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MLB Waiver Claims: Brewers claim pitcher Jose De La Torre off waivers from Red Sox

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The Brewers reported moments ago that they've claimed pitcher Jose De La Torre off waivers from the Red Sox. Boston had designated him for assignment earlier this week.

De La Torre is 27 years old, righthanded and a Puerto Rican native. He made his major league debut for Boston earlier this season, appearing in seven games, and posted a 6.35 ERA with ten walks and 15 strikeouts over 11.1 innings. He has a 2.82 ERA over 248 career appearances in the minors, almost all in relief. The Brewers will be his fourth organization since 2011.

Based on his limited sample size in the majors, we know that JDLT throws a low-90's fastball, a slider and a changeup. Coming to Milwaukee is actually something of a return home for him: He signed his first professional contract with the Brewers back in January of 2004 but was released a few months later without ever appearing in a US minor league game for the Crew.

The Brewers optioned De La Torre to Rookie-level Helena, where the Brewers open the Pioneer League championship series tomorrow. That hardly seems fair, but I guess it'll give the team a game or two to evaluate him in front of live hitters without calling him up to Milwaukee.

To clear a space on the 40-man roster, the Brewers moved Rickie Weeks to the 60-day DL. He's still not expected to rejoin the team this season.


Tonight's Matchup: Brewers (Lohse) v Reds (Latos)

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The Brewers have three Friday games left in 2013, and two of them are at home against likely NL playoff teams.

They'll play the first of those two at 7:10 tonight when Kyle Lohse (3.59 ERA, 4.19 FIP) takes the mound. Lohse had a rough start last Friday, pitching five innings against the Cubs and allowing seven runs on eleven hits. Over his last three appearances Lohse has a 7.16 ERA and has given up 31 hits in 16.1 innings.

Opposing hitters have a .439 batting average on balls in play against Lohse in his last three starts, so you can make the case that he's been unlucky lately. He's also giving up line drives to almost 30% of all hitters, though, so he's not helping his own cause. The 24 home runs he's allowed this season are the most he's given up since 2004, when he allowed 28 as a Twin.

Lohse has three quality starts in his three previous outings against the Reds this season, holding them to five earned runs (eight total) on 19 hits over 19.2 innings. Eight current Reds have faced him ten times or more:

PAABH2B3BHRRBIBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
Jay Bruce343110311637.323.382.581.963
Brandon Phillips33317100212.226.242.258.500
Joey Votto27238201226.348.407.565.973
Ryan Ludwick25243000217.125.160.125.285
Zack Cozart19164010213.250.316.375.691
Ryan Hanigan16143100022.214.313.286.598
Shin-Soo Choo14122100121.167.286.250.536
Devin Mesoraco1193000020.333.455.333.788
Total231206491123181438.238.288.354.642
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/13/2013.

He'll face 25-year-old, five-year MLB veteran Mat Latos (3.02 ERA, 2.94 FIP), who is making his 30th start for the fourth consecutive season. Latos pitched seven innings against the Dodgers on Saturday, allowing three runs on nine hits over seven innings. He had gone eight consecutive outings without allowing a homer before giving one up in that game.

The Reds gave up four players to get Latos from the Padres in December of 2011, but it really looks like they got the better of that deal. Here's what San Diego got back for him:

  • Pitcher Edinson Volquez, who they recently released.
  • Catcher Yasmani Grandal, who was later suspended for testosterone use.
  • First baseman Yonder Alonso, who has never really panned out and is a career .279/.346/.395 hitter.
  • Reliever Brad Boxberger, who has a 2.91 ERA but has appeared in just 37 games as a Padre over the last two seasons.

Latos has faced the Brewers twice this season, pitching very well (two runs over seven innings) in a loss and struggling (seven runs over six innings) in a win. Five active Brewers have faced him ten times or more:

PAABH2B3BHRRBIBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
Aramis Ramirez24216300524.286.375.429.804
Norichika Aoki18165002222.313.389.6881.076
Carlos Gomez12126112402.500.5001.2501.750
Jean Segura12105001111.500.545.8001.345
Martin Maldonado10101000003.100.100.100.200
Total1171072961616822.271.328.514.842
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/13/2013.

Tonight's lineup is as follows:

Norichika Aoki RF
Jean Segura SS
Jonathan Lucroy C
Aramis Ramirez 3B
Carlos Gomez CF
Scooter Gennett 2B
Sean Halton 1B
Logan Schafer LF
Kyle Lohse P

And in the bullpen:

Kyle Lohse's complete game leads Brewers to a 5-1 win over the Reds

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WP: Kyle Lohse (10-9)
LP: Mat Latos (14-6)

HR: None

MVP: Kyle Lohse (+.368)
LVP: Scooter Gennett (-.095)

Win Expectancy Graph
Box Score

Sometimes everything just lines up for a team.  That was the story of the game tonight.

The Brewers got the offense going early tonight.  Norichika Aoki started the game with a walk, then Jonathan Lucroy hit a double to get Aoki to third.  After Ramirez was it by a pitch, Carlos Gomez singled in two runs to give the Brewers a 2-0 lead.  Gomez would record another RBI in the third inning as Jean Segura scored on a single, and Gomez drove in another two runs in the seventh inning on his third single of the night.  In total, Gomez had 5 RBI on the night and drove in all of the Brewers runs.

That would have been the story of the night had Kyle Lohse not had his great night.  He got into trouble in the second inning as he loaded the bases with the first three batters.  However, he recorded three straight outs to get out of the inning with only one run allowed.  After that, he his his groove.  He retired 24 of the next 25 batters he faced, only allowing a walk to Jay Bruce in that streak.  It was a complete game for Kyle Lohse, the first for him since April 21, 2011 against the Nationals.  In the complete game, he allowed one run on four hits and one walk with five strikeouts.

The only negative for the Brewers tonight is that Aramis Ramirez left the game after being hit in the hand by a pitch in the first inning.  Jeff Bianchi came in to play third in the second inning as Ramirez was removed from the game.  The report from the clubhouse is that Ramirez suffered a left wrist contusion and is day-to-day.  X-rays came back negative.

The series against the Reds will continue tomorrow in a rare Saturday afternoon game at home.  First pitch is at 12:05 pm, and it will not be televised.  Homer Bailey will face Johnny Hellweg in the game.

Brewers lose 7-3 as Reds offense comes back to life

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WP:  Homer Bailey (11-10)
LP:  Johnny Hellweg (1-4)

Save: Aroldis Chapman (36)

HR:  Shin-Soo Choo (21), Joey Votto (23)

MVP:  Carlos Gomez (+.165)
LVP:  Michael Blazek (-.172)

Win Expectancy Graph
Box Score

Just prior to the first pitch of the game, the Cincinnati announcers referred to the match-up between the Brewers and the Reds as a "must win game" for the Reds. While the Reds seem to have a firm grasp on the second wild card spot, they trail the Cardinals by 3.5 games for first place in the division. And, I guess if the Brewers can't win maybe the next best thing is to help the Reds overtake the Cardinals in the division.

After being held to just one run last night, the Reds jumped out to an early lead that they never relinquished, beating Milwaukee 7-3 on Saturday afternoon. Johnny Hellweg struggled a bit with his command (he hit three batters) and gave up two runs in the first inning and two in the second inning on a two-run home run by Shin-Soo Choo.

Things started to look as if they would get ugly early with the Reds up four and threatening again in the top of the fourth inning, but Hellweg turned things around and got through five innings without further damage. He gave up the four runs on eight hits and struck out one.

Meanwhile, the offense showed a little life in the fourth inning and cut the lead to 4-3. Scooter Gennett led off the inning with a single and scored on Kris Davis's double. Davis came around to score on a Carlos Gomez single and Gomez scored after he stole second and Yuni Betancourt and Jeff Bianchi hit sacrifice flies.

But that was all the closer the Brewers would get as the Reds pushed more runs across the plate in the sixth and eighth innings, while Milwaukee left the bases loaded in the eighth and two on base in the ninth. Two of the Reds runs scored on a towering shot by Joey Votto off of Michael Blazek that went an estimated 470 yards and smacked off the right field foul pole.

The final game of the series is Sunday at 1:10, with Yovani Gallardo taking on Bronson Arroyo.

What we learned this week: September 14, 2013

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Kid Nichols is the best baseball player born in Wisconsin in the month of September.

Over the past several months, we have run a series on the best baseball players born in Wisconsin. September's entry came out, and the player chosen for September is Kid Nichols, a baseball player back in the 1890s and 1900s, He leads several categories in the history of Wisconsin baseball, though it came in a different time. It's hard to consider some of these players since they played in a different time, but it's always worth learning about the history of baseball.

Calendar publishers will have a tough time deciding who to put in next year's Brewers calendar.

In a couple of months, we will start to see the calendars come out for 2014. The Brewers will have their own calendar, as usual, and it's anyone's guess about who will be on it. Kyle considered this topic earlier this week and put together his ideal lineup for the 2014 calendar. Some of the other members of BCB also put up their guesses for next season's calendar. After a rough season, the options for next year may not look as good, but the Brewers can find 12 good pictures to use. It won't be long before we see what will be on the calendar.

The 2014 schedule is out and it features some interesting AL opponents.

As usual at this time of year, MLB released their schedule for the next season, and we get to take a peek at what is coming up next year. Some of the highlights include Brewers opening day on March 31, a series against the Red Sox in the first weekend (the earliest in a Brewers schedule an interleague series has occurred), a visit from the Yankees (and possibly the return to CC Sabathia), and a home-and-home series against the Blue Jays. It's never too early to start planning for next season. Time to pick out some of the most interesting series and make some plans for a trip to Miller Park in 2014 (or maybe another stadium somewhere around the country, or outside of it).

The little speck of hope we still had for a postseason run or even a winning record is gone.

This is more of a side note than anything else, since we had given up on a playoff run or even a winning season a while ago. With the Brewers 81st and 82nd losses earlier this week, the Brewers have guaranteed a losing season, and have also been officially knocked out of playoff contention. If you need something more positive to consider, the Brewers also gained their 63rd win, guaranteeing that they won't have a 100 loss season.

The Brewers are in the final round of the playoffs...in the Pioneer League.

Only one team in the Brewers system made their league's playoffs, and it was all the way down in the rookie Pioneer league. They have made it into the playoffs in their league, and with a sweep in the first round, are also in the finals of their playoffs. At least one team will have some success in the Brewers system this year.

The Brewers rotation will have six pitchers to finish the year.

Starting pitchers tend to start wearing out around this time of year, and it's up to the team to prevent the pitchers from hurting themselves. The Brewers helped combat this in September by deciding to go to a six-man rotation, which they finalized earlier this week. The six-man rotation will help keep starters fresh while giving the Brewers a chance to look at a future starting option by putting Johnny Hellweg in the rotation. Tyler Thornburg is also a part of that rotation and is making his own case to be included in the rotation plans. If the Brewers decide to trade Kyle Lohse or Yovani Gallardo in the offseason, the rotation will need some help. The Brewers need to know if their internal options can be counted on if needed.

Yuniesky Betancourt has hit more incentives that he should have.

When Yuniesky Betancourt signed with the Brewers back before the season, we saw the incentives in his contract and thought he would never come close to meeting them. Kyle took a look at his incentives and the incentives of other Brewers players earlier this week, and Betancourt has been the player to benefit the most from incentives so far with 124 games played (and will probably reach 130 for his next incentive though should avoid 140). Kyle Lohse could also jump in here, as he only needs 5.1 innings to hit a $350k incentive after last night's complete game. Some other incentives will come into play, but those are the biggest so far.

The Brewers continue to find ways to reward the fans.

Since Ryan Braun's suspension, the Brewers have been finding different ways to reward the fans because of the bad season. They added to that list on Wednesday by announcing their yearly Brewers On Deck event in January will be free for all fans. It's another nice move for Brewers fans, and it will help the team build some hype for the 2014 season. Will this entice more people to go to the event? We will have to see.

Burke Badenhop has been lost in the bullpen.

Michael Gonzalez has been used a lot in the Brewers bullpen, and has struggled in many of the situations that he has been used in this season. Despite these struggles, he still is used in these situations even though other options are available. Kyle looked at Burke Badenhop, one of those potential options, earlier this week. The Brewers traded for Badenhop as part of the bullpen reconstruction in the offseason, and he was seen as an integral part of the new bullpen. However, his usage has been more in low leverage situations. Should he be used more often?

Finding ways to improve the roster never stops.

Even though the season is almost over, the Brewers never stop looking for ways to improve their team in the short or long run. On Friday, they added to their 40-man roster by claiming Jose de la Torre off of waivers. He had been a part of the Brewers organization before and is rejoining them now, reporting to rookie-level Helena (the only active minor league team) for a late-season evaluation. It might just be a minor-league move, but the team is still looking for ways to get better, even at this stage of the season.

Helena Brewers lose first game of Pioneer League finals 2-1

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The Helena Brewers lost the first game of the Pioneer League finals last night. Low-scoring close games have not been a common occurrence this year. The Brewers couldn't get anything going against Chukars starter Jonathan Dziedzic, who lasted 6 innings. The Brewers' only run was scored in the 7th due to errors. They'll play again on Monday in Helena.

Helena Brewers (Rookie) 0-1
Lost 2-1 at Idaho Falls Chukars (KCR) (box / pbp)

Player/Pitcher Points of Interest

BatterTeamPosABRHRBIBBSOEAVGNotes
Charlie MarksonHelenaLF4110020.308
PitcherTeamIPHRERBBSOHRERADecNotes
Anthony BandaHelena6.05223203.00L, 0-1

Brewers 6, Reds 5: Halton the name of love

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Win: Jim Henderson (4-5)
Loss: Zach Duke (1-2)

HR: Gindl (4), Halton (3), Frazier (16)

MVP: Sean Halton (.393 WPA)
LVP: Yovani Gallardo (-.237 WPA)

Fangraphs Win Expectancy Graph
Boxscore

That's the Yovani Gallardo we all know and know from earlier in the season. Gallardo put the Brewers in a hole early as he allowed three runs in the first inning on three walks and two singles. Another run in the third gave the Reds a 4-0 lead before Caleb Gindl put the Brewers on the board in the fifth inning with a solo home run.

Gallardo gave up one more in the sixth, to put the Brewers down by four once again. Gallardo's line on the day: 6 IP, 7 hits, 3 BB, 5 ER, 5 K. Not great.

But have no fear, the Brewers late-arriving defense was here. An RBI force-out in the seventh cut the lead to three. The Brewers tied it up in the eighth with a big three-run inning. Norichika Aoki led off with a walk, then Khris Davis was hit by a pitch. Jean Segura tripled to bring in both baserunners, then was brought home himself on a sacrifice fly.

Thus, entering the ninth, the game was tied 5-5. Jim Henderson did his part, shutting down the Reds in the top of the frame. Likely hero Sean Halton hit a walk off homer in the Brewers half to give Milwaukee the win.

The Brewers head on to a SUPER IMPORTANT series against the Cubs next. Seriously, draft position hangs in the balance here. The world is watching.

Today In Brewer History: Braun's 200th, 201st

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On this day one year ago the Brewers beat the Mets 3-0 at Miller Park, improving their record to 74-72 on the season. All three Brewer runs scored on solo homers: Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez went back-to-back in the fourth, and Braun homered again in the sixth. Braun's homers were the 200th and 201st of his major league career.

Braun is one of just six Brewers ever to reach 200, joining Robin Yount (251), Prince Fielder (230), Geoff Jenkins (212), Gorman Thomas (208) and Cecil Cooper (201). He's still one of just 39 active big leaguers with 200 or more, and his 211 career homers are the sixth most by any major leaguer since the start of the 2007 season.

The second home run one year ago today was Braun's 40th. He finished the season with an NL-leading 41 but, due to injury and suspension, has hit just nine since.

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

Today is also the 53rd anniversary of Warren Spahn no-hitting the Phillies in 1960. We covered that event in this space last year.


VIDEO: Ron Roenicke's Sunday postgame comments

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Via MLB.com:

Monday's Frosty Mug: A Sunday walkoff

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Some things to read while taking a closer look.

The Brewers fell behind early but staged a comeback late as Sean Halton's home run powered the Crew to a 6-5 win over the Reds on Sunday. Noah has the recap, if you missed it.

Halton has seven hits and two home runs in his last four starts, but the Brewers have still started him at first base just four times in 13 September games. They sat him on Saturday in favor of Yuniesky Betancourt and his .235 on-base percentage. Ron Roenicke told reporters Yuni, who is hitting .188/.211/.299 since May 3, was starting for his defense. In other news, there is a first time for absolutely everything.

The fact that Yuni got a start at first base is probably also a sign of how far Juan Francisco's stock has fallen. He's hitting .133/.220/.178 in 20 games since his last home run on August 16, and the Brewers want him to go play winter ball to work on making better contact and playing first base.

Other notes from the field:

  • Yesterday's game featured some pretty remarkable defensive plays. Carlos Gomez robbed Jay Bruce of a three-run homer with a catch at the wall and Joey Votto made a behind-the-back flip to first base to rob Logan Schafer of an infield hit in the second inning.
  • We've also got video of Ron Roenicke's postgame comments, and Cincinnati.com captured Dusty Baker's thoughts.
  • Jean Segura's triple Sunday was the Brewers' 40th of the season. That's the most they've had in a year since 1996. (h/t @joe_block)
  • Yesterday's game was the first time Sean Halton has played third base in the majors (h/t @AdamMcCalvy), and only his second professional appearance there. (h/t @Mass_Haas)
  • Halton was also hit by a pitch yesterday, and it was the 99th of Bronson Arroyo's career. Plunk Everyone has more on the accomplishment.
  • Speaking of HBPs, on Saturday Johnny Hellweg became the eleventh pitcher in franchise history to hit three batters in a game. The last Brewer to do it was Randy Wolf in 2011.
  • The Brewers estimated the distance of Joey Votto's home run off the foul pole on Saturday at 470 feet, which would make it the fourth longest blast in Miller Park history (h/t @AdamMcCalvy). Hit Tracker estimated it at 410, so there's a bit of a disparity there. The video is pretty inconclusive.
  • @AdamMcCalvy has a photo of Brandon Phillips high fiving Yuniesky Betancourt to record the out on a bunt attempt on Saturday.
  • Scooter Gennett went 2-for-10 this weekend, with both hits coming on Saturday. He's still our reigning Brewer of the Week.
  • This weekend's Sausage Race winners were Chorizo, Italian (I was there, trust me on this one) and Polish.

Let's wrap up the Reds series with a look at this weekend's home runs, with help from Hit Tracker:

DayPlayerDistance
FridayNo home runs
SaturdayNo home runs
SundayCaleb Gindl389 feet
SundaySean Halton403 feet

The Brewers continue the final homestand of 2013 with a four-game series against the Cubs this week, starting with Wily Peralta taking on Edwin Jackson tonight. Jeremy Warnemuende has the MLB.com preview.

Tonight's game could be the first in a few days for Aramis Ramirez, who left Friday's game after taking a pitch off his wrist. He told Adam McCalvy he expects to be back in the lineup tonight. With Ramirez sitting out, Khris Davis batted cleanup on Saturday and Carlos Gomez hit there yesterday.

The Brewers will have one more coach in uniform for tonight's game and the rest of the season: Huntsville Stars manager Darnell Coles joined the team yesterday (h/t @AdamMcCalvy). Coles was a 14-year big leaguer as a member of eight organizations and has managed four seasons in the minors, including 2012 and 2013 with the Stars.

We will not, however, be seeing the newest Brewer. The Crew claimed reliever Jose De La Torre off waivers from the Red Sox on Friday but assigned him to Helena. Adam McCalvy has a scouting report on JDLT and reports that he won't pitch for Helena in their championship series or the Brewers anymore this season.

We won't see Tom Gorzelanny pitch tonight either, but we may see him again before the end of the season. He told Adam McCalvy his goal is to get back into at least one game to show his sore shoulder is back to 100%.

Brewers were on base 12 times yesterday, but the team still has a .312 OBP on the season. That's the tenth best mark in the National League. On Saturday @BadgerTom1 noted that the Brewers were dead last in all of baseball in pitches seen this season.

Carlos Gomez drew a couple of walks yesterday but also struck out twice, pushing his line to .286/.348/.357 in September. He told Adam McCalvy he's not frustrated by his recent struggles. He also drove in all five Brewer runs on Friday.

With 14 games to play, the Brewers currently project to select sixth overall in the 2014 MLB draft. They're a game better than the #5 drafting Twins and half a game worse than the #7 Mariners.

With the baseball season wrapping up, pretty soon we're all going to have a lot of time on our hands. Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio is already there, so he made a map of every Tavern of the Game from a Fox Sports Wisconsin broadcast this season.

The more taverns you visit, the better looking this Brewer team gets. Grant Brisbee of Baseball Nation considered the cases of all 30 teams and listed the Brewers as baseball's 13th least likable.

In the minors:

  • The Helena Brewers trail 1-0 in their best-of-three Pioneer League championship series after losing 2-1 on Saturday night. morineko has the recap, if you missed it. The series continues at home tonight.
  • For many of the Brewers' other young minor leaguers the instructional league season kicks off today in Arizona. Adam McCalvy has a look at what's going on in Maryvale and a full roster.

If you weren't around the site this weekend you might have missed JP's look at what we learned last week. There's been a fair amount going on over the last few days and that's the best weekly roundup you'll find.

Around baseball:

Padres: Outfielder Mark Kotsay plans to retire following the season.
Pirates: Pitcher James McDonald has refused an outright assignment to the minors and is now a free agent.
Rockies: First baseman Todd Helton plans to retire following the season.

Let's go around the NL Central:

  • The Pirates took three of four from the Cubs this weekend in a series where the four games were decided by a combined five runs. Pittsburgh won 3-2 yesterday on Justin Morneau's eighth inning RBI single.
  • The Cardinals took two of three from the Mariners and finished the series emphatically with a 12-2 win yesterday. Yadier Molina had four hits, including a home run, and scored three times.
  • The Brewers, as you likely know, completed a series win over the Reds with a win yesterday.

You can read more about those games and all of yesterday's action in the Monday edition of Around the Bases at SBNation.com.

Here are today's updated standings and probables:

TeamWLGBTodayTimeMatchup
Pirates8762--v SDP6:05pA.J. Burnett v Andrew Cashner
Cardinals8762--@ COL7:40pLance Lynn v Collin McHugh
Reds84663.5@ HOU7:10pJohnny Cueto v Erik Bedard
Brewers658321.5v CHC7:10pWily Peralta v Edwin Jackson
Cubs638624@ MIL7:10p

Today in former Brewers:

The Nationals host the NL East-leading Braves tonight, and I'll be curious to see if catcher Wilson Ramos is in the lineup for Washington. He's started 23 consecutive games behind the plate, which is the longest streak in the majors this season. Ramos has missed most of the last two seasons with knee and hamstring injuries.

Today in sabermetrics: Mike Bates of SBNation.com used the case of his grandmother, a longtime Twins fan, to demonstrate how pushing too hard with the stats movement can alienate lifelong fans of the game.

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks the first anniversary of Ryan Braun's 200th and 201st home runs. Here are today's other bits of history:

  • Today is Robin Yount's 58th birthday, and Plunk Everyone notes that his 48 career HBP are the second most ever for a player born on September 16.
  • Today is also 1973-76 Brewer Ed Sprague Sr.'s 68th birthday, and his 17 career plunkings are the fifth most ever for a pitcher born on this day.

Now, if you'll excuse me, the mail is here.

Drink up.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug: Gindl's Day

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Some things to read while your hat weighs you down.

Yesterday was a huge day for rookie outfielder Caleb Gindl, as he collected three hits, scored three times and drove in three runs in the Brewers' 6-1 win over the Cubs. We've got the recap, if you missed it.

Gindl's heroics made a winner of Wily Peralta, who allowed a single unearned run on five hits over six innings. @MikeVassallo13 notes that Peralta has now pitched four consecutive quality starts.

Other notes from the field:

The series continues tonight when Marco Estrada takes on Jeff Samardzija at 7:10. Quinn Roberts has the MLB.com preview.

The Brewers have already moved to a six-man rotation for September, but they still have one starter on the outside looking in. Adam McCalvy reports that Jimmy Nelson still could get to start a game at some point over the next couple of weeks.

Sean Halton was the hero in Sunday's walkoff win, and celebrated his accomplishment by sitting on the bench on Monday. Adam McCalvy talked to him about his first season in the majors, and Nick Michalski of The Brewers Bar says Halton has earned playing time at first base.

Jonathan Lucroy played first base yesterday instead, as Martin Maldonado settled in behind the plate to catch Wily Peralta. Lucroy is still third among all NL catchers in games caught this season, and yesterday we took a look at his durability. Lucroy is also the Brewer nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award.

The Brewers have won four of their last five games, but Jonah Keri is not impressed. He still has them 25th overall in his power rankings.

In the minors:

  • Helena kept their season alive by scoring six runs in the first inning en route to a 7-5 win in the Pioneer League championship series. morineko has the recap, if you missed it.
  • The series moves on to a winner-take-all third game tonight, and 2013 third round pick Barrett Astin will be on the mound for the Brewers. (h/t @AdamMcCalvy)
  • If you see Jim Henderson pitching in the minors next season, it's because Donovan Hand donated him.

Closer to home, Ryan Braun continues to work to rehab his image in advance of next season's return to the Brewers. Big League Stew used a scene from Swingers to simulate what his phone calls to season ticket holders might have sounded like.

If you'd like more Brewer coverage today but you're sick of reading, I'll be making my weekly appearance on The Home Stretch with Justin Hull on 95.3 FM WSCO in Appleton at 2:30 today. I'll be on for at least half an hour answering your questions, so listen in and get involved.

Around baseball:

Orioles: Designated infielder Wilson Betemit for assignment.
Reds: Designated pitchers Josh Ravin and Kyle Lotzkar for assignment.

Let's go around the NL Central:

  • The Pirates narrowly avoided being no-hit in a 2-0 loss to the Padres. Andrew Cashner took a perfect game into the seventh inning and pitched a complete game one-hitter.
  • The Cardinals missed a chance to gain ground, losing 6-2 to the Rockies. Colorado blew the game open in the eighth with a four-run inning.
  • The Reds closed the gap a bit by beating the Astros 6-1 in Houston. Shin-Soo Choo drew three walks in the game and he and teammate Joey Votto have combined to collect 224 free passes this season.
  • The Brewers, of course, beat the Cubs.

You can read more about those games and all of yesterday's action in today's edition of Around the Bases at SBNation.com/MLB.

Here are today's updated standings and probables:

TeamWLGBTodayTimeMatchup
Pirates8763--v SDP6:05pJeff Locke v Eric Stults
Cardinals8763--@ COL7:40pJoe Kelly v Juan Nicasio
Reds85662.5@ HOU7:10pMike Leake v Jordan Lyles
Brewers668318v CHC7:10pMarco Estrada v Jeff Samardzija
Cubs638721.5@ MIL7:10p

Today in former Brewers:

It's time once again for me to mention that Tangotiger's 2013 Fans Scouting Report remains open and he could use your help evaluating the Brewer defense (FanShot). As of this writing 16 Brewers fans have participated, which makes us one of the least represented fanbases.

With the free agent market getting thin at times, it's possible more teams will look to Japan for help in the future. The NPB posting system has made acquiring Japanese players a bit of a challenge at times, but Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk has details on a proposed change to the process that could significantly alter the situation. If these rules had been in place two years ago there's almost no way the Brewers would've gotten Norichika Aoki.

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks the 30th anniversary of Don Money's final major league game. Money played eleven seasons as a Brewer before retiring and getting into coaching.

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's getting too popular.

Drink up.

ARCHIVED AUDIO: Kyle on The Home Stretch (Appleton)

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If you've been waiting all day for an opportunity to discuss Khris Davis, Sean Halton and Caleb Gindl (and today's comment count would suggest that roughly none of you feel this way), then I've got good news: I'll be making an abbreviated appearance on The Home Stretch with Justin Hull on 95.3 FM WSCO in Appleton at 2:30 today.

I'll be in studio with Justin for about half an hour or more today taking your questions, which you can send in any of the following ways:

Listen in live or check back later for the archived audio, or listen in live and then listen to it again later.

Update:You can listen to the full 32:10 interview here.

Cubs Face Brewers Again In Milwaukee

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Looking for Tuesday's game threads? You have come to the right place.

Cubs lineup:

xxxx

Insert your choice of "other split-squad" joke here.

Brewers lineup:

xxxx

Today's Starting Pitchers

Jeff Samardzija

Jeff Samardzija


Cubs

vs.Marco Estrada

Marco Estrada


Brewers

vs. Mil

--

vs. Cubs


W-LGGSCGSHOSVBSIPHRERHRBBKERAWHIP
2013 - Jeff Samardzija8-1230302100194.21921029623721954.441.36


W-LGGSCGSHOSVBSIPHRERHRBBKERAWHIP
2013 - Marco Estrada6-418180000107.010152511825974.291.18

Today's game is on CSN Chicago Plus (check your cable/satellite system for the channel).

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Brewers site Brew Crew Ball. The usual caution is advised.

Here's the scoop on game threads for 2013. You'll find the game preview -- like this one -- posting as the first link in the StoryStream™, which will then contain all the overflow threads and the recap. The recap will also be on the front page as a separate post; once I post a game recap, the stream for each game will be retitled "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.

In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.

You will also be able to find the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). They will also appear in this StoryStream™. As I've done for each regular-season game for several years now, we'll have the First Pitch thread at five minutes before game time (moved up from actual game time per your requests), then an overflow one hour, two hours and 2:45 after game time.

Tonight's Matchup: Brewers (Estrada) v Cubs (Samardzija)

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At 66 wins, this is currently the 37th best Brewer team in franchise history. The 1977, 1984 and 2004 teams all won 67 games and are tied for 34th.

The Brewers will get a shot at win #67 at 7:10 tonight when Marco Estrada (4.29 ERA, 4.18 FIP) takes the mound. Estrada was excellent in a no decision against the Cardinals on Wednesday, allowing a single run on just two hits over 6.2 innings with three walks and six strikeouts. He threw 101 pitches in that game, the most he's thrown in six starts since coming off the DL.

It's hard to discuss Estrada's 2013 numbers without pointing out the turning point in his season. He had a 5.32 ERA on June 3 before going on the DL, and now has a 2.39 mark in six starts since. It's worth noting that his recent success might be a little overstated, though: Opposing batters are hitting .226 on balls in play against him since August 1.

Estrada's first and second win of the season came against the Cubs in April. He pitched a combined 13 innings over those two games and allowed five runs on 12 hits, walking three and striking out ten. He did, however, allow three home runs in those games. Two current Cubs have faced him ten times or more:

PAABH2B3BHRRBIBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
Starlin Castro15156210203.400.400.6671.067
Anthony Rizzo12121000102.083.083.083.167
Total7267134226415.194.250.403.653
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/17/2013.

He'll face 28-year-old Cubs righty Jeff Samardzija (4.44 ERA, 3.80 FIP), who is probably having a better season than his traditional stats (4.44 ERA, 8-12 record) would indicate. He's been having a rough go of it lately, though, allowing six runs on eight hits over 5.2 innings against the Reds on Wednesday. He's given up 17 runs in his last 18.1 innings.

You could probably argue that Samardzija may be hitting the wall in his longest major league season to date: He's already thrown a career-high 194.2 innings this season, 20 more than last season and over 100 more than two years ago. It's possible that the strain of throwing 110 or more pitches in 13 of his 30 starts and 100 or more in 25 of 30 is also starting to wear on him. His velocity isn't down, though, so it may all be luck and small sample size.

Samardzija has been good in two starts against the Brewers in 2013, allowing five runs (four earned) on just nine hits over 14 innings. Two current Brewers have faced him ten times or more:

PAABH2B3BHRRBIBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
Jonathan Lucroy15121010126.083.267.250.517
Norichika Aoki14135110011.385.429.6151.044
Total7267142214421.209.264.343.607
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/17/2013.

Tonight's lineup is as follows:

Norichika Aoki RF
Jean Segura SS
Jonathan Lucroy C
Aramis Ramirez 3B
Carlos Gomez CF
Scooter Gennett 2B
Caleb Gindl LF
Sean Halton 1B
Marco Estrada P

And in the bullpen:

  • Rob Wooten pitched one inning (15 pitches) last night, and also pitched on Sunday.
  • Donovan Hand pitched .1 innings (four pitches) last night, and also pitched on Sunday.
  • Brandon Kintzler pitched one inning (12 pitches) last night.
  • Michael Gonzalez pitched .2 innings (13 pitches) last night.
  • Jim Henderson pitched one inning (19 pitches) on Sunday.
  • Michael Blazek, Alfredo Figaro, Jimmy Nelson and Burke Badenhop last pitched on Saturday.
  • Tom Gorzelanny is hoping to pitch again before the end of the season but is still bothered by shoulder soreness.

The forecast for tonight calls for a temperature in the low 60's, so neither an open nor closed roof would be a major surprise for me. If the roof and/or panels are open, expect a breeze blowing in from right. However, Adam McCalvy reported around 4 that the roof was closing.

Cubs vs. Brewers Preview, Tuesday 9/17, 7:10 CT: Personal Milestones

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It would be nice if the Cubs could win a few games before the season ends, but I don't think many of us hold out much hope for that. So here are some of the individual milestones that could be hit before season's end, beginning tonight:

  • Jeff Samardzija needs 5⅓ innings for 200, and five strikeouts for 200.
  • Kevin Gregg needs three more saves to move into seventh place on the all-time Cubs single-season list. If he can somehow save six more wins, that would be a career high for him.
  • If Travis Wood wins his two remaining starts, he'll be 11-11; not that individual wins mean that much, but that looks better than a losing record.
  • Only nine pitchers in Cubs history have appeared in 80 or more games in a season (latest: Shawn Camp, last year). James Russell needs to appear in seven more games to do that. Russell is currently tied for the MLB lead in appearances.

I told you there wasn't much. But at least there's something.

Cubs lineup:

Castro SS, Lake LF, Rizzo 1B, Schierholtz RF, Sweeney CF, Castillo C, Murphy 3B, Barney 2B, Samardzija P

Brewers lineup:

Aoki RF, Segura SS, Lucroy C, Ramirez 3B, Gomez CF, Gennett 2B, Gindl LF, Halton 1B, Estrada P

Today's Starting Pitchers

Jeff Samardzija

Jeff Samardzija


Cubs

vs.Marco Estrada

Marco Estrada


Brewers

vs. Mil

--

vs. Cubs


W-LGGSCGSHOSVBSIPHRERHRBBKERAWHIP
2013 - Jeff Samardzija8-1230302100194.21921029623721954.441.36


W-LGGSCGSHOSVBSIPHRERHRBBKERAWHIP
2013 - Marco Estrada6-418180000107.010152511825974.291.18

Remember what I wrote yesterday about Edwin Jackson? Pretty much the same thing can be said about Jeff Samardzija, who is maddening. At times he looks dominant, as when he threw this complete-game shutout against the White Sox back in May. At other times he looks like he's completely clueless -- as in his last three starts, during which he's posted an 8.35 ERA and given up five home runs in 18⅓ innings. Is he out of gas? The minute I say that, he'll probably throw another shutout.

Marco Estrada made two starts against the Cubs in April, both good ones. The Brewers won both games. Later this season, he spent significant time on the disabled list with a hamstring injury. Since he returned he's been pretty good: 2.39 ERA in seven starts, including holding down the potent Reds and Cardinals offenses. We are probably doomed.

Today's game is on CSN Chicago Plus (check your cable/satellite system for the channel).

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Brewers site Brew Crew Ball. The usual caution is advised.

Here's the scoop on game threads for 2013. You'll find the game preview -- like this one -- posting as the first link in the StoryStream™, which will then contain all the overflow threads and the recap. The recap will also be on the front page as a separate post; once I post a game recap, the stream for each game will be retitled "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.

In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.

You will also be able to find the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). They will also appear in this StoryStream™. As I've done for each regular-season game for several years now, we'll have the First Pitch thread at five minutes before game time (moved up from actual game time per your requests), then an overflow one hour, two hours and 2:45 after game time.


Overflow Thread 1: Cubs vs. Brewers, Tuesday 9/17, 7:10 CT

Overflow Thread 2: Cubs vs. Brewers, Tuesday 9/17, 7:10 CT

Overflow Thread 3: Cubs vs. Brewers, Tuesday 9/17, 7:10 CT

Brewers 4, Cubs 3: Brewers squeeze out victory

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Win: Jim Henderson (5-5)
Loss: Justin Grimm (7-9)

HR: Carlos Gomez (20), Welington Castillo (8)

MVP: Carlos Gomez (.361 WPA)
LVP: Jean Segura (-.165 WPA)

Fangraphs Win Expectancy Graph
Boxscore

After struggling to figure out the starting pitchers all night, both teams finally found success in the seventh inning forcing each starter out of the game with three earned runs.  The game remained tied until bottom of the ninth inning when the Brewers loaded the bases and successfully executed a suicide squeeze to pull out a victory at home.

Neither team had much success against starting pitching tonight, but the Brewers were able to get to Jeff Samardzija in the bottom of the second inning.

Aramis Ramirez led off the inning with a double to right center that was bobbled by center fielder Ryan Sweeney and allowed Ramirez to move up to third base.  Carlos Gomez followed Ramirez with a sacrifice fly to center field that scored the game's first run of the game.

Marco Estrada was able to hold the Brewers' one-run lead until the seventh inning.  In the seventh, Estrada gave up a leadoff double to Junior Lake.  With one out and runners on first and third, Sweeney scored Lake on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at one.  It looked as though Estrada may be able to escape with the game tied, but Welington Castillo smashed a ball to left field for a two-run home run that gave the Cubs a 3-1 lead.

Puzzled by Samardzija all night, a two-run deficit seemed insurmountable, but the Brewers quickly tied the game in the bottom of the seventh.  After Ramirez walked to lead off the inning, Gomez once again scored Ramirez.  This time he did it with a line drive home run that barely cleared the wall in left field.  The home run was Gomez's 20th on the season.

After holding the Cubs scoreless in the eighth and ninth, Ramirez and Gomez were again able to spark the offense.  Ramirez walked to start the bottom of the ninth and Gomez followed with a single to center field.  After failing to advance the runners on the his first two attempts, Scooter Gennett was finally able to get a sacrifice bunt down to move the runners over.  Relief pitcher Justin Grimm bobbled the ball and allowed Gennett to reach first base and load the bases with no outs.

Caleb Gindl came up with a chance to be a hero for the second straight night, but popped out to shortstop Starlin Castro.  With the bases still loaded and one out, Logan Schafer came to the plate and executed a suicide squeeze to score pinch runner Jeff Bianchi from third and win the game for the Brewers.

The Brewers will face off against the Cubs again tomorrow in the third game of their four game series.  Tyler Thornburg will take the mound for the Brewers and face off against Chris Rusin for the Cubs.  Rusin has pitched well for the Cubs this season, but struggled in his last start against the Brewers.  On September 6th, the lefty lasted just 3.2 innings, but only surrendered two earned runs at Wrigley Field.  First pitch tomorrow is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Today In Brewer History: Cooper Catches 200

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On this day in 1980 the Brewers swept a doubleheader against the Twins in a day full of historic events. Last year in this space we noted that Twins left fielder Gary Ward hit for the cycle, becoming the first opposing player ever to cycle against the Brewers. Two years ago we marked the anniversary of Robin Yount's 1034th hit, moving him into first place on the Brewer all-time list.

Until now, though, we neglected to mention Cecil Cooper. He went 3-for-5 with a home run in the first game, and the third hit was his 200th of the season. He was the first Brewer ever to reach that mark.

This was Cooper's fourth season as a Brewer, and probably his best. He set a career high with 219 hits, led all of baseball with 122 RBI, won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award and finished fifth in the voting for American League MVP. This was the first of three times he reached 200 hits.

Cooper's 219 hits in 1980 are still the franchise record. Paul Molitor came the closest with 216 in 1991, but after that no Brewer broke 200 until Ryan Braun had 203 in 2009.

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

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