Brewers record: 5-2 (week), 41-23, 1st place, MGL (season.)
June 15-16, versus San Francisco:
7-6,
7-2.
The Brewers complete the 3-game sweep of the Velocity.
To win the second game of the series the Brewers require some late-inning heroics, particularly in the form of
John Flores pinch-hit 2-out single to drive in
Zacarias Martell from third (Martell himself had driven in
Bobby Erbakan with the tying run on a single of his own, advanced to second on the unsuccessful throw to home to try to keep Erbakan from scoring, and went to third on a balk). Flores, in just 131 plate appearances, leads the MGL in WPA at 2.77. At-bats like this are why. It was a tough start for
Harry Lyerly (3-3, 3.38), who gave up 5 runs on 12 hits (3 of them HR's) over his 6 innings pitched. But the Brewers offense and a bullpen that is starting to show some life kept him from suffering a loss.
Eric Marino (1-1, 4.35) was credited with the win.
In the final game of the series,
Joe McPhillips was once again the hero, going 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 5 driven in and lacking only a single to hit for the cycle (he hit his 7th double, 2nd triple, and 6th HR.)
Sadahige Kawasaki (7-3, 2.81) picked up his 6th complete game and 8th quality start in this one, giving up just 2 run on 8 hits, striking out 6 and walking 1 in going the distance for the win.
June 18-20, at Portland:
4-6(game 1 of double-header),
5-2, (game 2 of DH),
1-5,
8-6.
The Brewers traveled west to Portland for a 4-game set against the Wild Things. In the first game of a Wednesday double-header, they fell behind 4-0 after 1 inning, came-back to tie the game and send it to extra innings, only to see former Brewer Ruben Souffront hit the walk-off HR in the bottom of the 12th.
Matt Helm (5-1, 2.85) gave up the 4 runs and then had to leave after recording 2 outs in the 2nd inning with what turned out to be a sore ankle which healed quickly. The Brewers bullpen, particularly
Jaden Francis. who pitched a strong 4 1/3rd innings and
Ben Flynn, who was nearly flawless for 3 2/3rds, did a terrific job until young
Mike Lizarraga gave up the winning walk-off runs.
Denver won the night-cap behind
Cheol-han Lee (8-2, 3.39), who gave up just 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits over 7 innings.
Tim Shore worked the 9th for his 3rd save as a Brewer. Backup catcher
Kirk Patnode (.342/.407/.408) was one of the hitting stars as he went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI and hit 2 doubles to get to 5 on the season.
Erik Sloan (4-2, 3.44) took the loss in game 3- allowing 5 runs on 9 hits in 7 innings.
Joe McPhillips (.314/.405/.600) was 2 for 4 in the game and hit his 8th double.
Ryan Rodgers (.284/.480/.318) isn't getting the hits he usually does but remains an on-base machine as he walked 4 times in this one.
The Brewers outlast the Wild Things in a bit of a slug-fest in the final game to earn a series split.
Josh Schaeffer (.314/.405/.564) once again shines, going 1 for 3 with 3 runs scored, 2 walks, and 3 RBI thanks to his one hit being a 3-run shot, his 11th HR of the season. Starter
Steve Green (6-2, 3.96) wasn't sharp (6 runs on 11 hits in 6 1/3rd) but the bullpen was, with
Eric Marino getting the win to improve to 2-1, 3.97 and
Jeremy Walker getting his 3rd save (though his ERA remains an unsightly 7.07.)
Chad Brown (.282/.315/.347) had a rare great day at the plate, going 4 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI.
June 21, versus Charlotte:
6-1
Another
Sadahige Kawasaki (8-3, 2.64) start. Another quality start and complete game victory. This time he gave up just 1 run on 7 hits, striking out 7 and walking none. (And unlike the game before, when he was pushed a bit and threw 132 pitches, it only took 103 to wrap it up in this one.)
Bobby Erbakan (.313/.384/.467) went 2 for 3 with an RBI but had to leave the game after being hit by a pitch in the 8th inning. And
Kirk Patnode (.341/.415/.439) was great at the plate again 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBI, and hitting his 1st HR of the season. The strong armed Patnode is pretty great behind the plate also, having thrown out 60% of would-be base-stealers this season.
So earlier in the week the Brewers got this good news about Matt Helm's injury that forced him to leave his latest start early:
But after the final game of the week they got much less good news about the injury sustained by first baseman Bobby Erbakan:
Notes from around the league: The Boston Berserkers are gaining a little ground on the Columbus Whalers in the SJL. Columbus is now 46-18 with the Berserkers at 41-23, 5 games behind in second place. The Philadelphia Mud Hens fall to distant third at 11 games back and the reigning SJL champs, Jacksonville, are trying to hang in there at 11 1/2 games off the pace. The Brewers end the week with a 3 game lead over the Brooklyn Aces, are 5 1/2 games ahead of Baltimore and 6 ahead of L.A.