[bacon96]

Game 16: vs. the Philadelphia Phillies
Ace, Austin Wright, was back at it in this game. He backed up his great start vs Philadelphia earlier this month with another great one here today. Wright threw seven frames and only allowed a single tally, a manufactured run in the second inning. While on offense, Troy Drennan had a good day. He went 2-4 win a home run and a double which helps him get back over the dreaded Mendoza line. D.J. Ryan came on and allowed one run to score in the ninth but still got our 27th out to seal the win. 3-2

Game 17:
Devon Sampson's struggles continue in this game as he was unable to complete two full innings against the Phils. The dagger was a two-out bases-clearing three-run triple hit by the Japanese import, Fukanori Kodeyashi which made the score 7-0 when Sampson was yanked. Jake Fish decided today would be the day he gets his first left on left extra base hit when he went deep in both the second and the eighth innings. Fish is now batting .130 vs lefties versus his robust .313 vs righties. Kenny Story has been off to a great start, mostly playing in centerfield against lefties but he went off in this game collecting FIVE hits including a triple and a double but it wasn't enough. Our bullpen continued to let Philly add on (and I wish there was a built-in mercy rule) as they scored almost twenty total runs in this game. Final 18-8 as the two teams combined for 39 hits.

Game 18:
With all players wearing 42 thanks to it being April 15, there were lots of stars on display in this one. Most notable for us was Jacob Quantrill who went 6.2 impressive innings in his start and only allowed a single tally in his first frame. Nick Paxton coming off the IL and playing first base in this one quietly had three hits but didn't score or drive in a run. Our A bullpen once again proved why they're the best as they combined to get the last seven outs without allowing a baserunner. Brewers win on Jackie Robinson Day, 2-1!

After the game, Alexander Goodwin was placed on the IL with a bruised arm. Goodwin, 23, has primarily been used as the designated hitter here in Milwaukee and currently sports a .231/.348/.487 line with three home runs and six runs batted in. Since he is a liability in the field, he has begun to instead cement himself as the DH of the future. Mark Chiavacci has been recalled from Triple-A. Chiavacci, 24, is primarily an outfielder but has some experience playing first base in the Majors. He had a cup of coffee with Kansas City last season where he swung a wet pool noodle (not in a good way) on his way to just one hit in fifteen at-bats in September before he was waived by the Royals. The Brewers claimed him in December and his first game this season will be his first as a Brewer. He'll wear #29.

Game 19:
We played a tight game in game four against Philly here. A pitcher's duel between Mitch Zimmerman and Shawn Malone had us down just one run entering the 8th inning. Malone lowered his ERA to 7.17 so far on the season but the offense and bullpen could not pick him up forcing him to fall to 0-4 in four starts this April. Jake Madison hit a home run late to keep this one out of reach and earn the Phils a series split with a 4-1 victory.

Series Recap:
Other than the laugher in game two, this was a very closely contested series between the two teams. Excluding the Phillies outburst in that game, our starting pitching combined to go 20.2 innings, while yielding only 21 hits, 7 walks and 4 runs which equates to a 1.78 earned run average. When the starters are right, it becomes so much easy to pull of these victories.

What's Next?
We head to Queens to play the hottest team in the entire National League, the New York Mets. The Mets are surging so far in April with a 12-2 record entering this weekend series hosting the Brewers. Notable hitters include familiar names like Rex West and Marco Mendoza are performing as expected while Felipe Quinones has been an early surprise rocking an OPS over .800.

Baseball is Better!