped two of three at home against San Diego. The Padres powered their way to a series win thanks to great performances by D.J. Fader (in game one) and Kris Dodson (in game three) but their wins were overall good team performances. This won't be the last time we hear from these Padres.

What's Next?
We will host the Cincinnati Reds in a battle for second place in the NL Central. The Reds are 36-33 entering the series while we come in at 37-31. Cincy has recently been bit by the injury bug losing Richard Fowler and Alonso Rincon for an extended period of time but their replacements have done well to keep the Reds afloat.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Game 69: v. Cincinnati Reds
We fell into a quick hole against the Reds and could never recover. The Reds pounced on our starter Shawn Malone because of a homer in the first by Dario Rivas and a two-run shot by Kasey Lumpkin in the third. Lumpy is a five tool player and all of his tools were on display in this game as he also collected a stolen base later in the game. Reds' starter Alvin Sparks Jr. was effectively wild today. He beaned three of our hitters, including Jake Fish twice but only had one walk and would only allow a single tally, because of a Josh Carroll seventh inning home run. We got one more in garbage time but this game was all Cincinnati, 7-2.

Game 70:
We played in a good old fashioned pitcher's duel here in game number two. Both teams showed good defense and luck with timely double plays to keep it a close game into the late innings. Lucas Dougherty matched Austin Wright until the seventh when the Reds hit two solo home runs. It stayed close until the ninth when Jairo Sanchez hit a grand slam. Final 7-1 Reds win.

Game 71:
We moved Devon Sampson to the bullpen so Anthony Florial made his Brewers debut in this game. He was a little shaky, throwing five innings and giving up four runs, but the bullpen picked him up by holding the Reds scoreless and our offense broke out to score seven runs. The big star at the plate was Tommy Darling. Our backup backstop had two hits including a big two-out two-RBI double in the sixth to give us all the momentum. We win, 7-4.

Michael McCoy is going to hit our 10-day IL but should only be out the ten days. He sprained his elbow in the final v. Cincinnati. In his place, we will recall 2B/OF Brad McKenna, who will be making his MLB debut and wearing #35.

Series Recap:
Seven was the magic number this series. The winning team scored seven runs in all three games as Milwaukee and Cincinnati are now jockeying for the second place position in the NL Central. The key continues to be our starting rotation - which is something we will have to look into improving before the trade deadline.

What's Next?
We play a quick two game series in Minneapolis to take on the Twins in the first half of our border battle. The Twins are 43-30 but just lost their ace Dale Wolf for the season when he was hit in the head with a line drive. We'll instead get to face the back end of the Minnesota rotation where they send Alex Vernon and Jake Baker up as their starters.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Game 72: @ Minnesota Twins
We took game one in our quick series in Minnesota, 5-4. Derrek Hills powered the offense, he had a double in the first and a home run in the third then added on two walks. The young second baseman was instead DH'ing in this game since Brad McKenna was making his MLB Debut at second. He recorded his first MLB hit in this game, going just 1-4. B.J. Butler was excellent again here. He has been one of our big surprises so far this year and much better than the average #5 starter.

Game 73:
We pounced on Jake Baker early in the finale. He allowed seven runs in the second inning started by a Derrek Hills home run and later included a Josh Carroll home run as well. This made it easy for Jacob Quantrill to cruise to his sixth win of the season as we sweep Minnesota, 8-4 winners.



Series Recap:
We steal both games from the Twins as the back end of their rotation had no answers for our hot bats. Adding in that our starting pitchers have been great and we have had off days built in, the bullpen is really well rested too so we are set up well for our next series and the rest of this stretch before the All Star Break.

What's Next?
We head to Phoenix for the weekend. The Diamondbacks are 34-41 and seem to be doing better than expected. Raul Ruiz is having a career year so far. He's batting .308/.382/.517 with 11 homers and 30 runs batted in on a poor D'Backs squad. Their pitching but especially their bullpen has also been decent so far into June.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Game 74: @ Arizona Diamondbacks
Our opener in Arizona was a battle of the aces...and it was a true battle of the aces. Austin Wright and Al Parker matched each other deep into this game but it was the Diamondbacks who would come out on top. They held a 2-0 lead entering the ninth inning before we mounted a rally against D'Backs closer, Eric Lynn. Lynn ended up throwing nearly 30 pitches as he loaded the bases after a hit and a couple of walks. Lynn would eventually work out of it and complete his 22nd save which also gave Parker his 7th win. Arizona beats us here, 1-0.

Game 75:
In game two, we dominated the D'backs. We brought in 16 runs to completely humiliate Arizona on their home turf. We had home runs from Nellie Orvella, Derrek Hills (twice), Oswaldo Segovia, Kenny Story (a Grand Slam) and Jake Fish while Segovia, Hills and Orvella all had at least three hits. Shawn Malone did his part on the bump. He threw seven strong and had some issues but it really didn't matter. We were winners, 16-3.

Game 76:
The finale in Arizona was a slugfest. We scored 7 runs in the first against Rickey Villacis but then the D'backs scored 6 of their own in the bottom half too. It wouldn't end there, Arizona would add on eight more runs while we would make it close but fall short. The final here was 15-13, Diamondbacks win and take the series.

Series Recap:
After the first game, there were plenty of runs to go around as we combined to outscore the D'Backs 30-20 but Arizona took the series. The month of June has not gone as well as May did but this is about what we expect from these Brewers.

What's Next?
We'll host the Blue Jays for three games in the middle of the week. The Jays are 37-41, which is good for 3rd in the AL East. They have had some surprising contributions from players like Roberto Ortega and Craig Lewis but overall the offense hasn't been great with some of the studs they use daily.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Game 77: v. Toronto Blue Jays
The run parade continued for our opponents as the Jays had no issues scoring runs in game number one. It seemed like everything they hit was in the gap or over the fence. The Blue Jays ended up scoring 11 runs and we got a few late to make it seem close as we lose 11-6. Jake Fish hit a dinger late but it did not matter.

Game 78:
Jacob Quantrill kept this game close until he blew up in the fifth inning. Roberto Ortega sent a deep drive to right field resulting in a Grand Slam which broke the game wide open for the Jays. We hit a home run in garbage time again in game two, this time it was Derrek Hills. Hills leads the squad with 17 home runs now. We drop game two as well, 9-4 Jays.

Game 79:
In what was hyped up as an "ace versus ace matchup", one ace carried the team on his back while the other was inconsistent throughout his whole start. Will Palmer was great for the Jays, throwing well over 100+ pitches while Austin Wright continued his struggles for us. The big bats for Toronto Tyson Decker and Pete Van Smash both hit two-run home runs and we couldn't overcome that offense. The Jays win 7-6.

Series Recap:
Both teams scored a bunch but it was the Blue Jay bats that would prevail in a sweep in Milwaukee. It seemed like every ball the Jays hit was in the gap or for extra bases and it made it very easy for their quality pitching to hold down the fort.

What's Next?
We host Pittsburgh for the first time all season. The Pirates are 4th in the division and a team we should easily roll past even with our poor injury luck and hitting a cold spot in the season.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Game 80: v. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates took a quick lead but Shawn Malone was able to hold them down so it was just a 3-2 ballgame as we entered the late innings. In the eighth, Kenny Story dribbled a single up the middle that would hit off the second base bag which caused some confusion in the Pirates middle infield and gave us the lead. That lucky groundball turned out to be the difference as we walk away winners, 5-3.

Game 81:
Anthony Florial turned in the best start of his young career in game two but the offense couldn't support him. Then once Florial left, the bullpen blew up the game. The Pirates exploded with seven runs in the seventh inning and left this game out of reach for our lately anemic offense. In the end, it wouldn't matter how much Pittsburgh scored because we couldn't score at all. Final 12-0.

Game 82:
Thanks to six great innings from B.J. Butler this was another close game but he did have one blowup frame where he allowed four runs to score. On the opposite side, we scored two runs early then another fairly quickly - all driven in by Nellie Orvella. Then a home run by Flash Miller tied the score in the seventh. We would keep it tied until the bottom of the ninth and Michael McCoy was the hero when he sent a flyball to the outfield to push across the winning run. Brewers take the finale and the series, 5-4.



Series Recap:
Five runs was the magic number in our two wins for this series - that obviously excludes our shutout in the game two blowout. The Pirates were outmatched in the two close games but took out their frustrations in the middle game. The major win is us taking the series. We need to win series against divisional opponents and this sets the tone for future matchups versus the bottom-feeders of the NL Central.

What's Next?
We head south just 90 minutes to play the Cubbies to finish June. It's actually a four game series that will stretch from 6/29-7/2 before continuing the road trip to St. Louis. Chicago is still clinging on to the lead in the division and they get just a touch healthier in game one of the series since their ace, Edwin Rodriguez, is fresh off the IL to make the start.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

We are through June so here are our team stats so far:

July 2020 Milwaukee Brewers Stats - Hitting
NAME	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	WAR	BA	OBP	SLG
Michael McCoy	301	60	114	33	0	14	50	34	71	0	4.7	.379	.439	.628
Troy Drennan	270	56	83	23	0	13	50	37	68	0	3.2	.307	.386	.537
Derrek Hills	239	50	67	15	1	17	54	54	69	0	2.9	.280	.412	.565
Josh Carroll	167	26	44	10	2	7	28	27	54	0	2.1	.263	.371	.844
Nellie Orvella	257	41	78	22	1	11	62	21	63	1	2.1	.304	.358	.525
Jake Fish	254	40	73	21	1	14	46	35	74	0	2.0	.287	.385	.543
Kenny Story	174	24	55	6	3	1	20	27	55	0	1.8	.316	.406	.402
Mark Chiavacci	181	33	53	15	2	8	41	25	48	0	1.4	.293	.373	.530
Alexander Goodwin	137	24	38	8	0	12	25	21	49	0	1.2	.277	.377	.599
Oswaldo Segovia	257	43	76	14	0	8	28	36	51	0	1.1	.296	.384	.444
Brad McKenna	44	7	16	4	0	3	6	5	8	0	0.8	.364	.429	.659
Nick Paxton	125	9	32	5	1	1	15	19	29	0	0.7	.256	.354	.336
Dylan Bell	167	20	39	5	1	5	23	20	52	0	0.7	.234	.321	.365
Tommy Darling	68	6	17	4	0	0	6	8	16	0	0.5	.250	.329	.309
Carmelo Ramirez	35	3	11	1	0	0	2	2	10	6	0.3	.314	.351	.343
Flash Miller	179	29	39	6	0	6	12	24	52	3	0.2	.218	.310	.352
Danny Ray	17	0	4	1	0	0	0	2	3	0	0.0	.235	.316	.294
Pedro Liriano	33	3	4	2	0	0	2	6	12	0	0.0	.121	.256	.182
Nick Brady	24	2	3	1	0	0	2	2	8	0	0.0	.125	.207	.167

July 2020 Milwaukee Brewers Stats - Pitching
NAME	GP	GS	W	L	SV	QS	HLD	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	ERA
Austin Wright	20	20	6	10		10		116.0	141	79	31	29	64	1.47	6.13
B.J. Butler	17	17	9	3		9		100.2	104	47	15	17	60	1.20	4.20
Shawn Malone	16	16	7	7		8		93.1	112	50	15	32	45	1.54	4.82
Jacob Quantrill	17	17	7	4		6		92.1	130	68	19	28	55	1.71	6.63
Devon Sampson	14	11	3	6	0	3	0	63.1	88	58	16	24	42	1.77	8.24
Tony Labandeira	33		1	0	0		3	38.2	51	29	9	9	29	1.55	6.75
Kendall Thompson	35		5	2	1		10	38.1	37	21	6	8	31	1.17	4.93
Bryce Black	35		2	2	0		15	31.2	32	15	3	7	25	1.23	4.26
D.J. Ryan	27		1	1	22		0	27.2	18	7	2	9	31	0.98	2.28
Sidney Knight	31		2	1	0		7	27.0	30	13	4	13	21	1.59	4.33
Will Bell	30		0	2	0		9	26.1	30	16	3	5	19	1.33	5.47
Jordan Hendricks	28		1	0	0		5	26.0	30	14	4	4	25	1.31	4.85
Ricardo Mejia	15		0	0	1		0	19.1	34	14	5	3	10	1.91	6.52
Broderick Blankenship	12		0	0	0		0	18.1	20	9	2	8	9	1.53	4.42
Anthony Florial	3	3	0	2		1		14.2	25	14	7	6	11	2.11	8.59
Austin Trout	9		0	0	0		3	11.2	14	7	2	3	8	1.46	5.40
Ben Roseboro	5		0	0	0		0	5.2	5	3	2	7	2	2.12	4.76
Bernie Beerbrat	1		0	0	0		0	1.2	0	0	0	0	2	0.00	0.00

Here are the hitting league leaders:

MLB League Leaders - Updated: Jul 1, 2020
WAR		WAR	Hits		H
	1. Paul Keys	5.6		1. Michael McCoy	114
	2. Kenji Suzuk - SF	4.8		2. Jimmy Schmitz - StL	112
	3. Carlos Fuentes - LAA	4.8		3. Michael Mayfield - OAK	108
	4. Michael McCoy - MIL	4.7		4. Orlando Blanco - StL	108
	5. Jimmy Schmitz - StL	4.6		5. Rex West - NYM	108
Home Runs		HR	Runs Batted In		RBI
	1. Clayton Anderson	28		1. Frankie Fernandez	77
	2. Paul Keys - CLE	27		2. Fukanori Kodeyashi - PHI	72
	3. Frankie Fernandez - CHC	27		3. Paul Keys - CLE	71
	4. Denny Ross Jr. - SEA	25		4. Michael Mayfield - OAK	68
	5. THREE PLAYERS TIED WITH	23		5. Dylan Clark - HOU	66
Stolen Bases		SB	Walks		BB
	1. Homer Webster	33		1. Kenji Suzuki	58
	2. Gordon Landry - WSH	28		2. Michael Mayfield - OAK	57
	3. Bryce Lewis - CHC	25		3. Bobby Lockett - CWS	57
	4. Junior Rodriguez - PHI	20		4. Nick Callahan - PIT	56
	5. FOUR PLAYERS TIED WITH	19		5. Jimmy Schmitz - StL	56
Batting Average		AVG	Runs		R
	1. Michael McCoy	.379		1. Orlando Blanco	68
	2. Gregorio Ortiz - PIT	.356		2. Bryce Lewis - CHC	62
	3. Jimmy Schmitz - StL	.351		3. Alexis Elias - MIN	61
	4. Clayton Anderson - MIN	.340		4. Colt Snow - PHI	61
	5. Dylan Clark - HOU	.335		5. Michael McCoy - MIL	60

...the pitching league leaders:

MLB League Leaders - Updated: Jul 1, 2020
WAR		WAR	Innings Pitched		IP
	1. Kole Robertson	4.2		1. P.J. Kid	125.0
	2. Edwin Rodriguez - CHC	3.7		2. Tadahito Takatsu - SF	124.0
	3. Miguel Ortega - TOR	3.5		3. Emilio Rosales - SEA	122.0
	4. Will Palmer - TOR	3.2		4. Josh Reed - BOS	120.1
	5. P.J. Kid - TB	3.0		5. Tanner Blue - BAL	120.0
Wins		W	Saves		SV
	1. Edwin Rodriguez	12		1. Lane Wright	31
	2. Kyle Redmann - WSH	11		2. Tyler Elliott - SEA	29
	3. Kole Robertson - SD	11		3. Train Lucas - SD	27
	4. Buck Shauver - NYY	11		4. Dan Murray - BOS	27
	5. TWO PITCHERS TIED WITH	10		5. TWO PITCHERS TIED WITH	26
Strikeouts		K	Earned Run Average		ERA
	1. Kole Robertson	149		1. Edwin Rodriguez	2.10
	2. Kyle Moss - HOU	143		2. Tadahito Takatsu - SF	2.25
	3. Miguel Ortega - TOR	137		3. Kole Robertson - SD	2.31
	4. Benny Wells - PIT	137		4. Francisco Perez - BOS	2.34
	5. Blondie Pena - HOU	135		5. P.J. Kid - TB	2.38

And finally, the current league standings:

MLB Standings - Updated: Jul 1, 2020
AL EAST	W	L	GB
Red Sox	49	37	-
Rays	45	42	4.5
Blue Jays	43	42	5.5
Orioles	40	46	9.0
Yankees	39	47	10.0
AL CENTRAL	W	L	GB
Twins	49	37	-
White Sox	49	37	-
Indians	47	39	2.0
Tigers	37	48	11.5
Royals	32	54	17.0
AL WEST	W	L	GB
Mariners	50	37	-
Angels	44	31	5.0
Astros	41	43	7.5
A's	40	46	9.5
Rangers	40	47	10.0
NL EAST	W	L	GB
Mets	44	41	-
Marlins	42	44	2.5
Phillies	40	45	4.0
Braves	40	46	4.5
Nationals	39	47	5.5
NL CENTRAL	W	L	GB
Cubs	50	36	-
Reds	48	38	2.0
Brewers	44	40	5.0
Cardinals	38	48	12.0
Pirates	37	48	12.5
NL WEST	W	L	GB
Rockies	49	36	-
Dodgers	47	39	2.5
Padres	45	40	4.0
Diamondbacks	41	45	8.5
Giants	36	49	13.0

Baseball is Better!