Here are this week's BotW nominees:

Caleb Gindlhad five hits in three starts this week, including a triple and a pair of home runs. He hit .417/.500/1.083 this week and was worth +.153 WPA.

Carlos Gomezwas on base 13 times in seven games this week, collecting ten hits (including two doubles and two home runs) along with three walks and driving in eleven runs. He hit .435/.481/.783 and went 2-for-3 stealing bases this week for +.826 WPA.

Sean Haltonstarted five games and had five hits this week, including a walkoff home run against the Reds on Sunday and a grand slam against the Cubs on Wednesday. He hit .313/.389/.750 this week and was worth +.552 WPA.

Wily Peraltapitched six innings against the Cubs on Monday and allowed one unearned run on five hits, walking two and striking out seven. He was worth +.234 WPA this week.

Tyler Thornburgpitched six shutout innings against the Cubs on Wednesday, allowing two hits and two walks with four strikeouts. He was worth +.134 WPA this week.

Honorable mentions this week are Marco Estrada, Jim Henderson and Aramis Ramirez.

The last home series of the year is also the last chance for the Brewers to experience some success against the Cardinals. They're 4-12 in their first 16 games against St. Louis this season.

Hopefully they can do a little better at 7:10 tonight when Johnny Hellweg (8.43 ERA, 7.43 FIP) takes the mound. Hellweg's rough MLB debut season continued on Saturday, when he pitched five innings against the Reds and allowed four runs on eight hits, walking one, striking out one and hitting three batters. He threw 84 pitches in that outing and had his ERA go down from 8.64 to 8.31.

All four of the runs Hellweg allowed in his last outing came in the first two innings, so at least he has three innings of momentum to build on. If he can get through the order the first time without issue he might be ok: So far over five starts this season he's allowed five first inning runs and ten more in the second.

This is the first time the Cardinals have seen Hellweg.

He'll face rookie righty Shelby Miller (3.01 ERA, 3.63 FIP), who is having an excellent rookie season. Miller pitched five innings against the Mariners on Sunday and allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits, walking two and striking out one. He threw 95 pitches in that game.

If there's one weakness in Miller's game, it's the long ball. He's allowed 15 in his last 86 innings (about 1.6 per nine innings), and posted a 3.98 ERA over that time. The 161.1 innings he's thrown this season are also a career high, up from 150 a year ago.

Miller has dominated the Brewers this season, facing them four times and posting a 1.08 ERA over 25 innings. He's walked seven and struck out 25 over that time. Three Brewers have faced him ten times or more:

Tonight's lineup is as follows:

Norichika Aoki RF
Scooter Gennett 2B
Jonathan Lucroy C
Aramis Ramirez 3B
Carlos Gomez CF
Caleb Gindl LF
Sean Halton 1B
Jeff Bianchi SS
Johnny Hellweg P

And in the bullpen:

• Burke Badenhop pitched one inning (21 pitches) yesterday.
• Alfredo Figaro pitched one inning (14 pitches) yesterday.
• Michael Gonzalez pitched one inning (14 pitches) yesterday.
• Donovan Hand pitched one inning (14 pitches) yesterday.
• Jimmy Nelson pitched two innings (42 pitches) on Wednesday.
• Michael Blazek pitched one inning (eleven pitches) on Wednesday.
• Brandon Kintzler and Jim Henderson pitched on Tuesday.
• Rob Wooten last pitched on Monday.
• Tom Gorzelanny is hoping to pitch again before the end of the season but is still bothered by shoulder soreness.

The Miller Park roof hotline says the roof is expected to be open for tonight's game, with temperatures in the 60's under partly cloudy skies. If the roof and panels are open, expect the wind to be blowing out.

W: John Axford (7-7)
L:  Michael Blazek (0-1)
S: Carlos Martinez (1)

HR: Aramis Ramirez (11), Matt Adams (15)

MVP: Aramis Ramirez (+.441 WPA)
LVP: Carlos Gomez (-.433)

Win Expectancy Graph
Box Score

The Brewers took a lead into the seventh inning tonight, blew it, then came back to tie the game in the ninth but still managed to lose to the Cardinals for the 13th time in 17 tries. St. Louis took the lead for good on Carlos Beltran's sac fly off Michael Blazek in the tenth.

Just a few days after Ron Roenicke said he was done using Michael Gonzalez in high leverage spots, he put Gonzalez into tonight's game to protect a 4-2 lead in the seventh inning. He retired one batter before allowing back-to-back doubles that were a combined three feet or so from being back-to-back home runs. Brandon Kintzler was called in to bail him out but couldn't keep the tying run from crossing the plate. Kintzler then worked his way into more trouble in the eighth, but Jim Henderson got back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat.

Henderson, however, went back out to pitch the ninth and allowed a walk and a long home run to Matt Adams to give the Cardinals the lead.

The Brewers rallied against Edward Mujica in the ninth, chasing him from the game and adding a layer of intrigue: It took three and a half hours to get there, but John Axford's first game as an opposing pitcher at Miller Park turned out to be a memorable one. He was called in to protect a one-run lead for the Cardinals with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, allowed an infield single to Aramis Ramirez to tie the game, then got Carlos Gomez to ground into a 5-2-3 double play. He was credited with his first win as a Cardinal after St. Louis rallied to retake the lead in the tenth.

Hours earlier, the Brewers finally found a way to get to Cardinals rookie Shelby Miller tonight in their fifth 2013 opportunity. Aramis Ramirez took him deep for a three-run shot in the first inning to give the Brewers the lead. Ramirez also plated another run in the fifth with a sac fly, and the game-tying run in the ninth with an infield single. He almost picked up another RBI in the seventh, but Norichika Aoki was thrown out trying to score on his single.

Aoki, by the way, was on base five times tonight. He had four hits and a walk, and scored a pair of runs.

Meanwhile, Johnny Hellweg pitched just well enough to preserve that cushion. He allowed RBI singles to Matt Holliday in the first and fifth innings, but spent the rest of the night working out of jams. He pitched the aforementioned five innings and allowed those two runs while scattering seven hits and five walks. He also hit a batter, so he's now tied for the team lead with six.

All told, Brewer pitchers allowed the leadoff batter to reach eight times in ten innings (h/t @Todd_Rosiak). Four of those batters came around to score. Four Brewer relievers (Gonzalez, Kintzler, Henderson and Blazek) combined for -.792 WPA tonight.

This series continues tomorrow night when Yovani Gallardo takes on Lance Lynn at 6:10.

Jonathan Lucroy is one of the most durable catchers in MLB this season.

It's no secret that the Brewers found a gem with Jonathan Lucroy. We've seen many different ways that this has been evaluated so far, and we got another reminder of it earlier this week. Kyle looked at different catchers around the league and found that Lucroy will be only the 6th catcher this season to catch 120 games. If we think back over the seasons before Lucroy was called up, there were a lot of different catchers that came and went for the Brewers. To have a critical position secured is critical if the Brewers want to have success in the future.

Corey Hart wants to stay in Milwaukee and will take less money to do it

The Brewers were hoping to count on Corey Hart in 2013, but two knee surgeries took him out for all of 2013. This was the last year on his contract extension, and he will be a free agent in the offseason. Earlier in the week, Corey Hart made some comments about wanting to stay in Milwaukee, and will take a deep discount to do that. He feels guilty for sitting out all of 2013 with his injury and feels that he owes something to Milwaukee. It's uncertain how much of a discount he would take, but we'll have to wait until the offseason to see how that plays out.

Another set of minor moves happened in the last week.

There were a few more minor league moves for the Brewers this season as they continue to try to improve their minor league system, even if the moves seem minor. On Thursday, they claimed pitcher Josh Ravin off of waiversfrom the Reds. Ravin has struggled in the minors so far, but the move is very low-risk for the Brewers since it cost them very little. They did need to clear a 40-man roster spot as well, and they did this by designating Blake Lalli for assignment. Lalli had struggled in his limited time in MLB this season, and was not a September call-up despite some decent numbers in the minors. He was on track to be a minor-league free agent after the season, so removing him from the roster will probably not hurt the Brewers.

The Helena Brewers couldn't finish their season out with a championship

Last week, the Helena Brewers won the semifinals to make a trip into the league finals. Unfortunately, they just didn't have what they needed to finish the job. After dropping game 1, they made a comeback in game 2 to tie the series, but fell behind quickly in game 3 and lost the series 2 games to 1. The Helena Brewers were the Brewers only minor league affiliate to make the playoffs, and with their exit from the playoffs, the minor league season is completely done. Next up for the minor league players is the Arizona fall league, as well as the winter leagues

Remember the Games

9/14/2013: Reds 7, Brewers 3
9/15/2013: Brewers 6, Reds 5
9/16/2013: Brewers 6, Cubs 1
9/17/2013: Brewers 4, Cubs 3
9/18/2013: Brewers 7, Cubs 0
9/19/2013: Cubs 5, Brewers 1
9/20/2013: Cardinals 7, Brewers 6

The Collection of Mugs

9/16/2013: A Sunday walkoff
9/17/2013: Gindl's Day
9/18/2013: Squeezing for success
9/20/2013: Wearing our "grumpy face"

A Quick History Lesson

9/16/2012: Ryan Braun hits home runs #200 & #201
9/17/1983: Don Money plays his final game
9/18/1980: Cecil Cooper becomes first Brewer to collect 200 hits in a season
9/19/1962: Hank Aaron's 24-game hitting streak at County Stadium snapped

In the midst of their final homestand of 2013 this weekend against St. Louis, the Brewers will bid farewell to their fans on ESPN's nationally broadcasted Sunday Night Baseball this Sunday in Milwaukee. We had the opportunity to speak with ESPN senior reporter Buster Olney prior to the final home game of the season, asking him a handful of questions -- most of which focused on what to expect in the coming months with respect to roster moves and potential trade deals and free-agent signings.

Below is the full transcript of our phone conversation. A big thanks to ESPN for reaching out to us so this all could be made possible.

--

AD: The (Ryan) Braun situation has obviously drawn a lot of attention lately. He visited Miller Park on Wednesday for the first time since his suspension, but didn't make himself available to the media. I believe you published an article saying how he should apologize publicly. Is that correct?

Olney: I initially wrote -- when he put out his first apology, which was very vague and didn't have a lot of specifics in it -- that he was very presumptuous when he said hey, I'm glad to put this behind me. And at that time, I wrote that he needs to apologize to the collectors, and the players. My whole feeling is that if he wants to save his money and not put himself in any legal risk, then he shouldn't say anything. If he were a friend, I would ask him: What do you want to get out of it? Do you really want to try and make good with people and get real redemption? If you want to come out and really want a chance to be liked and accepted, then be as open and honest as you can possibly be. And if that's not as important to you as the other, then don't worry about it. Just go about your day.

AD: Have you recently spoken to he or any of his representatives?

Olney: I haven't spoken with him, but I've spoken with people who know him. And those are conversations that have been going on since the story first broke two years ago. Some of the people that I've spoken to with the Brewers and others are basically saying, "if we said anything inappropriate defending him, we apologize." I terms of what ESPN reported, the reaction to ESPN or the reaction to any columns, I totally get it from the fans' perspective because you were going off what you were told from him. He's someone you know and he's someone you trust. But now that we sort of have everything out on the table, I think it's different. I don't really blame them -- this is someone who they were a colleague of who was not honest with them.

AD: Transitioning to more roster type stuff, what have you heard from scouts about the potential of Scooter Gennett?

Olney: There's hope that he can be a guy who's going to contribute moving forward. Based (strictly) off what I've heard from scouts is that he can be a piece on a team. They don't necessarily think of him being a star prospect, but I think that as we sit here today, in the vaccum of what their season has been, he seems to be one of those guys who's taken advantage of it. We were on a conference call yesterday and Dan Shulman mentioned he said he's probably going to be saying the name 'Scooter Gennett' about 50,000 times on the broadcast Sunday night because, beyond (Jean) Segura, (Carlos) Gomez and (Jonathan) Lucroy, he's one of the guys who if you're a Brewer fan you're going to be focusing on going forward.

AD: With that said, have you heard anything regarding the trade potential for Rickie Weeks?

Olney: I've talked to people on other teams who've said he's out there -- that the Brewers are very willing to talk about a trade with him. But, I mean, let's face it: His injury history is so daunting and with their level of investment, in terms of relative to their payroll, he's a tough guy for them. On one hand, you don't want to give him away, and on the other hand, they certainly haven't gotten the production they'd hoped for. What I'm hearing from other teams is that unless the Brewers are willing to take almost nothing (in return), that there probably isn't going to be a big market for him. And so I think the question for the Brewers is going to be if it's time to turn the page. I know whenever I talk with Doug Melvin, he always talks about how tough he thinks Weeks is. So if they're not sick of having him around, then it makes sense to keep him because right now, if you dump him, you're selling low.

AD: Transitioning to another veteran who's suffered injury this season, what have you heard from front-office executives regarding the value of free-agent-to-be Corey Hart?

Olney: I haven't dug in specifically on him in terms of what he's going to do, but you have to believe the big thing for him is that he's healthy. For most of the free agents, like Robinson Cano, he's not going to have to do anything in the winter to have to prove himself. But if you're Corey Hart, past your 30th birthday, you're going to have to go through some stuff. I have to believe that from his perspective, and I haven't talked to his agent about this, but he's the perfect candidate for a one-year deal...with a team like Baltimore who needs right-handed power, J.J. Hardy will speak on his behalf, they've got some flexibility at first base and in the outfield. With that said, I have to think that most of the interest for Corey will come from American League teams, because they do have that option to give him some days as a designated hitter. It's like last year where a bunch of teams called Shane Victorino -- a lot of teams were interested in him on a one-year deal, and I wonder if that's what offseason workouts might do for Corey. I don't think the Brewers will give him a qualifying offer, given their payroll.

AD: With that said, what's the scoop on Juan Francisco?

Olney: The reason why he went into spring training with the Braves being very open to him beating out Chris Johnson at third base was an open competition, and he lost it on the first day because he showed up out of shape; they thought he was fat. They felt he needed to put himself in position to win, and I'm guessing that's what's being said to him is you have to dedicate yourself better.

AD: Aramis Ramirez was rumored to be part of at least a few deals leading up to the trade deadline. Any word on his potential trade value?

Olney: I think a lot of that was overstated, and that's just my opinion. But when I talk to executives of other teams, they were saying, look -- given his age, given his injury dealing with knee issues, that's not a minor deal. It's kind of like the Weeks situation where you probably could have found a team to take him, but they probably would have had to eat a lot of money. On top of that, they wouldn't have gotten much in return. If they feel like he just can't play in the field because of his physical problems, they I have to think they'll go in to next year looking for him to reestablish himself, at least early in the season and then market him once he is better.

AD: So you think it's kind of going to be a "read and react" type of situation for Ramirez and Weeks where they'll steadily gauge the trade value of each as the season progresses?

Olney: Unless they have reason to want to do it beforehand. IT's kind of like the Yankees with A.J. Burnett where they just say look -- we know we're going to take a bath in this trade but we just don't think he can be effective for us. I haven't spoken to Doug yet, but I have to believe the big question about Ramirez physically is how well will he play the position.

AD: Now that the season is essentially done, what have you heard in regards to how the organization feels about the (Kyle) Lohse signing? Is it viewed in a positive or negative light?

Olney: You know, I don't think we have enough information yet to cast a judgment on. Yesterday I was talking to Scott Boras and he talked about how he felt the Brewers made a really adept move. At the time, there were teams who considered the forfeiting of the draft pick as too much of a risk, and I'd be willing to bet the family farm back in Vermont that there were people in the organization who weren't real thrilled about it, either. But they may have an opportunity to get younger through a deal, especially if they're not contending in the first half next year.

AD: So you think there's definitely some (trade) interest involving Lohse at this point?

Olney: The question is going to be what the Brewers think. Mark Attanasio is known among the owners as being one of the more competitive guys, and I think Mark has a higher threshold for deciding whether or not they can contend more than other owners.

AD: Injury has taken a brutal toll on the Brewers' rotation this season, and one big question moving forward is what will become of the No. 5 spot. The team has seen a number of farmhands perform well, but is there a chance Milwaukee could go out and acquire a pitcher to fill that void?

Olney: I mean, let's face it -- the Brewers are probably down the list of a lot of guys. You know that they aren't going to pay a whole lot of money and you're looking at a one-year deal. Then you look at how close the Brewers are to contending. But I definitely think they can go get somebody like Scott Baker, for example. I could see them easily getting into that type of situation where they bring in a veteran guy who hasn't had things work out for him. The only other way, then, to get somebody on their team for next year would be to overpay, and I don't think they're close enough to winning where you'd necessarily want to do that yet.

AD: Anything else you'd like to add, Buster? I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to us.

Olney: Nope, that's good. You covered it. Thanks, man.

--

You can follow Buster on Twitter at @Buster_ESPN and Alec at @alecdopp.

Win: Lance Lynn (14-10)
Loss: Yovani Gallardo (11-10)

HR: Adams (16)

MVP: Yovani Gallardo (.145 WPA)
LVP: Rob Wooten (-.227 WPA)

Fangraphs win expectancy graph
Boxscore

What a snoozefest after the first inning! No, really, I fell asleep for a while. Good news is, I didn't miss much.

The first three runs of the game all scored in the first inning. Matt Holliday hit a two-out single in the top half of the frame before Matt Adams launched a two-run homer off Yovani Gallardo. The Brewers scored their first run in the bottom of the first. Scooter Gennett hit a one-out double to start off the Brewers bats. That was followed by a single and a walk to load the bases. Finally, Khris Davis hit the sexiest RBI groundout you'll ever see. Jeff Bianchi struck out to end the inning with runners on second and third.

After that, both Gallardo and Lance Lynn were pretty spectacular. Gallardo allowed just two more hits and a walk following the first, pitching seven innings in all. Lynn made it 6.1 innings, with four hits and four walks against him total.

Still, no more runs scoring for a long spell meant the Brewers still had a chance. You know, until the eighth inning. It's not a true bullpen'd, but, ehh, close enough. Rob Wooten gave up a bunch of hits and wound up with five earned runs against him. The last two scored after Alredo Figaro came in to finish the inning.

Khris Davis drove in another run with a ground-rule double in the bottom of the eighth, but a 7-1 lead is pretty difficult for the worst-scoring Brewers offense in recent memory to overcome. A 7-2 lead is only marginally better. As it turns out, the Brewers had nothing left in the tank for the ninth and are helping hand the division to St. Louis. Ugh.

The good news is that, after tomorrow, we can be assured the Brewers won't lose to the Cardinals again for another six months or so.

Win: Wily Peralta (11-15)
Loss: Joe Kelly (9-5)
Save: Jim Henderson (26)

HR: Carpenter (11)

MVP: Donovan Hand (.187 WPA)
LVP: Jeff Bianchi (-.093 WPA)

Fangraphs Win Expectancy Graph
Boxscore

Wily Peralta is probably lucky the Cardinals didn't score more than they did against him. Through five innings, he allowed just two hits but walked five batters and struck out just three. Still (through five) he allowed just one run on a Matt Carpenter home run.

In the meantime, the Brewers bats got going early. With one out in the first inning, the Brewers had two runners in scoring position. Aramis Ramirez brought in one of those runners with a sharp hit single. The second run came in on an RBI groundout off the bat of Carlos Gomez.

The Brewers got another two runs in the second inning. With two outs, Martin Maldonado stood on second when a Norichika Aoki double allowed Maldonado to make it home. A throwing error by Cardinals' Joe Kelly on a Scooter Gennett grounder allowed Aoki to score and give the Brewers a 4-0 advantage before Carpenter's homer put St. Louis on the board.

The Cardinals began to come back in the sixth inning with three straight singles to load the bases with no outs against Peralta. That would be enough for Wily as Donovan Hand was brought in in relief. Two sacrifice flies cut the score to 4-3.

Fortunately, the Brewers put another two-spot on the board in the seventh inning. Those runs would prove to be crucial when the Cardinals managed to score one more run in the ninth. Despite some struggles, Jim Henderson was able to record the save and secure the win.

The Brewers can now go into the offseason knowing they at least beat the Cardinals in the final matchup between the two teams in 2013. That's a nice feeling.

Via MLB.com:

The NL East Champion Braves (It feels damn good to say that again) come home for the final seven games of the regular season starting with the Milwaukee Brewers. With the division wrapped up, it's time to rinse off the beer and champagne and focus on securing the best record; Atlanta is 1.5 games ahead of St. Louis in that category.

Milwaukee has suffered its first losing season under manager Ron Roenicke, who led the team to the NLCS in his first year helming the team in 2011. Losing Ryan Braun to a suspension didn't help matters, but others have tried to pick up the slack. Jean Segura leads the team in hitting (.296) and leads the NL with 44 stolen bases, but hasn't played since September 18 because of a bad hamstring.

Carlos Gomez has appeared to have come into his own as a hitter, belting 21 homers with a .336 OBP. Gomez, Segura and Norichika Aoki combined have 101 of Milwaukee's NL-leading 133 stolen bases. In his last 10 games, Gomez is hitting .314 (11-35) but has just three hits in his last 19 official at-bats; five of his last six hits have been extra-base hits.

Jonathan Lucroy has been Milwaukee's top RBI guy with 79, but has all of six of them this month and is hitting just .209 in September. He has a modest four-game hitting streak after going 0-10. Aramis Ramirez is 8-20 during a six-game hitting streak as part of a 2013 season in which he's played only 87 games.

Milwaukee's pitching overall has been nothing to write home about, but its bullpen actually has the third-lowest ERA in the NL. Tuesday's starter Tyler Thornburg started the year in the bullpen, but has made six starts with a 1.25 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .217 against him, but Thornburg's FIP of 3.33 suggest smoke and mirrors. Atlanta has seen Estrada and Lohse before, previously facing Estrada last September 11 and getting shut out over six innings; Lohse is 3-1 in 10 starts against the Braves, but they're hitting .323 against him in four regular season starts at Turner Field.

Monday, September 23, 7:10 p.m. ET

Mike Minor

#36 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-3

Weight: 210

Bats: R

Throws: L

Born: Dec 26, 1987

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2013 - Mike Minor	13-7	3.19	1.08	169	43

Marco Estrada

#41 / Pitcher / Milwaukee Brewers

Height: 5-11

Weight: 200

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jul 05, 1983

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2013 - Marco Estrada	6-4	4.26	1.15	104	26

Tuesday, September 24, 7:10 p.m. ET

Freddy Garcia

#50 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-4

Weight: 250

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Oct 06, 1976

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2013 - Freddy Garcia	1-2	1.31	1.02	13	4

Tyler Thornburg

#63 / Pitcher / Milwaukee Brewers

Height: 5-11

Weight: 190

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Sep 29, 1988

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2013 - Tyler Thornburg	3-1	1.96	1.19	40	25

Wednesday, September 25, 7:10 p.m. ET

Paul Maholm

#28 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-2

Weight: 220

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Jun 25, 1982

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2013 - Paul Maholm	10-10	4.44	1.42	98	47

Kyle Lohse

#26 / Pitcher / Milwaukee Brewers

Height: 6-2

Weight: 210

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Oct 04, 1978

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2013 - Kyle Lohse	10-10	3.51	1.21	120	36

Some things to read while getting immunized.

The Brewers only beat the Cardinals at Miller Park twice in 2013, but one of them came on national television last night. Noah has the recap from a 6-4 win.

Wily Peralta struggled through an abbreviated outing last night, allowing three runs on three hits and five walks over just five innings. After the game Ron Roenicke revealed that Peralta was dealing with a blister issue that hindered his control (h/t @Haudricourt).

If Peralta's blister issues linger, then it may open the door for Jimmy Nelson to get a chance in the season's final week. Ron Roenicke told reporters he's not sure how he'll get Nelson into the season's final seven games, but @AndrewGruman notes that this may be his opportunity. Nelson could also start in place of Johnny Hellweg, but he's apparently going to make his start in the Mets series.

Jim Henderson recorded the final three outs last night for his 26th save, but it wasn't easy. He allowed three consecutive singles with two outs in the ninth to bring Matt Adams to the plate as the potential go-ahead run, but struck him out to end the game. Henderson had allowed home runs in each of his previous two matchups with Adams, but said he was looking forward to facing him again.

And with that, the 2013 home schedule is in the books. The Brewers drew 2,531,115 fans to Miller Park this season, putting them over 2.5 million for the seventh consecutive season. That's more than the paid attendance of seven postseason contenders (h/t @MikeVassallo13). Martin Maldonado, Donovan Hand, Rob Wooten, Michael Blazek, Sean Halton and Jonathan Lucroy all took to Twitter after the game to thank the fans for their support this season.

Other notes from the field:

• The Brewers finished the season with a 37-44 record at Miller Park. (h/t @AndrewGruman)
• Howie Magner noted on Twitter that Norichika Aoki, Jonathan Lucroy, Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Gomez were the only Brewers to start both the home opener and final Miller Park game this season.
• Aramis Ramirez's six RBI this weekend gave him 1275 for his career and moved him past Gil Hodges, Pie Traynor and Tino Martinez for 111th on baseball's all-time list. He's now one behind Don Baylor and Hank Greenberg. (h/t @Buster_ESPN)
• Norichika Aoki's second inning double was his first since August 9. (h/t @AndrewGruman)
• Carlos Gomez went 1-for-4 with his tenth triple and 37th stolen base on Sunday. He's our reigning Brewer of the Week.
• The Cardinals made three errors yesterday in what David Pinto of Baseball Musings called "the worst defensive game I've seen the Cardinals play this year."
• We've got video from Ron Roenicke's postgame comments, and The Brewer Nation has more postgame audio.
• John Axford pitched the eighth inning Sunday and I'd agree with Howie Magner's assessment (via Twitter) that the crowd reaction was around 70% boos, 30% cheers. Axford also picked up the win on Sunday, and talked to Jen Langosch of MLB.com about the experience.
• The Bratwurst won 2013's final sausage race. The Brat also won on Saturday, while the Italian won on Friday.
• This was Fan Appreciation Weekend at Miller Park, which prompted Paul Czarnowski of Bugs & Cranks to stop by and be appreciated.

Let's put a bow on the Cardinals series with a look at the weekend's home runs, with help from Hit Tracker:

The Brewers open their last road trip of 2013 tonight when they take on the Braves at 6:10. Marco Estrada will take on Mike Minor in the first of three games in Atlanta, and Adam Berry has the MLB.com preview. Noted leisured gentleman Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs gave tonight's game a four out of ten on his NERD scale.

Tonight's game might also be Jean Segura's first opportunity to get back into game action following his hamstring strain. He's still not healthy enough to play the field or run at full speed, but Ron Roenicke said he could be available as a pinch hitter. At this point I think I'd prefer they wrap him in bubble wrap, put a "do not open until March" sticker on and ship him to Maryvale.

Meanwhile, Estrada's hot second half has likely earned him a spot in the 2014 rotation. Benjamin Orr of Reviewing the Brew says Estrada needs to step up next year.

Estrada will likely be joined on the roster by a fair number of the young players who have made a name for themselves down the stretch. Scott of PocketDoppler.com sees a lot of reasons for excitement in the way the Brewers have played down the stretch.

Speaking of the 2014 roster, over the weekend Alec interviewed Buster Olney of ESPN to talk about the Brewers going forward. They talked about Rickie Weeks, Ryan Braun and much more.

At least this makes the 2013 games go by a little quicker: The Brewers entered the weekend having walked just 6.8% of the time this season, which is on pace to be the lowest rate in franchise history. (h/t @JaymesL)

And at least complaining about bad at bats (or the contact play, of course) gives us a chance to feel something at all. The Brew Crew Project says agony is better than apathy when September baseball is concerned.

In the minors:

• Brewers minor league players of the year Johnny Hellweg and Jason Rogers and Pioneer League MVP Michael Ratterree were honored at Miller Park before Saturday's game.
• At least one 2013 Brewer minor leaguer is already back in the fold for 2014. Huntsville Stars pitcher Arcenio Leon has re-signed with the Brewers. He posted a 5.68 ERA over 35 appearances (ten starts) for the Stars this season.
• John Sickels of Minor League Ball is now accepting pre-orders for his 2014 Baseball Prospect Book. This is the one prospect book I buy every year, and I've already laid down the cash for mine.

If you weren't around the site this weekend you might have missed JP's look at what we learned last week. You can look high and low but you won't find a better recap of topics discussed in this space over the previous seven days.

Around baseball:

Phillies: Removed the "interim" tag from manager Ryne Sandberg's title.
Rays: Are expected to designate pitcher J.D. Martin for assignment.
Yankees: Pitcher Andy Pettitte will retire following the season.

Let's go around the NL Central:

• The Reds took two of three from the Pirates this weekend to remain relevant in the division race, wrapping up a series win with an 11-3 victory on Sunday. Six different Reds had multiple hits in the game.
• The Cubs lost two of three to the Braves, including a 5-2 defeat yesterday. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons had a pair of homers for Atlanta.
• The Cardinals, as you probably know, took two of three from the Brewers this weekend but missed the chance for a sweep on Sunday.

Here are today's updated standings and probables:

The Cardinals grounds crew has some work to do to prep for tonight's game. Big League Stew notes that an FCS football game between Southern Illinois and Southeastern Missouri chewed up their turf on Saturday.

Today in baseball economics: It looks like they'll get there, but the Angels are at risk of drawing fewer than three million fans for the first time since 2002. They won the World Series that season.

Today In Brewer History was off this morning because I got in late last night, but Plunk Everyone notes that today is Jeff Cirillo's 44th birthday and his 67 career HBP are easily the most ever for a player born on September 23.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to change the channel.

Drink up.

The Brew Crew Ball Tracking Poll will be open through the day Tuesday, with results scheduled to post on Wednesday. As always, please vote once.

190 days from today the Brewers open the 2014 season at home against the Braves.

It'll be a little easier to think that far ahead at 6:10 tonight, as the Brewers open a series against Mike Minor (3.19 ERA, 3.33 FIP) and Atlanta. Minor, the former #7 overall pick in the 2009 draft, is in his fourth major league season and has already set a career high by pitching 191.2 innings. He last pitched against Washington on Tuesday and allowed three runs on three hits over six innings, walking four and striking out three.

Minor has been having some issues with inconsistency lately. He has a 4.67 ERA over his last six starts, but it's hard to put a finger on the issue: He's had two high walk starts and three starts where he's allowed a combined five home runs over that span, and none of those games overlap. He'll throw a 90 mph fastball with a steady mix of changeups, sliders and curves.

The Brewers have not faced Minor this season. Aramis Ramirez is the only Brewer who's faced him ten times or more, and he has a .429/.429/.714 line in 14 PAs.

He'll face 30-year-old Brewer righty Marco Estrada (4.26 ERA, 4.13 FIP), who could be the only Brewer starter with two starts remaining this season. Estrada received a no-decision on Tuesday when he pitched seven innings against the Cubs and allowed three runs on four hits, walking one and striking out seven. He has a 2.62 ERA over his last seven starts but has received a no-decision in five of those outings.

Estrada occasionally draws comparisons to Dave Bush, and that feels right: He has the capacity for dominance like Bush did, but also middling overall results. A statistical look implies they don't have THAT much in common, though. By the end of his age 30 season Bush had way more MLB innings (1104 compared to 376.1 and counting for Estrada) but Estrada has a much lower ERA (4.30 as compared to 4.66) and much better strikeout numbers (8.8 per nine innings, 6.1 for Bush). By the way, Bush only pitched in 18 more games in the majors after his age 30 season.

Estrada has not pitched against the Braves this season. Two current Braves have faced him ten times or more:

Tonight's Brewers lineup is as follows:

Norichika Aoki RF
Carlos Gomez CF
Jonathan Lucroy C
Aramis Ramirez 3B
Khris Davis LF
Sean Halton 1B
Yuniesky Betancourt 2B
Jeff Bianchi SS
Marco Estrada P

Meanwhile, @BrewerNation notes that Brian McCann, Freddie Freeman, B.J. Upton and Dan Uggla are all out of the lineup for the Braves.

In the bullpen:

• Donovan Hand pitched two innings (21 pitches) last night.
• Jim Henderson pitched one inning (27 pitches) last night.
• Brandon Kintzler pitched one inning (18 pitches) last night.
• Alfredo Figaro pitched 1.1 innings (19 pitches) on Saturday.
• Rob Wooten pitched .2 innings (33 pitches) on Saturday.
• Michael Gonzalez and Michael Blazek last pitched on Friday.
• Burke Badenhop last pitched on Thursday.
• Jimmy Nelson last pitched on Wednesday.
• Tom Gorzelanny is still working his way back from shoulder soreness.

It sounds like a nice night for baseball in Georgia. Expect a game-time temperature around 75 with light winds blowing from right to left.

With Brian McCann and Freddie Freeman not in the lineup, Marco Estrada and the Brewers feasted on Atlanta's offense, holding the Braves to three hits while handing them their 16th shutout loss by a score of 5-0.

It didn't take long for Carlos Gomez to make his presence felt, homering on the first pitch from Mike Minor in the first inning. Atlanta had only two hits through seven innings against Marco Estrada, squandering a scoring chance in the fourth after a pair of walks to start the inning.

Minor ran into more trouble in the fifth. After Norichika Aoki doubled with one out, Jonathan Lucroy homered to give Milwaukee a 3-0 lead.

Fredi Gonzalez was ejected in the seventh, arguing with Angel Hernandez (surprise) about Paul Janish taking a pitch off his left leg; the argument being that Janish made no effort to move out of the way. That would've brought the tying run to the plate, but Janish popped out to end the inning.

Aramis Ramirez added a solo homer in the eighth, but then Sean Halton doubled with two outs; he went to third on an infield single by Yuniesky Betancourt and thought about heading home, but Andrelton Simmons came up firing only for his throw to hit the mound and carom over Evan Gattis, allowing Halton to score.

Each of Milwaukee's three wins against Atlanta have been shutouts; Carlos Gomez struck out four times after his first-inning homer.

Win Expectancy Chart

W:Marco Estrada (7-4)
L: Mike Minor (13-8)

HR: Carlos Gomez (22), Jonathan Lucroy (18), Aramis Ramirez (12)

MVP: Marco Estrada (+.374 WPA)
LVP: Sean Halton (-.063 WPA)

Win Expectancy Graph
Box Score

There are moments where you wonder how this team ended up 16 games under .500. Tonight the Brewers faced an (admittedly shorthanded) Braves team with the NL's best record and kept them off the board for nine innings, riding three home runs to a 5-0 victory.

Marco Estrada was the story tonight, working seven shutout innings and allowing just two runs and three walks, striking out six. He also had two hits in the game, and has now thrown 6.2 or more innings in five consecutive appearances. He now has a 2.26 ERA since coming off the DL.

The Brewers supported him with the long ball as Carlos Gomez hit a solo shot in the first, Jonathan Lucroy hit a two-run blast in the fifth and Ramirez tacked on another homer in the eighth. Gomez's homer was the lone highlight in a long night for him: He went 1-for-5 with four strikeouts and slammed his bat in frustration in the ninth. Ramirez's bomb was the third of his three hits in the game.

This series continues tomorrow when Tyler Thornburg takes on Freddy Garcia at 6:10.

On this day in 2008 the Brewer bats had a quiet day at Miller Park, as the team went just 2-for-24. They made those hits count, though, beating the Pirates 4-2.

Both of the Brewer hits and most of the game's scoring came in the fourth inning, when the following series of events took place:

• Mike Cameron singled to left.
• Bill Hall walked.
• Ryan Braun flied out.
• Prince Fielder singled up the middle, scoring Cameron.
• J.J. Hardy walked.
• Corey Hart struck out.
• Rickie Weeks walked, scoring Hall.
• Jason Kendall walked, scoring Fielder.
• CC Sabathia popped out.

Those were four of the Brewers' nine walks on the day, allowing them to score enough runs to win despite barely taking the bats off their shoulders. Sabathia pitched seven innings and allowed a single run on four hits in the game, striking out eleven en route to his 16th win.

The win brought the Brewers to 87-71 on the season and tied them with the Mets in the race for the NL Wild Card.

With help from Brewerfan.net and the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:

• 2013 Nashville Sound Jesus Sanchez, who turns 26.
• 2012 Brewer Travis Ishikawa, who turns 30.
• 1996 Brewer Kevin Koslofski, who turns 47.
• 1991 Brewer Chris George, who turns 47.
• 1972 Brewer Curt Motton, who would have turned 73.

Today is also the second anniversary of John Axford setting a new franchise record with his 45th save in 2011 and the 14th anniversary of Astros outfielder Bill Spiers being attacked during a game at County Stadium. We covered those events in this space last year and two years ago, respectively.

Some things to read while using your powers.

The Brewers opened their final road trip of 2013 with a dominant win Monday night, beating the Braves 5-0 in Atlanta. We've got the recap, if you missed it.

Marco Estrada had another big night last night, shutting out the Braves for seven innings on just two hits and three walks while striking out six. He also had two hits and threw a career-high 115 pitches in the game. (h/t @joe_block)

Braves hitters went a combined 2-for-23 against Estrada last night, and he's now holding opposing batters to a .178 batting average on the road this season. That would be the best mark ever for a Brewer pitcher, topping Shaun Marcum's .202 mark in 2011. (h/t @AndrewGruman in twoparts)

Jonathan Lucroy's fifth inning home run gave the Brewers a 3-0 lead last night. It was his 18th homer of 2013, and he's now tied for the third most ever by a Brewer catcher in a single season. (h/t @MikeVassallo13)

Other notes from the field:

• Last night's win snapped an eight-game losing streak for the Brewers at Turner Field (h/t @MikeVassallo13). Their last win in Atlanta came on July 17, 2010.
• The Brewers didn't get their first shutout until June 15 but have 14 of them since, tying the Dodgers for the most in baseball over that span. (h/t @MikeVassallo13)
• Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez was ejected from last night's game after home plate umpire Angel Hernandez ruled that Paul Janish did not attempt to avoid a pitch that hit him.
• Mike Vassallo apparently talked the Turner Field organist into playing the Fandango theme for Norichika Aoki's walkup music (h/t @AdamMcCalvy). You can see the rest of his Brewer-themed song selections on his Twitter feed.
• Here are the MLB.com video highlights.
• The Hammer won the "Home Depot Tool Race" at Turner Field.

The series continues tonight when Tyler Thornburg takes on Freddy Garcia at 6:10, and Kevin Massoth has the MLB.com preview. Ron Roenicke will be looking for his 250th managerial victory.

Looking ahead, Wily Peralta is questionable for his scheduled start on Saturday as he continues to deal with a blister on his throwing hand, raising the possibility that Jimmy Nelson could take his place in the season's final series. Benjamin Orr of Reviewing the Brew wonders where Nelson fits into the Brewers' staff going forward.

Kyle Lohse is still scheduled to make one more start, which will give us another chance to talk about him as a statistical anomaly. Jonathan Judge has an article in FanGraphs' Community Research section looking at how Lohse has consistently outperformed statistical projections. (h/t Disciples of Uecker)

Lohse, by the way, is one out away fro reaching 190 innings for the season and earning a $350,000 contract incentive. Adam McCalvy reports that Norichika Aoki also earned $250,000 by making his 140th start last night, and MLB Trade Rumors reports that he'll trigger more incentives when he appears in his next game.

Juan Francisco did not appear in last night's game, but when he gets back into a game he'll be sporting a new approach. He's been working with hitting coach Johnny Narron to calm down some of the movement in his swing in an effort to make more consistent contact.

If the Brewers stay hot, maybe they can finish the month in the even-lower 20's: Jonah Keri of Grantland moved the Brewers up a spot to #24 in this week's power rankings. They passed the Mariners this week.

The season is just about over for dozens of Brewers, but not for TV broadcaster Brian Anderson: He'll be teaming with John Smoltz, Joe Simpson and David Aldridge to call one of this October's Division Series for TBS.

Meanwhile, new Brewer minor leaguer Josh Ravin is one of dozens of players looking ahead to 2014. Benjamin Orr of Reviewing the Brew has an introduction to the latest addition to the 40-man roster.

In the minors:

• John Sickels of Minor League Ball has a review of the first professional seasons for players selected in the second round this year, including #54 overall pick Devin Williams.
• Baseball America released their list of the top 20 prospects in the 2013 Arizona Rookie League, and Williams was #12. (h/t Brewerfan.net)
• In related news, Chris St. John of Beyond the Box Score listed fellow 2013 top pick Tucker Neuhaus around the middle of the pack in walk and strikeout rates for rookie-level players this season.

Looking ahead, here are the scheduled announcements for top prospect lists in other leagues:

If you haven't yet, please take a moment today to vote in our BCB Tracking Poll. It will remain open through the day today and results will be posted tomorrow.

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 in studio for 2-3 segments taking your phone calls, emails and tweets, so listen in and join the conversation.

Let's go around the NL Central:

• The Cardinals held on for a 4-3 win over the Nationals, eliminating Washington from postseason contention. Trevor Rosenthal recorded the final two outs for his first MLB save.
• The Reds needed ten innings to finish off a 3-2 win over the Mets. Shin-Soo Choo's walkoff single was his third hit of the game, while Joey Votto walked in all five plate appearances.
• Starling Marte's ninth inning solo homer was the difference as the Pirates edged out the Cubs 2-1 at Wrigley. Charlie Morton threw seven shutout innings but received a no-decision.
• The Brewers, as you likely know, beat the Braves.

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

Here are today's updated standings and probables:

I know they're a rival and we've had some fun at their expense in the past, but it's hard not to feel good for Pirates fans today. Their team won their 90th game and clinched a playoff berth last night, both for the first time in decades. Check out this thread over at Bucs Dugout if you'd like to briefly share in their joy.

Today in former Brewers:

• Peter Jackel of The Racine Journal-Times has a great story on Larry Hisle and one of the latest cases where he's made an enormous impact in the life of a local child.
• Kevin Kimmes of Cream City Cables notes the irony in John Axford being assigned #34 with the Cardinals.
• The Brew Crew Project remembers Jason Kendall's contributions to the 2008 playoff team.

Today in baseball economics: The Rays, who are 87-69 on the season and project to be a Wild Card team, drew just 1.51 million fans to Tropicana Field this season. That's their lowest single-season total since 2007. (h/t @JaymesL)

The Astros have three home games against the Yankees remaining but have already drawn 1.54 million fans, edging out the Rays and Indians for the AL's lowest attendance. They've also clinched the #1 pick in the draft for the third consecutive season, and managed to record a 0.0 TV rating in Houston on Sunday.

Elsewhere in the AL West, Raul Ibanez is quietly having a historic season for the Mariners. Rob Neyer looks at how Ibanez's performance compares to the best ever by 41-year-old position players.

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks the fifth anniversary of the Brewers beating the Pirates 4-2 in 2008 on just two hits. Meanwhile, Enrique Bakemeyer of The Brewers Bar notes that yesterday was the second anniversary of the Brewers clinching the NL Central in 2011.

I'll wrap up today with a sad note: I think I've previously mentioned Jacob Landis, the man who had been attempting to bike to all 30 MLB stadiums this season as a fundraiser for childhood cochlear implants. His efforts stopped just four miles short of his final MLB Park (Marlins Park) when he was hit by a truck. His injuries were serious but fortunately do not appear to be life-threatening.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have things to blow out of proportion.

Drink up.

KYLE is the owner of new facial hair and the belligerent Managing Editor of Brew Crew Ball, a website covering the Milwaukee Brewers. He likes high on-base percentages, comic books and logical baseball managers.

JUSTIN is significantly taller and the host of The Home Stretch on 95.3 FM WSCO in Appleton. He likes intangibles, loud debate and truly awful reality television.

Together on Tuesdays at 2:30 (usually), they fight crime talk Brewers.

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:

• Call us at (866)653-1570.
• Email HomeStretch@gmail.com.
• Tweet us at @BrewCrewBall or @JustinHullRadio.

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

UPDATE: The archived audio can be heard here. This week we talked attendance, baseball economics and more.

The Brewers' longest road winning streak of the season is three games, and they've only done that twice.

They'll get a chance for a third such streak tonight at 6:10 when they face veteran journeyman Freddy Garcia (4.52 ERA, 5.68 FIP). Garcia is in his 15th major league season as a member of his seventh franchise, having been traded from the Orioles to the Braves for cash in August. He made his fifth appearance and second start as a Brave on Tuesday, allowing a single run on seven hits over seven innings against the Nationals.

In 20.2 innings since joining the Braves, Garcia has a 1.31 ERA with 13 strikeouts and four walks. I have no idea what to make of that. He's also only allowed one home run in his last five appearances after giving up 16 in 53 innings (2.7 per nine) as an Oriole. His velocity has rebounded a bit recently, as he was clocked around 90 with his fastball on Tuesday but is averaging just 87.5 mph for the season.

Garcia has faced the Brewers three times in his career, but hasn't seen them this year and has only pitched against them one time since 2007. Two current Brewers have faced him ten times or more:

On the other end of the career spectrum we have 24-year-old righty Tyler Thornburg (1.96 ERA, 3.33 FIP), who will start tonight for the Brewers. Thornburg has been excellent as a starter this season and that continued on Wednesday, when he shut out the Cubs for six innings and allowed two hits and two walks, striking out four.

At the risk of jinxing it, Thornburg has only allowed one home run all season and has pitched 41.1 innings without giving one up (his last eleven outings). That's the longest homerless streak (by innings) by a Brewer this season, although Brandon Kintzler also has an active streak of 36.2 innings.

Thornburg has never faced the Braves in the regular season, and no current Braves have ever faced him before.

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

And in the bullpen:

• Rob Wooten pitched one inning (nine pitches) last night.
• Michael Blazek pitched one inning (six pitches) last night.
• Donovan Hand pitched two innings (21 pitches) on Sunday.
• Jim Henderson pitched one inning (27 pitches) on Sunday.
• Brandon Kintzler pitched one inning (18 pitches) on Sunday.
• Alfredo Figaro last pitched on Saturday.
• Michael Gonzalez last pitched on Friday.
• Burke Badenhop last pitched on Thursday.
• Jimmy Nelson last pitched on Wednesday.
• Tom Gorzelanny is still working his way back from shoulder soreness.

It looks like a nice night for baseball in Atlanta, but a little rain could change that. Expect a game-time temperature in the upper 60's but the Weather Channel is showing a 30% chance of rain about an hour into the game and lingering into the night.

For the third time this year, Andrelton Simmons provided the walk-off hit, singling home the winning run with two outs off Milwaukee reliever Donovan Hand in the ninth inning to beat the Brewers 3-2.

Jonathan Lucroy gave Milwaukee a third-inning lead with a single to score Norichika Aoki, but Atlanta then tied the score in the fourth on consecutive two-out doubles by Freddie Freeman and Evan Gattis. Immediately starting the fifth, though, Garcia served up a homer to Jeff Bianchi, putting Milwaukee back on top.

Atlanta would tie the score yet again in the sixth on three straight one-out hits (Freddie Freeman had the RBI, his 106th of the year), but like the fourth inning, a baserunner was caught in a pickle between second and third.

Freddy Garcia had himself another good start and was pulled with two outs in the seventh; he only walked one and struck out seven.

Craig Kimbrel earned the win with a dominant ninth inning, striking out the side in order.

Win Expectancy Chart