Tag: Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers beat the A’s to split the two-game series

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The Milwaukee Brewers Kirk Nieuwenhuis is congratulated by Martin Maldonado after hitting a home run off A’s pitcher Liam Hendriks in the eighth inning of Wednesday’s game at the Oakland Coliseum

OAKLAND–On a beautiful and sunny Wednesday in Oakland, the Milwaukee Brewers, behind the strong effort by Junior Guerra, defeated the A’s 4-2 to earn a split of the two-game series. The Brewers won three-of-four from the A’s this year in interleague play. The Brewers, who used to visit the Coliseum on a regular basis when they were in the American League, made their first appearance here since 2002.

The A’s rookie Starter, Daniel Mengden, made his third Major League start and, for the third time, came away with the loss. Mengden has pitched well in all three starts, but the A’s have given him little run support. Today’s effort was a “quality” start as he pitched six innings and allowed seven hits and three runs. Unfortunately, one of the hits was a two-run job by Brewers’ second baseman Scooter Gennett. Mengden was very effective for the first four innings but a couple of defensive lapses in the fifth, including one by Mengden himself, did him in. On the other hand, the Brewers Junior Guerra was on his game. Guerra pitched seven innings and allowed just five hits, one of which was a home run by Coco Crisp.

The A’s scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Coco Crisp took Guerra deep for his sixth of the year. The Brewers roared back in the top of the fifth scoring three times to take the lead for good. The A’s scored a run in the seventh but Milwaukee got it back in the eighth. Their center fielder, Kirk Nieuwenhuis homered off A’s reliever Liam Hendricks.  There was no more scoring as Brewer reliever, Tyler Thornburg closed out the game for his second save of the year. Brewers win 4-2.

Game Notes- Hitting stars for the Brewers were Scooter Gennett with three hits including his big two-run homer. Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit his third homer of the year, and two of them have come at the expense of A’s pitching.

The A’s finished their homestand with a record of 3-6 and are 4-13 in their last seventeen games. They are now thirteen games under .500 and own a record of 29-42. The A’s go on a six-game road trip with stops in Anaheim and San Francisco before returning home to face the Giants in Oakland on June 29th. The A’s will play four against the Angels and Thursday’s game will feature Kendall Graveman pitching for the A’s, and Tim Lincecum will be on the hill for Los Angeles.

The two teams played the game in two hours and fifty-three minutes, and 13,586 were on hand to watch the A’s fall to Milwaukee.

 

 

Oakland takes the first game of the Series with the Brewers

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by Jerry Feitelberg

photo from sfgate.com: Oakland A’s pitcher Sonny Gray throwing against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s bats were on fire late in the game against the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday night. The A’s won the game 5-3. The A’s, who had scored just four runs in their last four games were able to get key hits when it counted to propel them into victory lane. A’s starter Sonny Gray pitched six strong innings. Gray allowed two runs, one of which was unearned. Gray gave up six hits, and he did not get a decision. The A’s bullpen, for the most part, was excellent. Sean Doolittle pitched a strong seventh. Ryan Dull was magnificent in the eighth, and Ryan Madson closed out the game for Oakland. The one sour note was the performance of John Axford. Axford has been struggling lately and tonight was no exception. He faced two hitters and each one doubled.

The Brewers scored a run in the top of the fourth. Sonny Gray had allowed just two hits up to this point in the game but the Brewers’, behind two singles and a double, put the first tally of the game on the board. The A’s tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. Max Muncy and Jed Lowrie singled to put runners at first and third with one out. A’s catcher Stephen Vogt drove in the tying run when he ground out. Lowrie, running on the play, reached second safely, and that allowed the run to score.

The Brew Crew scored an unearned run in the top of the sixth to regain the lead. Ryan Braun led off with a single. With one out and Braun at first, Sonny Gray threw the ball past first baseman Yonder Alonso for an error. The ball rolled far enough down the line to enable Braun to make it safely to third. The Brewers’ big slugger, Chris Carter, singled to left to drive in Braun with Milwaukee’s second run. The A’s tied the game in their half of the sixth. Former Brewer, Khris Davis singled to start the frame. Davis advanced to second on a passed ball. A’s Designated hitter, Billy Butler, made a productive out as hit to advance Davis to third. With two out, Marcus Semien singled to right to drive in Davis. The score is tied at two after six innings of play.

The A’s scored three unearned runs in the seventh inning. Brewer shortstop committed an error to open the floodgates for the A’s. The A’s scored the go-ahead run runners at first and second and one out. Yonder Alonso singled to drive in Danny Valencia. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien drove in two more when he tripled to left-center. The A’s are in the lead 5-2 heading into the top of the eighth.

The Brewers first two batters in the eighth hit back-to-back doubles to cut the deficit to two.  Bob Melvin brought in former Brewer, John Axford, to pitch. Scooter Gennett doubled and then scored on a double off the bat of Ryan Braun. Melvin took Axford out and replaced him with Ryan Dull. Dull, who had not allowed an inherited run to score so far this season, was magnificent, and he retired the next three Brewers and ended the threat. Ryan Madson retired the Brewers in order to preserve the win for Oakland.

Game Notes- Marcus Semien had three hits, including a triple, and drove in three runs for the Green and Gold.  Jed Lowrie was 3-for-5, and Danny Valencia pitched in with two hits. Valencia was hit by a pitch on the wrist, but he was able to continue.

With the win, the A’s improve to 29-41 while Milwaukee drops to 31-40. Game two will be played Wednesday afternoon at 12:35 Pm at the Coliseum. Rookie Daniel Mengden will go for Oakland, and his opponent will be Junior Guerra.

Time of game was three hours and thirty-two minutes, and 14,810 faithful watched their beloved A’s defeat the Brewers.

 

Preview of the A’s vs the Brewers in Oakland

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s welcome the Milwaukee Brewers to the Coliseum Tuesday night in Oakland. The visit by the Brewers will be their first appearance here in fourteen years. The games Tuesday and Wednesday will end their longest drought of any road venue.

The A’s visited Milwaukee earlier this month, and the results were not good for the Green and Gold as the Brewers won both games. The A’s are hoping to turn the tables and return the favor this week. The pitching matchups appear to be very attractive. Sonny Gray, who has been pitching relatively well since coming off the disabled list, had a game go south on him last week against Texas. Gray was the Sonny of old for five innings, but the roof caved in on him in the sixth. Texas’ hitters banged out four extra-base hits ( two homers and two doubles) and Sonny lost his sixth game of the year. Milwaukee’s starter will be Jimmy Nelson. Nelson was the number one pitcher for the Brewers for the first two months of the season. However, his record in June is 0-3 and he his ERA this month is a staggering 9.69. His record, overall, is 5-6, 3.92 ERA.

The Wednesday day game will feature the A’s rookie starter, Daniel Mengden going against the Brewers’ Junior Guerra. The thirty-one tear old Guerra sports a record of 3-1, 3.81 ERA and has been very effective using a split-finger fastball. The A’s will counter with young Daniel Mengden. Mengden has made two starts since being called up from Nashville. He is 0-2 but, in his last start against Texas, he went six innings and allowed just two runs. Had the A’s been able to get some hits off Colby Lewis, the result might have been different. However, Lewis was fantastic as he was working on a perfect game until Max Muncy doubled in the eighth inning.

The Brewers, like the A’s, are not playing well. Since the Series with the A’s, the Brewers are 3-7 and are in fourth place in the NL Central with a record of 31-39. The A’s are having a terrible June as they are just 3-12 in their last fifteen games and have fallen to 28-41. They are thirteen games under .500 and have their worst record at this date in June since 1997.

Key Brewer players to watch are shortstop Jonathan Villar, First baseman Chris Carter, catcher Jonathan Lucroy and left-fielder Ryan Braun. Tyler Thornburg is their setup guy, and Jeremy Jeffress is their closer. Trade rumors are swirling in Milwaukee as the Brew Crew may be sellers at the trade deadline. Lucroy, Braun, Jeffress and third baseman Aaron Hill have trade value. The Brewers have denied that they are interested in trading Braun or Lucroy but to quote Don  Vito Corleone, some GM may make “an offer they can’t refuse.”

The A’s, on the other hand, are hoping to get some strong performances from the starting rotation. Rich Hill and Sean Manaea are making progress and should be off the DL soon.Kendall Graveman pitched well Friday night, and lefty Eric Surkamp had his best game of the season for Oakland. The A’s failed to give him any run support as Jared Weaver dazzled the A’s with his off-speed stuff. Trade winds are also swirling here in Oakland. There was a report that the Mets were interested in third baseman Danny Valencia. Josh Reddick and Khris Davis, both free agents at the end of the year might be playing elsewhere after July 31st. The A’s biggest chip is Sonny Gray. The Red Sox are desperate for another starter and have chips to dangle before Billy Beane and David Forst.

 

The Brewers sweep the two-game series, A’s lose fifth in a row

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The Milwaukee Brewers Scooter Gennett connects for a single bringing in two runners in the fourth against the Oakland A’s at Miller Park on Wednesday

The Oakland A’s lost their fifth straight game Wednesday night as the Milwaukee Brewers, behind the strong effort of righty Chase Anderson, downed the Green and Gold 4-0. The A’s starter Jesse Hahn, looking to rebound after an absolute horrendous outing last Friday night in Houston, failed again. Hahn pitched just three and two-thirds innings and allowed four runs and seven hits. Hahn’s record for the season is now 2-4 and his spot in the rotation may be in jeopardy. The A’s are now nine games under .500 and have a season record of 25-34.

The story of the night was the pitching of Chase Anderson. For the second night in a row, the A’s were held hitless until deep in the game. The A’s finally got a hit in the sixth when Jake Smolinski beat the shift and reached on a single that barely made out of the infield.The A’s managed two more hits but the were shutout for the second time this year.

The Brewers took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Brewers’ shortstop, Jonathan Villar, led off the inning with a single.  With Scooter Gennett at bat, Villar stole second. It was Villar’s twenty-second steal of the year and he leads the Majors in that department. Gennett singled to left to drive in Villar who was running on the play. Hahn got Ryan Braun to hit into a double play and then retired Jonathan Lucroy to end the inning.

The Brewers added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth.Kirk Nieuwenhuis led off the inning with a single. Hahn walked Ramon Flores to put men on at first and second with no out.The pitcher, Chase Anderson laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. The A’s walked Jonathan Villar to load the bases. Scooter Gennett singled to drive in two more runs for the Brewers.Gennett drove in three of the four runs scored by Milwaukee.  Brewers lead 4-0 after fours

There was no more scoring in the game for either team. The A’s bullpen did a great job keeping the Brewers scoreless. Anderson left the game in the seventh. He pitched six and two-thirds innings and allowed just two hits and no runs. He threw 93 pitches in his winning effort. His record improved to 4-6.

Time of game was two hours and forty-four minutes and the game was watched by 18,188 fans. The A’s have on off-day Thursday and resume play Friday evening in Cincinnati.

 

 

The Brewers send the A’s down to their fourth loss in a row.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Zach Davies pitches to the Oakland A’s in the first inning at Miller Park on Tuesday night

It was the Zach Davies and Chris Carter show Tuesday night in Milwaukee as the Brewers downed the A’s 5-4. The A’s received a strong performance from rookie Sean Manaea, but he gave up two big home runs to former A’s first baseman Chris Carter. Manaea pitched seven innings and allowed just six hits and five runs. Two of the hits were homers by Carter, and he drove in all five Milwaukee runs.The Brewer starter Davies, who is twenty-three and of slim build, no-hit the A’s for six and 2/3rds innings and won his fourth game of the year.

Chris Carter hit a two-run blast in the second and hit a three-run job in the sixth to cement the win. The A’s scored two in the top of the seventh to creep a little closer. Davies walked Jed Lowrie then Billy Butler, playing first, broke the spell with a blast to centerfield for the A’s first hit. Brewers skipper, Craig Counsell let Davies finish the inning, and he left the game to a standing ovation by the fans.

The A’s rallied to score two more in the ninth but Brewers closer Jeremy Jeffress struck out Marcus Semien and retired Chris Coghlan to end the game. Final score 5-4 in favor Milwaukee.

Game notes- The A’s are now eight games under .500 and their record is 25-33. The Brewers are 27-31. Sean Manaea pitched well but took the loss. Manaea is now 2-4 for the year. Zach Davies won his fourth of the year. Ryan Braun notched his 1500th career hit, and he also received a standing ovation. Brewer Reliever Tyler Thornburg retired the A’s in order in the seventh and has now retired twenty-six straight batters in his last thirteen games.

The A’s and Brewers play the finale of the two-game set Wednesday night in Milwaukee. Jesse Hahn will go for Oakland, and Chris Anderson will pitch for the Brewers. Game time will be at 5:10 PM. The A’s are off on Thursday and then will travel to Cincinnati for a three-game set with the lowly Reds before returning home to face the Texas Rangers.

Preview of the A’s-Brewers Series

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s are off Monday as they try to recover from a three-game sweep at the hands of the Houston Astros over the weekend in Houston. The A’s are en route to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to play a two-game set with the Brewers.

The Brew Crew and the A’s had identical records last year. They both went 68-94 in 2015, and both teams are trying to rebuild their franchise to become more competitive in 2016. The Brewers fired manager Ron Roenicke mid-season and replaced him with Craig Counsell.

So far this year, the Brewers are five games under .500 with a record of 26-31. The A’s will be at a disadvantage as Milwaukee is in the National League and the A’s will not be able to use the designated hitter. The A’s have lost three straight and are hoping to get on the winning track Tuesday night. Sean Manaea will pitch for Oakland.Manaea has a record of 2-3 and an ERA of 6.16. Manaea had the best start of his career last week beating the Minnesota Twins. Zach Davies will be on the mound for the Brewers. Davies is coming off the best start of his career. He pitched eight shutout innings against the very potent St. Louis Cardinal offense. Davies is 3-3 and has an ERA of 4.53

The Wednesday game will feature Jesse Hahn for Oakland and Chase Anderson for Milwaukee. Hahn had the worst start of his career Friday night against the Houston Astros. Hahn faced ten batters and recorded just two outs. He allowed seven runs on six hits and two walks. Hahn’s record is 2-3, and his ERA is 6.10. Anderson has a 2.97 ERA in his last five starts, and his record overall is 3-6 and an ERA of 4.68.

The Brewers offense is led by Jonathan Lucroy and Ryan Braun. Both players have been All-Stars in the past, and trade rumors are swirling around both of them Lucroy is signed through 2016, but the club has an option for 2017. Braun, the former NL MVP, is signed through 2020 and the club holds an option for 2021. The Brewers owe Braun 105 million over the next five years, and that might be a problem if and when the Brewers decide to move him.

The Brewer infield is consists of Chris Carter at first, Scooter Gennett at second, Jonathan Villar at short and the veteran Aaron Hill at third base. Carter, the former Athletic, continues to hit for a low average(.222)but has fourteen homers and Thirty-four RBIs on his resume so far this year. Shortstop Jonathan Villar, getting a chance to play after being a backup in Houston, is hitting .306 with five homers and twenty-five ribbies. Villar owns an OPS of .861.

The Brewers bullpen is manned by Will Smith, Junior Guerra, Carlos Torres, Tyler Thornburg and Jeremy Jeffries. Thornburg set a Milwaukee record by retiring twenty-three consecutive batter in his last twelve appearances. His velocity is improved, and his strikeout  average per nine innings is 12.58 Jeremy Jeffries is the closer and has recorded fifteen saves in sixteen opportunities.

The outfield is led by Braun. Braun did not play Sunday as the Brewers decided to give him the day off. Braun will reach the 1500 hit plateau Tuesday night with his first hit. Braun is hitting .337. He has nine home runs and thirty-three RBIs. His OPS is .959.

The A’s , as mentioned earlier, will be trying to snap a three-game losing streak.The A’s offense is led by third baseman Danny Valencia, catcher Stephen Vogt and former Brewer Khris Davis. For Davis, the trip to Milwaukee will be a homecoming of sorts. He played three seasons for the Brewers before coming to Oakland. Davis has turned the page and is now an Athletic and he will be doing his best to send his former team down to defeat. Another former Brewer on the A’s roster is John Axford. Axford is second in career saves for the Brew Crew. Axford record 106 saves as a Brewer and is second to Dan Plesac who recorded 133 for Milwaukee.

The A’s and Brewers will have to make decisions if they will be sellers or buyers. At the moment, neither team appears to be in the mix for a playoff spot. That could change but many people are speculating that both teams will be sellers. The A’s assets are Danny Valencia, Khris Davis, Stephen Vogt, Josh Reddick and Sonny Gray. Reddick, Davis, and Valencia will be free agents at the end of the season and the A’s might want to continue their practice of trading players that might cost them money for prospects. The A’s have stated repeatedly that Gray is not on the trade market but never say never when dealing with Oakland. The Brewers’ chips are Lucroy and Braun. Lucroy’s probably would be easier to move but Braun is a proven slugger and might be attractive to clubs that have a lot of money.

After the two-game set, the A’s have an off-day before flying to Cincinnati to finish the eight-game-ten-day road trip . The A’s then return home to face the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels and play two more interleague games with the Brewers on June 21st and 22nd.

 

 

 

SF Giants split series, defeat Brewers 4-1

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By Jerry Feitelberg

August 8, 2013

0808131The Giants were looking to even the four game series with the Milwaukee Brewers Thursday afternoon at AT&T park. The Giants sent Tim Lincecum to the hill. Lincecum entered the game with a 5-11 record for the season but he looked like the Timmy of old as he picked up the win going eight innings allowing no runs and just ONE hit as the Giants won the game 4-1. Marco Scutaro and Brandon Crawford were terrific at the top of the lineup as they both had three hits each in the game. They had back to back hits in the first, second and sixth inning. The big blow of the game came in the first inning went Brandon Belt hit a three run homer. The game summary follows.

The Giants jumped out to 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Marco Scutaro led of with a single to left. Shortstop Brandon Crawford followed with a double to left center field to put men on at second and third with no out. With one out, first baseman Brandon belt launched a home run to deep right field to score Scutaro and Crawfor ahead of him. Giants lead 3-0 after one inning of play.

The Giants added a run in the bottom of the second. With two out, Marco Scutaro doubled down the left field line. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a single off the bat of Brandon Crawford. Giants lead 4-0 after two.

The Brewers got on the board in the top of the ninth. Khris Davis, pinch hitting for the pitcher, doubled to start the frame. Davis scored when Jean Segura singled with one out. Sergio Romo nailed nail the win getting the last two outs of the game. Giants win 4-1. Lincecum gets the win and he is now 6-11 for the season and Donovan Hand took the loss . Hand’s record is now 0-4.

Notes: The Giants entered the game homer less in eleven straight home games. The last home run at home was on July 20th.The Giants are now 8-12 since the All-Star break. The Giants recalled Hector Sanchez from Fresno and he caught the game for the Giants. Catcher Guillermo Quiroz was designated for assignment. With the win, the Giants are now 12 games under .500 and their home record improves to 30-29. The Giants play an inter-league series with the Baltimore Orioles Friday night at AT&T park at 7:15 pm.

Attendance was 41,219. It was the 233rd consecutive sellout for San Francisco.

Late rally downs Bumgarner, Giants

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By Jeremy Harness

August 7, 2013
Photo


SAN FRANCISCO – As the eighth inning began, things were looking pretty good for the Giants.

Starter Madison Bumgarner had been giving a spectacular performance, going seven innings and giving up only a pair of hits and a walk while the Giants had just given him a run in the bottom of the seventh to put him in line for a possible win.

That’s when the good feelings ceased, however. The Milwaukee Brewers tagged Bumgarner for four runs in the eighth inning as the Giants fell 6-1 before 41,416 hopeful fans at AT&T Park Wednesday night.

Looking on the bright side, however, Bumgarner now has 10 straight outings that he has pitched at least seven innings, which is the longest streak by a Giants starter since Rick Reuschel had 11 consecutive to end the 1988 season.

The Giants couldn’t get anything going offensively against starter Marco Estrada, managing only one hit against him in the five innings he pitched.

It wasn’t just Estrada who the Giants had issues with on Wednesday. They also have center fielder Carlos Gomez to thank for keeping them off the scoreboard. They hit several hard shots in Gomez’s area, only to watch him run each one of them down.

That started in the first inning, when Buster Posey smacked one that was destined for extra bases, a ball which Gomez leaped at the warning track and snared to end the inning.

The Giants did get a little payback in the seventh inning, though. After he walked with two outs, Bumgarner timed his pickoff move perfectly as Gomez was trying to steal second. From there, first baseman Brandon Belt fired to second for the putout as Gomez spiked his helmet in frustration.

That seemed to spark a rally for the Giants that carried over to the bottom of the inning, as the two Brandons got on base to start things off, Crawford with a walk and Belt with a single that just skipped past second baseman Rickie Weeks’ glove.

A wild pitch by reliever Alfredo Figaro then moved both of them into scoring position with Posey at the plate. Posey was robbed again of a base hit – this time by a diving grab in left field by Khris Davis – but Crawford tagged up from third to put the Giants in front and take the lid off of the scoreless game.

However, the Brewers themselves got some momentum against Bumgarner in the eighth that eventually knocked him out of the game. Davis and Yuniesky Betancourt led off the inning with hits before Jeff Bianchi scored Davis. On the next play, Betancourt scored on a throwing error by Bumgarner on a fielder;’s choice, which gave the Brewers the lead. After the outburst in the eighth, the Brewers put up two more runs off reliever Barry Zito to send even more fans to the exits.