The difference between a Hall of Fame career and a below-average tenure can all come down to timing.

Success can come from hard work, but sometimes even the hardest workers can toil for years and never find much more than a little bit of success. Meanwhile, there are people who don't work as hard yet succeed just because they are in the right place at the right time. That's a lesson that we considered towards the end of last week, when Kyle looked into a potential alternate reality where Ken Macha could be the greatest manager in Brewers history. While we will never know what would have happened had Ken Macha managed the 2008 and 2011 teams, the talent on these teams may have made Macha the best manager in Brewers history.

Great careers can begin in September.

Tomorrow is September 1st, which means that rosters expand and minor league players will join their major league clubs for the last month of the season. Some of these players are just getting their first taste of major league experience, and that can turn into a long career. On Monday of this week, Kyle profiled one of the biggest names in Brewers history as he looked at the beginning of Greg Vaughn's career. His 38 games at the end of 1989 was the start of a fifteen year career, which included parts of eight years in Milwaukee. Timing was important for him as well, and he picked the right times to insure that he would have a great career.

There's a lot to see at PNC Park.

Starting on Tuesday of this week, the Brewers began a series in Pittsburgh. The stadium that the Pirates play in is PNC Park, generally regarded as one of the better parks in all of baseball. As part of the preview for the series, Eric Nehm recounted his experience from PNC Park earlier this year. He recaps the good and bad of the stadium, from the staues outside to the little bits of information on the scoreboard inside. It's an in-depth look at all the stadium has to offer and how it compares to other stadiums around the league.

According to the polls, Ryan Braun still has a lot of work to do.

At the end of last week, we got the statement from Ryan Braun that he had been waiting for. This week, in the tracking poll, the readers got their chance to react in regards to what they thought about the statement. The poll results were not favorable to him. 55% of the voters weren't completely satisfied by what he had to say, 65% are not convinced that he only used performance-enhancing drugs in 2011. Braun still has a lot of work to do if he wants to regain more support from the fans in Milwaukee.

The Brewers can win on Thursdays.

In one of those odd quirks of a schedule, the Brewers had lost 11 straight games on Thursdays in 2011, with the only win on Thursday coming back in April. The Brewers finally snapped that streak this last Thursday, defeating the Pirates to break that streak, as well as get their first win on a Thursday on the road since September of last season. At the end of the day, it's probably nothing more than a coincidence, but it's one of those that we're happy to see end.

The John Axford era has ended in Milwaukee.

With the deadline for trades to be completed for postseason consideration approaching, the Brewers managed to pull off one more trade prior to it. Rumors started coming out on Thursday evening that the Brewers were working on a trade, and the trade was announced on Friday morning. The Brewers sent John Axford to St. Louis for a player to be named later, ending his time in Milwaukee. It was an up and down year for Axford, and now he will get a chance to move on in a new location. Soon after the trade, Kyle took some time to reflect on how much of the roster that has changed since the 2011 postseason and get a little melancholy about it. Despite his performance, many people liked Axford, and he will be missed in Milwaukee.

Marco Estrada (4.44 ERA, 4.36 FIP) is coming off easily his best start of the season. Against the Reds last week, he went seven innings, giving up just one hit and two walks. He also struck out nine batters. Estrada, who has had home run issues all year long, did all that in Great American Ballpark where routine flyballs end up going over the wall.

That's the kind of Estrada we hoped to see all year long. Well, I mean, not one-hitter Estrada. That's a little much to hope for. But the kind of pitcher he was in 2012, where he put up excellent K/BB stats and put up strings of really good starts. Unfortunately his 2013 campaign has been marred by injury and the aforementioned home run problems.

Estrada has not faced an Angels hitter ten or more times.

For Los Angeles, Jerome Williams (4.69 ERA, 4.77 FIP) will take the mound. Williams has been in the majors off and on since 2003, but has never been able to stick. From 2008-2010, he didn't pitch an inning in the majors. He has had a small resurgence with the Angels the last three years, making 40 starts since 2011, including 19 this season along with another 11 relief appearances.

WIlliams throws three pitches primarily: A 92 MPH sinker (37%), an 89 MPH cutter (21%), and a 93 MPH four seamer (19%). Williams has never faced a current Brewers hitter.

Lineup:

I have not yet seen the lineup. If you have, feel free to throw it in the comments.

In the bullpen:

• Rob Wooten pitched one inning (13 pitches) last night.
• Tyler Thornburg pitched one inning (15 pitches) last night.
• Burke Badenhop pitched one inning (12 pitches) last night.
• Brandon Kintzler pitched two innings (18 pitches) Thursday.
• Michael Gonzalez pitched .2 innings (12 pitches) on Wednesday.
• Jim Henderson last pitched on Tuesday.
• Alfredo Figaro pitched five innings for AAA Nashville on Wednesday.

Win: Dane De La Rosa (6-1)
Loss: Jim Henderson (3-4)
Save: Ernesto Frieri (29)

HR: Iannetta (7), Conger (7)

MVP: Jonathan Lucroy (.375 WPA)
LVP: Jim Henderson (-.603 WPA)

Fangraphs Win Expectancy Graph
Boxscore

I think this is almost the epitome of a Marco Estrada start, or what we can expect from Marco Estrada. He strikes out nine batters and only walks one, but the rest of his line makes it look like an incredibly average start. He pitched seven innings and gave up four earned runs. He allowed nine hits to the Angels. He was even so Estrada-esque that he gave up a homer to Chris Iannetta.

He strikes out a whole bunch of batters, but gives up a good amount of hits and home runs. It's like Estrada is going through his pitching teen years, trying to find out who he is in life. Am I the pitcher who will make batters swing and miss or am I the pitcher who will allow batters to make good contact? You're not supposed to be both, but Marco Estrada is both. He's not the only pitcher like that--it's not totally abnormal--but it is still really weird to me. Choose who you want to be, guys. His hits/9 isn't absurdly high. It's probably right around average. But when you're striking out so many people and not walking many, I figure that you should be pretty good at limiting hits. Estrada can be vexing like that, sometimes.

Anyway, Estrada had that start and, despite a hot Brewers' start, it looked like he might be on the hook for the loss. After Scooter Gennett and Jean Segura each singled to lead off the bottom of the first, Jonathan Lucroy doubled both men home for the Brewers for two runs. Aramis Ramirez drove in Lucroy for the Brewers third run, but after Estrada's last inning, the Brewers trailed 4-3 in the middle of the seventh inning.

It was the top of the order who came through once again in the bottom of the seventh, just like in the first inning. Norichika Aoki singled, Gennett was hit by a pitch, Segura singled, and Lucroy drove in another two runs with a double to take a 5-4 lead the team would not relinquish.

Jim Henderson, still fresh off the team's trade of John Axford, gave up the game in the ninth, though. He secured the first two outs well enough, but gave up a double to Josh Hamilton. Hank Conger followed that up with a two-run homer to retake the lead and, eventually, the win. The Brewers got a single from Gennett and a tough at-bat from Segura in the ninth, but it wasn't enough.

Lucroy went 3-4 on the day, with two doubles, four RBI and a run scored to lead the Brewers offensively. Overall, the Brewers top three batters in the lineup (Gennett, Segura, Lucroy) reached base in nine of their 15 plate appearances and scored four of Milwaukee's runs.

The Brewers and Angels play one more tomorrow, with first pitch scheduled for 1:10 CT.

Final Score in Cream City: ANGELS 6, BREWERS 5

Jerome Williams pitched a quality start - allowing three runs in six innings. Buddy Boshers opened the door, putting two men on in the bottom of the seventh of a 4-3 Angels lead in Milwaukee and Michael Kohn let 'em in.

It was suddenly 5-4 and it is Saturday night and I was almost out the door... but with two outs in the ninth inning Josh Hamilton smacked a pinch-hit double and Hank Conger came in to bat in the pitcher's spot. Two out, bottom of the ninth, tying run on 2B, relief pitcher with an ERA under two and that door out to what is happening in the world would have to wait as Conger walloped his first career pinch hit home run to give the Angels the lead.

So my postgame headline went from "Kohn & Boshers Blows Lead, Brewers Blitz Angels" to "Angels Win on Hank Conger 9th Inning Pinch Hit Home Run". Nice ring to it, eh?

So then Ernesto Frieri came in to get the Save in the bottom of the ninth. Light That Baby Up.

Nashville Sounds (AAA) 56-86
Won 7-2 vs Iowa Cubs (CHC) (box / pbp)

Huntsville Stars (AA) 57-79
Won 5-3 vs Jackson Generals (SEA) (box / pbp)

Brevard County Manatees (High A) 66-67
Won 5-1 vs Daytona Cubs (CHC) (box / pbp)

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Low A) 59-74
Lost 4-3 at Burlington Bees (LAA) (box / pbp)

Helena Brewers (Rookie) 40-28
Lost 8-6 vs Billings Mustangs (CIN) (box / pbp)

Player/Pitcher Points of Interest

Good morning and welcome to September, where baseball's season-long roster rules make a dramatic shift.

Coming in

Starting with today's games, the 25-man roster limit is gone and any player on a team's 40-man roster is eligible to be activated and play in major league games. The Brewers marked the occasion by recalling reliever Donovan Hand from Nashville moments ago.

Hand has pitched in 21 games for the Brewers this season, including seven starts, and posted a 3.75 ERA over 57.2 innings of work. His peripheral numbers suggest that initial success could be a challenge to maintain: His low strikeout rate (4.7 per nine innings) is a bit of a concern and he's already given up nine home runs in the majors (1.4 per nine innings).

Hand posted a 3.28 ERA over 20 relief appearances for Nashville this season, and pitched a scoreless inning for the Sounds yesterday. It's not known at this point if he'll arrive in time for today's game, but the Brewers already had a locker ready for him last night.

Heading out

Meanwhile, the Brewers may have reached the end of the road with another longtime prospect. Mark Rogers' minor league rehab assignment expires today and the Brewers have opted to remove him from the 40-man roster instead of activating him. Rogers, who was the #5 overall pick in the 2004 draft, made just 12 minor league appearances across three levels this season and posted a 5.16 ERA over 22.2 innings, walking six batters per nine innings.

Rogers will be a minor league free agent this winter, leaving the door open for a possible return. If this is it for him, though, he leaves the Brewer organization having pitched in eleven MLB games between the 2010 and 2012 seasons.

Waiting

Finally, Tom Haudricourt is speculating that reliever Michael Blazek could be the PTBNL in the John Axford trade. He's 24 years old and appeared in eleven games for St. Louis this season, posting a 6.97 ERA over 10.1 innings with ten walks and ten strikeouts.

Blazek was recently optioned by the Cardinals but did not report to a minor league affiliate, leading Haudricourt to believe his status could be in limbo while he waits to clear waivers. It's also possible he didn't report to an affiliate because the Cardinals were planning on immediately recalling him when rosters expand today.

Blazek had a great year in the minors in 2013, posting a 1.97 ERA and striking out 10.2 batters per nine innings over 36 appearances between AA and AAA. Before the season John Sickels rated him as a C prospect, and here's an excerpt from his blurb in the 2013 Prospect Book:

Blazek was a surprise addition to the 40-man roster this past off-season. A 35th round pick back in 2007 out of high school in Las Vegas, he hasn't shown up on prospect lists given the very deep nature of the Cardinals farm system, plus his own mediocre performance record. However, something clicked last year when he moved into relief at Springfield: He posted a 2.59 ERA with a 60/14 K/BB in 49 innings with just 31 hits allowed. Note the outstanding K/IP and H/IP marks. If he maintains that in 2013, he could slot very nicely into the St. Louis bullpen at some point.

EDIT: Blazek is indeed the player the Brewers will receive for Axford, according to Haudricourt.

The Brewers hope to avoid a sweep to the Angels today.

Kyle Lohse (3.39 ERA, 4.19 FIP) will try to help on the mound today. It's that point in the season where it's tough to really say much about Brewers' pitchers that you haven't already heard 27 times. He did have perhaps his worst start since joining the Brewers in his last outing. He gave up 13 hits and five runs in 5.1 innings against the Pirates. Hopefully he doesn't do that again.

Chris Iannetta is the only Angels' hitter to face Lohse at least ten times. Over 13 PA, Iannetta has a .375/.615/.500 line.

For the Angels, pricey free agent acquisition C.J. Wilson (3.36 ERA, 3.32 FIP) gets the start. Wilson is in the second year of a five year, $75 million contract. Unlike other Angels free agents, Wilson has actually been effective for Los Angeles. He has been especially good since the beginning of July, posting a 2.92 ERA over 10 starts, including one outing where he gave up six runs over four innings.

Wilson throws five pitches; A 91 MPH four seamer (33%), an 83 MPH slider (20%), a 92 MPH two seamer (17%), a 78 MPH curveball (14%), and an 89 MPH cutter (11%).

Over 18 PA, Yuniesky Betancourt has hit .278/.278/.333 against Wilson.

Lineup featuring Khris Davis at cleanup:

FINAL FROM MILWAUKEE: Angels 5, Brewers 3.

WP: C.J. Wilson (14-6)

LP: Robert Wooten (3-1)

SV:Ernesto Frieri (30)

Notes

The Angels bats were real quiet until the seventh inning when they scored four runs.

Cory Rasmus and Dane De La Rosa took over after six innings for C.J. and set up Ernesto to earn the save.

Mike Trout was just a home run shy of his second cycle of the season (we're looking at you Aaron Hill).

Win: C.J. Wilson (14-6)
Loss: Rob Wooten (3-1)
Save: Ernesto Frieri (30)

HR: Gomez (19)

MVP: Kyle Lohse (.299 WPA)
LVP: Rob Wooten (-.552 WPA)

Fangraphs Win Expectancy Graph
Boxscore

You have to hand the Brewers a compliment for one thing today: The offense may have earned just four hits, but they did a fine job of optimizing the run production out of those few hits. They used four walks and an Angels' error to almost pull out a victory.

The Angels scored first blood in the top of the third when Kole Calhoun singled home Mike Trout, who had previously tripled. But the Brewers tied it up right away with some RON ROENICKE BALL! Jeff Bianchi led off with a double, then moved to third on a groundout, bringing Kyle Lohse to the plate. In that situation, as in all situations, one must bunt. It worked this time: Bianchi scored, and Lohse reached base safely.

The Brewers took the lead the next inning, scoring two runs on one hit. Jonathan Lucroy walked and came home on Carlos Gomez's 19th home run of the season. Gomez is the Brewers' best hope for a 20 HR season. Jonathan Lucroy is three away. There isn't another Brewer who is much of a threat to that number.

Just as Marco Estrada was Marco Estrada-esque yesterday, Kyle Lohse was very Kyle Lohse-ian today. He gave up seven hits over six innings, allowing just one walk and striking out only one batter. He kept the Angels off the board for the most part, though, allowing just the one run in the third inning.

Unfortunately Lohse and Gomez's homer weren't enough today. Rookie Rob Wooten has been very good in relief so far this season, but had his second consecutive poor outing today. Wooten gave up three hits and two walks while allowing three runs to surrender the lead in the seventh inning. He secured just two outs.

While the Brewers offense was efficient with what they had, they still weren't very good today. They did put up a fight in the eighth inning, loading the bases with just one out. But Jonathan Lucroy and Khris Davis struck out back-to-back to end the threat after Ernesto Frieri came into the game. Frieri had no trouble in the ninth, giving the Angels the sweep.

The Brewers will now play one more series against the Pirates, with first pitch of that series being scheduled for 1:10 CT Monday.

When the struggling Angels completed a three-game sweep of the Brewers at Miller Park on Sunday, it gave us all a welcome opportunity to close the book on interleague play for 2013. The Brewers won just six of their 20 games against AL opponents this season. Here's a quick recap, if you need the reminder:

May: 1-1 against the Rangers, 0-4 against the Twins.
June: 1-2 against Oakland, 1-2 against the Astros.
August: 2-1 against the Mariners, 1-1 against the Rangers again, 0-2 against the Angels
September: 0-1 against the Angels

The Twins, Astros, Mariners and Angels entered play Sunday a combined 86 games under .500, so going 3-10 against the four of them this season stings a bit.

Despite that relatively weak collection of opponents, the Brewers have a chance to finish as the NL's worst interleague team. Here are the standings, heading into Monday:

* - The Mets, Diamondbacks, Cardinals, Reds, Marlins and Giants all have three interleague games remaining. The Rockies have two.

All told, the Brewers are 39-56 in interleague play since the start of the 2008 season. They've posted a winning interleague record in just one of the last six seasons, going 9-6 in 2010.

The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired right-handed pitcher Michael Blazek from the St. Louis Cardinals as the player to be named later in Friday's trade for John Axford, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Blazek's involvement in the deal completes the trade, which amounts to a one-for-one Axford-for-Blazek swap.

Blazek, 24, was the Cardinals' 35th round pick in the 2007 draft, and has risen quickly through the team's system. He has been excellent in the minors this season, posting a 1-2 record and 1.97 ERA, 10.2 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 in 45.2 innings of work split between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis.

The reliever was rewarded with a major league promotion earlier in the season, but has struggled at the major league level with St. Louis. In 10.1 relief innings over eleven appearances in the majors this season, Blazek has posted a 6.97 ERA and 8.7 BB/9, signifying that he may have some control issues to work out before he becomes a full-time major league reliever. Blazek will report to the Brewers' major league squad immediately.

While Blazek is by no means a top prospect, he will provide a solid bullpen option for the Brewers, who are looking to rebuild after a disappointing season. He is under control through the 2019 season, and has two remaining option years after making his major league debut this season.

On this day in 1971 just 5,385 fans interrupted their Thursday to watch the Brewers and Royals play at County Stadium, but the handful of people in attendance got to witness a pretty impressive feat.

The Brewers still didn't have a hit in the game when outfielder Jose Cardenal was hit by a pitch leading off the second inning, advanced to second on Dave May's walk, went to third on Darrell Porter's groundout and scored on an RBI grounder by Tommy Matchick. That run turned out to be important, because it was the day's only tally.

The Crew did get a hit in the next inning, as Ron Theobald singled to left before getting caught stealing second. That was the extent of the day's offense, though, as the Brewers won 1-0 with just one single in the box score. Mike Hedlund was the tough luck loser for the Royals, while Marty Pattin pitched a complete game shutout for the victory.

This is the only time in franchise history where the Brewers have won with just one hit. Across baseball this happens from time to time, but the lone hit is usually a home run. A one-hit win where the lone base knock is a single has only happened 13 times in the 42 years since this game, and was most recently done by the Dodgers in September of 2010.

This game also featured the major league debut of catcher Darrell Porter, who at the time was the youngest player in franchise history. We covered that event in this space two years ago.

With help from the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:

• 1995 Brewer Mike Thomas, who turns 44.
• 1995-97 Brewer Jamie McAndrew, who turns 46.
• Kewaunee, Wisconsin native and UW-Oshkosh alum Terry Jorgensen, who turns 47. He played three MLB seasons between 1989-93 as a member of the Twins.
• 1983-87 Brewer Rick Manning, who turns 59. We covered his birthday in this space last year.
• 1980 Brewer John Flinn, who turns 59.
• Lamar Johnson, 2005 inductee into the Appleton Baseball Hall of Fame, who turns 63.

Nashville Sounds (AAA) 56-87
Lost 3-2 (10 inn.) vs Iowa Cubs (CHC) (box / pbp)

Huntsville Stars (AA) 58-79
Won 7-0 vs Jackson Generals (SEA) (box / pbp)

Brevard County Manatees (High A) 66-68
Lost 7-4 at Daytona Cubs (CHC) (box / pbp)

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Low A) 59-75
Lost 9-5 (14 inn.) at Burlington Bees (LAA) (box / pbp)

Helena Brewers (Rookie) 41-28
Won 10-7 vs Billings Mustangs (CIN) (box / pbp)

Player/Pitcher Points of Interest

After a brief and disastrous foray into games against AL teams, today the Brewers return to their recent "division opponents only" theme.

At 1:10 today the Brewers will play a holiday matinee with Tyler Thornburg (1.94 ERA, 3.54 FIP) on the mound in place of Tom Gorzelanny. Thornburg pitched a scoreless inning in relief on Friday, allowing a hit and striking out one while throwing 15 pitches. He last started a game on August 14, and hasn't thrown more than 15 pitches in an outing since August 18.

The decision to have Thornburg throw in relief on Friday and pitch today on two days' rest is a curious one, and leads me to believe he'll probably have a short outing today. The Brewers did have him pitch six innings on three days' rest on August 14, though, so anything is possible. Thornburg has yet to start on normal rest in the majors this season.

Thornburg has made a start and a relief appearance against the Pirates this season, working a combined 5.2 scoreless innings and allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out four. No current Pirates have faced him ten times or more.

He'll face righthander Charlie Morton (3.14 ERA, 3.67 FIP), who the Brewers are seeing for the second time in a week. He allowed a single unearned run on five hits over 6.2 innings against the Crew on Wednesday in a game Pittsburgh went on to win 7-1.

The Pirates are only 3-2 in Morton's last five outings, but that's not his fault. He's posted a 1.83 ERA and held opposing batters to a .260/.326/.301 line while averaging slightly less than seven innings per start. He's also not afraid to hit a batter: He's plunked 13 in his 14 outings this season and at least one in three consecutive starts.

This is the third time Morton has faced the Brewers this season. In addition to the 6.2 inning outing on Wednesday, he also held them to a single unearned run over two innings on June 30. The only active Brewer who has faced him ten times or more is Aramis Ramirez, who is batting .364/.429/.364 in 14 plate appearances.

As of this writing I haven't seen today's lineup. If you have, please drop it in the comments.

And in the extra expanded bullpen:

• Donovan Hand pitched 1.1 innings (15 pitches) yesterday.
• Alfredo Figaro pitched one inning (eight pitches) yesterday.
• Rob Wooten pitched .2 innings (27 pitches) yesterday.
• Michael Gonzalez faced one batter (two pitches) yesterday.
• Jim Henderson pitched one inning (23 pitches) on Saturday.
• Brandon Kintzler pitched one inning (12 pitches) on Saturday.
• Burke Badenhop last pitched on Friday.
• Tom Gorzelanny last pitched on Wednesday.
• Michael Blazek last pitched on Wednesday for the Cardinals.

It looks like a nice but somewhat cool day for baseball in Milwaukee today. Expect a game-time temperature around 70 under sunny skies with winds blowing from left to right.

Win: Charlie Morton (7-3)
Loss: Tyler Thornburg (1-1)
Save: Mark Melancon (10)

HR: Neil Walker (10)

MVP: Tyler Thornburg (.107 WPA)
LVP: Jonathan Lucroy (-.223 WPA)

Fangraphs Win Expectancy Graph
Boxscore

Tyler Thornburg pitched well for six innings Monday afternoon, but the Brewers offense wasn't able to keep pace with the Pirates after Thornburg left the game as they fell to the Pirates 5-2.

The Brewers struck first in the bottom of the second inning.  With two outs, Juan Francisco looped a ball down the left field line for a double.  Logan Schafer followed Francisco with a groundball up the middle that deflected off the glove of a diving Neil Walker and rolled into center field to allow Francisco to score the first run of the game.

It didn't take long for the Pirates to answer as they scored in the top of the third inning.  Clint Barmes started the inning with a single and was sacrificed over to second by pitcher Charlie Morton.  Jose Tabata followed Morton with a single to left field that scored Barmes standing up to tie the game.

Barmes and Tabata combined again to produce the Pirates' second run of the game in the fifth inning.  Barmes doubled to start off the inning and was again sacrificed over by Morton.  With Barmes in scoring position again, Tabata singled to left to give the Pirates their first lead of the game.

The Pirates were unable to score in the sixth inning, which ended up being Tyler Thornburg's final inning.  Thornburg looked good again today for the Brewers, giving up only two runs in six innings pitched.  In his four starts this season, Thornburg has given up only three runs in 24 innings pitched.

With Thornburg out of the game, the Brewers turned to Tom Gorzelanny.  Gorzelanny gave up a single on only two pitches and then left the game with left shoulder tightness.  Alfredo Figaro came in for the Brewers and immediately got himself into trouble.  After giving up a single to Tabata, Walker jumped on a fastball and deposited it over the wall in right-center field to give the Pirates a four run lead.

On a play straight out of little league, the Brewers were able to score a run in the seventh, but it would be the only run they would manage the rest of the game.  After a Segura single to left field moved Aoki up to second base, Tabata threw the ball to third baseman Pedro Alvarez, who let the ball get by him and into the Pirates dugout.  This advanced both base runners two bases and allowed Aoki to score.

The only bit of excitement in the final two innings came in Michael Blazek's Brewer debut.  Blazek took the mound in the eighth inning and took the Pirates down in order.

The Brewers and Pirates will be back in action again Tuesday night.  In the second game of a three game series, Yovani Gallardo will take the mound and attempt to keep up the success he has found since his return from the disabled list.  The Pirates will send rookie Gerrit Cole to the mound.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

AAA Nashville wrapped up their season today, and after the game the Brewers raided their roster for three more September callups. Taking them alphabetically:

Sean Haltonwill be back with the Brewers for the third time this season. He's appeared in 24 games as a Brewer this season and hit .218/.271/.309, while posting a .273/.348/.460 line in 399 plate appearances for Nashville. Ron Roenicke said he'll be the primary first baseman against lefthanded pitchers, which is a pretty limited role.

Johnny Hellwegis a big leaguer for the second time after a disastrous four-game stint earlier this year. Hellweg, acquired last year in the Zack Greinke trade, was the Pacific Coast League's Pitcher of the Year in 2013 but had a hard time translating that success to the big leagues, posting a 10.97 ERA over 10.2 innings and allowing 19 hits, walking 13 while striking out just three. He's expected to start a game in the Cubs series this weekend.

Jimmy Nelsonis the only one of these three players with no MLB experience. Nelson is a quick riser in the Brewer organization and represented the team in the 2013 Futures Game in the middle of a season where he carried a 3.25 ERA over 27 starts across AA and AAA. He struck out 9.6 batters per nine innings this season, but is expected to pitch out of the bullpen this September.

Nelson will need to be added to the 40-man roster before tomorrow, so at that point the roster will be full. The Brewers could still open up another spot, though, by placing Rickie Weeks on the 60-day DL.

It's become common knowledge that the Brewers' minor league system is, and has been for some time now, one of baseball's most shallow. The acquisitions of Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum in 2010 put the big league club over the top, nearly to the World Series in 2011, but the handful of top prospects relinquished between both deals dealt a colossal blow to the system -- and its effects still linger to this day in the form of very little pro-ready talent and a relatively scarce amount of high-ceiling youngsters.

But if this season, and August, in particular, has told me anything, it's that Milwaukee's pipeline is well on its way to being one of the deepest in baseball. Having two first-round draft selections in two consecutive years certainly helps, but it's primarily been the emergence of a handful of late-round selections that has added intrigue to the organization, and may eventually yield the most return, whether that's in the form of everyday contributors to the big league roster or valuable trade chips who can help bring in veteran talent down the road.

Let's take a look at how a handful of those future big leaguers performed in the season's final month.

**Stay tuned for our updated top 25 prospects list on Monday, October 7, as well as various scouting reports throughout the offseason**

Previous Reports: April | May | June | July

Position Players

Hot: D'Vontrey Richardson, OF, advanced-A Brevard County Manatees

August Line: .336/.376/.464, 12 XBH, 4 SB, 7 BB/25 K (133 PA, 29 G)

Rejoining the system late in June after taking a year off from baseball in 2012, Richardson's brief stint in high-A ball this season has provided many reasons to believe he still has big league potential. In July, the 25-year-old hit .317 but with very limited power, primarily from the leadoff spot in the order. This month, his power became a legitimate aspect of his game, raking up 12 extra-base hits en route to a .369 weighted on base average, a career-high at any level he's reached to this juncture of his career. He posted a 18.8 percent strikeout rate this past month, which is somewhat of a concern, but when you consider the 16.5% major league average for leadoff hitters this season, it isn't ridiculously high. Patience at the plate has always been an issue, as well as his ability to make quality contact on non-fastballs, but his raw athleticism could be of value in the not too distant future.

Not: Tucker Neuhaus, INF, AZL Brewers

August Line: .167/.259/.208, 3 XBH, 9 BB/24 K (81 PA, 18 G)

Along with fellow second-round 2013 draftee Devin Williams, Neuhaus provided a rush of excitement to the system after signing on midway through June, though his statistical output thus far doesn't warrant the same type of excitement -- especially this past month. In 18 games, Neuhaus struck out at a 29.6 percent rate and recorded just eight hits, only three of which went for extra-bases. Still, he doesn't turn 19 until next June and is still very raw developmentally, but he'll need to work heavily on his pitch identification skills this winter so he's ready for improving competition ahead of him.

Hot: Jason Rogers, 1B, double-A Huntsville Stars

August Line: .333/.432/.520, 9 XBH, 4 SB, 20 BB/ 13 K (125 PA, 30 G)

A slow start to the season headlined by a .126/.236/.147 slash line over 27 June games, Rogers' chances at breaking through to the big league roster seemed bleak at best. But since the start of July, he's been the best hitter in the organization, posting a .335/.436/.548 line since July 1. And while his power numbers in August (.520 SLG) were slightly lower than July (.676 SLG), his plate discipline was never better than this past month, drawing 20 walks while striking out just 13 times over 30 games. With that kind of production, Rogers has put himself in ideal position to battle for a bench spot on Milwaukee's roster to start next season.

Hot: Michael Ratterree, OF, rookie level Helena Brewers

August Line: .297/.378/.653, 16 XBH (9 HR), 11 BB/31 K (119 PA, 26 G)

Recently named the Pioneer League's most valuable player for the 2013 season, Ratterree's month of August was much akin to his month of June and July, mainly in that he continued pounding the baseball at an impressive rate. Over 26 games this past month, Milwaukee's 10th-round pick this past June slugged his way to a .423 wOBA and Pioneer League-best .298 isolated power rating for the season. He did strike out at an elevated rate (26.1%) this past month, but his explosive, quick-to-contact approach should allow for him to make the necessary adjustments as he moves up the minor league ladder.

Not: Hunter Morris, 1B, triple-A Nashville Sounds

August Line: .277/.306/.437, 11 XBH, 5 BB/35 K (124 PA, 29 G)

Though he finished out August in impressive fashion, including a seven-game hit streak in which he batted .467 toward the end of the month, Morris' early struggles are enough for me to consider his final full month of the season a disappointment. While a .437 slugging percentage is nothing scoff at, even for Morris' standards, the fact that he drew just five walks over 29 games shows that the most lagging portion of his game isn't improving, and that could be enough to delay his progression to the big league roster. Strikeouts (28.2 K% in August) are also a concern, but it wouldn't be such a problem if his patience early in the count showed signs of improvement. He'll need to start become more selective at the plate if he's to have a legitimate chance at becoming Milwaukee's everyday starting first baseman down the road.

Hot: Juan De Los Santos, OF, DSL Brewers

August Line: .329/.407/.457, 5 XBH, 5 SB, 8 BB/16 K (81 PA, 20 G)

The Brewers' Dominican Summer League team finished the summer with one of the worst records in the league, but that didn't slow the impressive offensive production put forth by De Los Santos, who has stepped forward as potentially the most talented youngster on the roster. Now in his third season as a minor leaguer and first in Milwaukee's organization, the Venezuela native posted a .384 wOBA over 20 August games and finished the season with the team's highest on-base percentage (.384). Still just 19 years old, De Los Santos has a ways to go before he fills out his current 5-foot-11, 170-pound frame, so it's certainly within the realm of possibility that he can generate more bat speed and subsequently hit for more power in the future. He's definitely a name to watch for over the winter and early next season.

Pitchers

Hot: Tyler Wagner, RHP, low-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

August Line: 2.29 ERA (4.34 FIP), 1.17 WHIP, 27 K/11 BB, .545 oppOPS (6 GS, 35.1 IP)

No pitching prospect in the system below the double-A level has had a more impressive season than Wagner, who finished with a 3.21 ERA and 1.24 WHIP following his final start of 2013 last Saturday, and his month of August really brought his success to the forefront. Over six starts this past month, Wagner allowed just one extra-base hit and posted a 2.32 ground-ball-to-fly-ball ratio thanks to his heavy-sinking two-seam fastball that he commanded exceptionally to the lower portion of the zone. I was able to see him pitch twice this season, once in April and once in August, and can tell his changeup has improved and is consistently throwing hitters off balance. I believe he easily has the makeup of a future back-end starter at best, and could be an above-average late-inning reliever if the organization so chooses to shift his development to that area.

Not: Taylor Jungmann, RHP, double-A Huntsville Stars

August Line: 6.44 ERA (5.75 FIP), 1.78 WHIP, 13 K/18 BB, .826 oppOPS (6 GS, 29.1 IP)

After a lackluster rookie campaign in the Florida State League last season, the Brewers probably realized that Jungmann wasn't the strikeout-hoarding front-line starter prospect they -- and everyone else -- thought he would blossom into prior to the 2011 draft. But I don't think they expected him to put up the porous numbers he has lately, particularly in the month of August. In six starts, Jungmann posted a monthly career-worst 1.78 WHIP, walked (18) significantly more men than he struck out (13) and lasted an average of only 4.85 innings per outing. If he's had one thing going for him, it's been his ability to generate ground balls (2.11 GO/AO) at a respectable rate. But all in all, it was a disappointing final month of the season for the Texas product.

Hot: Tyler Cravy, RHP, advanced-A Brevard County Manatees

August Line: 0.77 ERA (1.13 FIP), 1.00 WHIP, 28 K/4 BB, .514 oppOPS (4 GS, 23.1 IP)

A reliever for a chunk of the season with high-A Brevard County, all four of Cravy's appearances in August came as a starter and he performed exceptionally well out of that role. The former 17th-round pick back in 2009 struck out nearly 30 percent of his competition and allowed just two extra-base hits over 23.1 innings of work. Looking at his numbers as a starter this season (1.29 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 24.6% K%, 5.6% BB%), Cravy seems to have a good idea of what he's doing on the mound. If he impresses in the Arizona Fall League this month, whether as a starter or reliever, it's hard to imagine him not moving up to double-A ball to start 2014.

Not: Johnny Hellweg, RHP, triple-A Nashville Sounds

August Line: 5.74 ERA (5.21 FIP), 2.10 WHIP, 26 K/25 BB, .939 oppOPS (6 GS, 31.3 IP)

Adding to the list of top pitching prospects in the system who can't seem to figure things out lately, Hellweg's month of August offered little reason to believe he will find much success with the big league roster in September. Over six starts against Pacific Coast League batters, Hellweg put nearly as many men on base via walk (25) as he did strike out (26) and posted a ridiculously high 2.10 WHIP. Opponents teed off against his stuff when located over the plate, shown by a .510 slugging percentage. Of course, there are some positives worth noting. Specifically, his 3.08 ground-out-to-air-out ratio is impressive and a likely product of his tailing fastball, and opponents hit line drives at just a 10 percent rate against him. Considering everything, though, Hellweg's August was as bad as it could get, especially when you take into account that the organization feels he's a future mid-rotation starter. PCL pitcher of the year or not, he has a lot to prove this month with the big league club and this fall in the Arizona Fall League.

Hot: Devin Williams, RHP, AZL Brewers

August Line: 2.76 ERA (2.29 FIP), 1.30 WHIP, 21 K/8 BB, .652 oppOPS (6 G, 16.1 IP)

Director of amateur scouting Bruce Seid had his eye on Williams long before he took him with the 54th overall pick in this past June's draft, and his August campaign showed why. Over six appearances, Williams posted a 2.29 FIP, struck out opponents at a 29 percent clip and garnered a 4.2 GO/AO ratio. The 18-year-old Missouri native works out of a slender, athletic 6-foot-4, 165-pound frame with plenty of room to fill out, and employs a raw three-pitch mix that includes an arm-side sinking mid to low 90s fastball, fading but inconsistent changeup and sharp slider. If he continues to mature physically and work on his stuff diligently in the offseason, he may be in for a promotion to the low-A Midwest League by the end of next season.

On this day in 1999 the Brewers and Cardinals took a 4-4 tie to the bottom of the 11th inning at County Stadium. Mark McGwire had already homered twice in the game, but a different kind of hit would produce the game-deciding run.

Jeff Cirillo led off the inning with a bunt single, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Marquis Grissom walked and Ronnie Belliard legged out an infield single to set the stage for Mark Loretta, who was hit by the second pitch of his at bat to force home the game-winning run.

To date, this is the only walkoff hit by pitch in Brewer franchise history. The pitcher, Juan Acevedo, was traded to Milwaukee after the season.

With help from Brewerfan.net and the B-Ref Play Index, we'd like to wish a happy birthday today to:

• AZL Brewer Paul Eshleman, who turns 23.
• Nashville Sound Stephen Parker, who turns 26.
• Nashville Sound R.J. Seidel, who turns 26.
• 2012 Brewer Juan Perez, who turns 35.
• 1998-2002 Brewer Chad Fox, who turns 43.
• 1998-99 Brewer Eric Plunk, who turns 50.
• La Crosse, Wisconsin native Ed Konetchy, who would have turned 128. Konetchy played 15 MLB seasons between 1907-21 as a member of the Cardinals and five other teams.

Today is also the second anniversary of George Kottaras hitting for the cycle in 2011 and the 37th anniversary of Mike Hegan becoming the first Brewer ever to cycle in 1976. We covered those events in this space last year and two years ago, respectively.

Nashville Sounds (AAA) 57-87
Won 2-1 vs Iowa Cubs (CHC) (box / pbp)

Huntsville Stars (AA) 59-79
Won 4-3 vs Jackson Generals (SEA) (box / pbp)

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Low A) 59-76
Lost 3-1 at Burlington Bees (LAA) (box / pbp)

Helena Brewers (Rookie) 41-29
Lost 6-2 vs Billings Mustangs (CIN) (box / pbp)

Player/Pitcher Points of Interest

Some things to read while seeing how the other half lives.

The Brewers are now losers of four straight following a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the Pirates yesterday, Eric has the recap, if you missed it.

The Crew wasted a quality start from Tyler Thornburg yesterday, as he allowed two runs on six hits over six innings. @MikeVassallo13 notes that all of Thornburg's four starts as a Brewer this season have been of the quality variety.

Thornburg was starting in place of Tom Gorzelanny, who made a brief appearance out of the bullpen in the seventh inning before being lifted with shoulder tightness. He's already been on the DL with shoulder tendonitis once this season, but it's not clear if this issue is related.

Logan Schafer started in center field yesterday and went 1-for-3 with a walk in his first start in almost two weeks. He played in place of Carlos Gomez, who asked for a day off to rest various bumps and bruises.

Other notes from the field:

• Yesterday's loss dropped the Brewers to 14-31 in day games (h/t @Haudricourt). They're 45-47 at night.
• Jean Segura stole his 39th base yesterday, and now has the tenth highest single-season total in franchise history (h/t @jstein1981).
• The contact play backfired again as Norichika Aoki took off from third on a Jonathan Lucroy grounder that turned into a 5-2-5-4 double play. (h/t @AndrewGruman)
• Yuniesky Betancourt appeared as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning, saw one pitch and popped out (h/t @Haudricourt).
• Yesterday's FS Wisconsin broadcast featured a hot dog eating contest between several TV personalities and bullpen catcher Marcus Hanel. That's not something I'd normally go out of my way to congratulate but @AndrewGruman notes that Kyle Lohse, Marco Estrada, Wily Peralta and Jonathan Lucroy all chipped in for a donation to the Brewers Charity Foundation in response.
• The Polish won the Sausage Race.
• Former Brewer Don August threw out one of yesterday's first pitches. (h/t @joe_block)
• 23,252 fans paid to see yesterday's Dollar Hot Dog day. We don't know how many hot dogs they ate.

The series continues tonight when Yovani Gallardo takes on Gerrit Cole at 7:10. Chad Thornburg has the MLB.com preview.

For most affiliates the minor league season wrapped up yesterday, so the Brewers waited until after the game to add three September callups: Sean Halton and Johnny Hellweg will rejoin the team today, while Jimmy Nelson will get the call to the big leagues for the first time. We've got more on all three players at the previous link. Tom Haudricourt reports that Hellweg will slot into the rotation, Nelson will pitch in relief and Halton will platoon against lefties at first base.

Meanwhile, one notable September possibility did not get the call: Nashville first baseman Hunter Morris will not be joining the team despite hitting his organization-leading 24th home run yesterday (h/t @AndrewGruman) to finish off a season where he hit .247/.310/.457. Kristin Zenz reads between the lines in our Tweet of the Day:

So no Hunter Morris callup leads me to believe that there is a very, very good chance that we will be seeing Hart back in a Brewers uniform.

— Kristin Zenz (@10iskristin) September 2, 2013

Hart, by the way, made Jason Brannon of Baseball Nation's All-free agent team.

The Brewers continue to tread water in the standings down the stretch, and that's reflected here: They're 26th in Jonah Keri of Grantland's weekly power rankings, which is exactly where they were a week ago.

In the minors:

• The full season affiliates wrapped up their seasons yesterday with a 2-2 day, and Brock Kjeldgaard homered in Huntsville's 4-3 win over Jackson. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has all the details from Wisconsin's 3-1 loss to Burlington.
• Speaking of Wisconsin, Brewer minor league hitting coordinator Sandy Guerrero had some nice things to say about 2013 Timber Rattlers Tyrone Taylor, Victor Roache and Orlando Arcia.
• Alec wrapped up the minor league season with a look at the organization's top and bottom performers from the month of August.
• Nashville outfielder Eugenio Velez made the most of his brief run in the Brewer organization, finishing the season with a 22-game hitting streak and 36-game on base streak (h/t @Haudricourt). He's a career .241/.287/.367 hitter in the majors and will be a minor league free agent again this winter.
• Despite Monday's win, Nashville finishes the season at 57-87, the worst mark in franchise history. (h/t Haudricourt)
• The Sounds wrapped up their final game in 2:12, which was at least 12 minutes longer than last year's finale (h/t @AdamMcCalvy).
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has the season's final interview with Sounds manager Mike Guerrero.

If you weren't around the site yesterday and you're feeling a little behind on Brewer news, go back and check out the Labor Day Frosty Mug. It has all the details on the John Axford trade and much more.

Around baseball:

Athletics: Reliever Mike Zagurski has opted out of his minor league deal and is now a free agent.
Nationals: Reliever Mark Lowe has opted out of his minor league deal and is now a free agent.

Let's go around the NL Central:

• The Cardinals fell a game off the pace after a 7-2 loss to the Reds. Shin-Soo Choo and Joey Votto homered for Cincinnati while Mat Latos pitched a complete game. Yadier Molina left the game early for St. Louis with a sore wrist.
• The Cubs also dropped a game further back, losing 4-3 to the Marlins. All seven of this game's runs scored before the middle of the second inning.
• The Pirates, of course, beat the Brewers at Miller Park.

You can read more about those games and all of last night's action in the Tuesday edition of Around the Bases on SBNation.com.

Here are today's updated standings and probables:

Today in former Brewers:

• Adam Wieser of Disciples of Uecker has a career retrospective on Gorman Thomas.
• Jeremy Jeffress is among the Blue Jays' September callups.

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks the 14th anniversary of the only walkoff HBP win in Brewer franchise history, which came against the Cardinals in 1999. Here are today's other bits of history:

• Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times notes that it's the 53rd anniversary of Hank Aaron drawing five walks in a game, the 41st anniversary of Aaron passing Stan Musial for the career total bases record, the 22nd anniversary of Robin Yount's sixth and final career walkoff home run, and the anniversary of the MLB debuts of Jim Gantner (1976), Kevin Seitzer (1986) and Gary Sheffield (1988).
• Today is 1998-99 Brewer Eric Plunk's 50th birthday, and Plunk Everyone notes that his 32 career hit batsmen are the fourth most ever for a player born on September 3.
• Today also would have been La Crosse native Ed Kontechy's 128th birthday, and his 73 career HBP are the second most ever for a player born on this day.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to scour the archives.

Drink up.