[BirdWatcher]

Brewers record: 3-2 (week), 6-5, 4th place, 2 1/2 gb (season).

April 20-22, at Portland: 7-4, 8-1, ppd (rain).

Cheol-han Lee was a bit better in his second start, giving up 4 runs on 9 hits while working 8 2/3rds innings. He improves to 1-1, 5.52. Chad Brown was 2 for 4 and Joe McPhillips hit his 4th double of the season and drove in a pair of runs, though that was his only hit.
In the second game, Sadahige Kawasaki showed why he was so sought after in the off-season. He hurled the complete game victory, giving up just a single run on 8 hits (1 HR), while striking out 6 and walking 1. He improves to 1-1, 2.16. Andrew Kennedy went 2 for 4 but the big offensive production came from the 7th and 8th slots in the lineup as Jonathan Koch went 2 for 5 and Zacarias Martell was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBI, and hit his 1st HR of the season.
The final game of the series was rained out and will have to be made up later in the season.

April 23-25, versus Charlotte: 3-9, 3-5, 8-4.

The Brewers come home to face the Sting and in game 1 get humiliated by former Brewer Justin Peacock, who gets the complete game victory. Steve Green, who pitched so great in his first start, was horrible in this one. He gave up 6 runs on 9 hits in 6 IP. He drops to 1-1, 4.85. Rodrigo "RodRod" Rodriguez was 2 for 5 in the game and hit 2 doubles, his first 2 of the season.
In game 2 it was Harry Lyerly's turn to follow a great first start with a weak second start. Lyerly gave up 5 runs on 8 hits in 7 innings and drops to 1-1, 3.60. Andrew Kennedy, one of the few hot hitters for the Brewers in the early going, was 2 for 4 in the loss.
The Brewers largely used the long ball to win the final game of the series. John Flores hit his 2nd of 1975, Bobby Erbakan and Jordan Stephens each hit their 1st. Cheol-han Lee pitched well enough to get the victory (2-1, 4.98)- he gave up 3 runs on 8 hits in 7 innings. The Brewers bullpen continues its early season struggles as Jordan Stephens gives up a run in his inning and two thirds and sports a 9.00 ERA, which is sadly better than 3 of his bullpen mates (Jaden Francis, Liann-wei Hua, and Jeremy Walker). But he more than made up for it with his 2-out, 3-run HR.

The Brewers are tied for 7th in the league in runs allowed. Their starting rotation is 6th in ERA (4.31) while the bullpen is dead last in the same category (8.24). While the offense has been uneven, we are still 2nd in runs scored and batting average (.294).
Individually, Eric Marino is the only reliever who hasn't been hit hard yet and Sadahige Kawasaki the only starter with an ERA below 3.50. Ryan Rodgers (.423/.595/.462) and Andrew Kennedy (.438/.438/.469) are hot at the plate, with Kennedy currently working on 12-game hitting streak. Zacarias Martell (.333/.385/.500) is off to another good start. Joe McPhillips has been inconsistent, swinging between amazingly good and pretty poor. But many Brewers are off to very poor starts, including Bobby Erbakan, Mike Foster, and Jonathan Koch. Considering the Brewers have faced quite a few left-handed starters thus far and some of their most important right-handed hitters are in a bit of a deep freeze, it isn't a surprise the team is under-performing.

Notes from around the league: The Brooklyn Aces are off to a 9-3 start and lead the MGL. The surprising Detroit Falcons are tied with the L.A. Spinners at 8-4. In the SJL, Milwaukee still leads with a 9-3 record. Jacksonville and Columbus are tied at 8-4. Philadelphia's veteran right fielder Nate Bennett is off to another great start, leading the SJL in batting average (.442) and RBI (14).