Joseph D'Amico

NL Central: A tale of two Mays for red-hot Brewers by The Sports Network

 

National League Central Team Report

(Sports Network) – The way things have gone for the Milwaukee Brewers of late, they may never want the calendar to flip over to June.

They also may never want to leave Milwaukee.

With Wednesday’s 6-4 win over Washington, the Brewers have won nine in a row at home thanks to consecutive series sweeps of the Pirates, Rockies and Nationals. It marks the club’s longest home winning streak since 1987, and their 19-6 record at Miller Park is tied with the Cleveland Indians for the top home record in the majors this season.

Zack Greinke picked up the win on Wednesday with 10 strikeouts in seven strong innings, also putting Milwaukee ahead for good with a solo home run to left field in the fifth inning.

“It’s confidence,” Greinke said of the team’s success at home. “We just play well, at least right now we are. If we give up eight runs, we’ll score nine. If we give up none, we’ll score enough. Whatever it takes to win is what we’re doing right now. It’s pretty nice.”

The Brewers (27-23) have won six straight and 11 of their last 13 overall, as they entered Friday in second place in the National League Central standings, just 2 1/2 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals. The turnaround has been quite remarkable.

Just two weeks ago, Milwaukee was in fifth place in the division, 5 1/2 games back of the Cardinals, who have been equally as hot over the last 10 games. At that time, the Brewers sat five games below .500, having dropped nine of their previous 12 games.

Suddenly, the team is now four games over .500 for the first time since July 8, 2009. In addition to Greinke putting forth his best outing so far as a Brewer, a few key regulars have started to find their stroke at the plate.

Ryan Braun had a 13-game hitting streak come to an end on Tuesday. In 15 games since May 10, Braun has hit .321 with 14 RBI and a 1.014 OPS. Corey Hart got a late start to the season due to a strained oblique muscle, although he has begun to warm up. Since that date of May 10, Hart has also hit .321 with 10 RBI and went yard a total of four times in back-to-back games Monday and Tuesday. And also in that same timeframe, Prince Fielder has hit .291 with four doubles, four homers and 14 RBI. So it is by no small coincidence that Milwaukee has gone 12-3 since the 10th of May.

Now to match their club record of 10 straight home wins, the Brewers will have to get past Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants Friday night at Miller Park. That’s never an easy task, but with the heart of the order producing runs at the current pace, it’s certainly within reason.

MINUS HOLLIDAY, CARDINALS TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS ON THE ROAD

It’s often said that in order to be playing baseball in October, a team must win two out of every three games at home and play .500 ball on the road. In that sense, the St. Louis Cardinals (30-21) are ahead of the game.

The Cardinals have gone 14-9 at Busch Stadium, while their 16 road wins (16-12) are the most in the majors. They have won eight of their last 10 games overall after a 4-2 start to their current nine-game road trip. Going back a bit further, the team has won an impressive 12 of its last 14 series, including one tie.

“You can’t be upset with anything,” manager Tony La Russa said following Tuesday’s series-clinching win at San Diego. “Guys are really working.”

While the wins have been piling up, one thing to keep an eye on is the health of outfielder Matt Holliday, whose status for this weekend’s series in Colorado is up in the air. During a pinch-hit appearance on Sunday, Holliday aggravated a strained left quadriceps that has bothered him over the past couple weeks. Hoping to avoid a DL stint, he sat out the three-game series against the Padres to give the quad some rest.

If Holliday is forced out of action for an extended period, it would obviously be a huge blow to the team. His batting average (.349) is second in the NL only to teammate Lance Berkman, and he is hitting an impressive .413 with runners in scoring position. With Holliday in the lineup, the Cards are averaging better than five runs per game. Without him, that number dips to 2.5.

HURDLE SHUFFLING LINEUP IN HOPES OF JUMPSTARTING BUCS’ OFFENSE

Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle is willing to try anything and everything to get his slumping offense going. With the Pirates ranking 14th in the NL in team batting average (.236) and runs scored (175), Hurdle has experimented with some lineup shuffling.

On Wednesday, with his team in the midst of a 19-inning scoreless streak, the skipper dropped leadoff hitter Andrew McCutchen into the No. 3 hole and led off with Jose Tabata. Replacing Tabata in the No. 2 spot was Steve Pearce for the first time in his career. Tabata went 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Pearce went 3-for-5 with two RBI, including his first homer of the season. However, he grounded into a key double play in the ninth inning, with bases loaded and one out in a 2-2 game. The Pirates went on to lose 4-2 in 11 innings.

“We’ve got nothing to lose,” Hurdle said of the tinkering. “We’re going to try it for a while. I’m still trying to find a way to help us become more consistent of an offense. I’ve spoken with Andrew. He’s been more than willing all year long to go where he needs to go, do what he needs to do. I think this is a time to revisit it. Our inconsistency speaks for itself.”

Clutch hitting has been all but completely absent. Prior to Pearce’s first RBI in Wednesday’s game, which ended the scoreless streak at 21 innings, the Pirates had not gotten a hit with a runner in scoring position since Saturday. Pittsburgh is 1-21 when trailing after six innings and has not posted a winning record in any homestand this year.

“We’ve got to find a way to pick up our pitchers more than we have seven weeks into the season,” Hurdle said after Wednesday’s loss, the team’s third in a row.

ASTROS CLOSER LYON ON THE COMEBACK TRAIL

Houston Astros closer Brandon Lyon has been on the DL since May 6 with right biceps tendinitis and a partially-torn rotator cuff. This week, the right- hander took his first steps along the road to recovery.

Lyon did some long toss off flat ground for the first time on Monday and Tuesday and planned to discuss next steps in his recovery with manager Brad Mills. He admitted he was a bit sore on Wednesday, although that was to be expected.

“I think if everything goes well, we’ll probably have a better idea Friday to sit down and go over more of a timeframe of everything,” Lyon said. “Right now, it’s just about building up arm strength before you can go ahead and throw on the mound.”

Lyon added that he feels better than he expected to after throwing, but he’ll continue to take things slowly. Although there is no timetable yet for his return, that could soon change assuming there are no setbacks from the increased workload.

BATTERED REDS RESUME ROAD TRIP

With seven games down of their 10-game road trip, the Cincinnati Reds (26-25) have been beaten, battered and bruised. And with another tough series on tap in Atlanta this weekend, at this point they’re just hoping to return to Cincinnati in one piece.

The trip began with a three-game sweep at the hands of Cleveland last weekend, and continued in Philadelphia this week, where the Tribe dropped three of four. Following a five-game win streak last Tuesday, the Reds were eight games over .500 and enjoyed a 1 1/2-game lead in the division. That must seem like an awfully long time ago for manager Dusty Baker.

His bullpen was ravaged following a 5-4 loss to the Phillies in 19 innings Wednesday night. All told in the four-game series, the relievers combined for 25 innings. To put that in perspective, an average of just over six innings per game is a solid workload for a starting pitcher.

However, the Reds have little choice but to keep grinding ahead. They are 14 games into a stretch of 20 games in 20 days.

“It’s tough,” said hot-hitting right fielder Jay Bruce, who drove in 11 runs during the four-game set against the Phillies. “We’ve kind of been exhausting every option. We’ll get the hit and can’t hold the lead. Or we’ll hold the lead and can’t get the hit. It’s just back and forth. It’s going to pass though.”

Luck certainly has not been on the team’s side. Starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo has struggled while battling a stiff back. Right-hander Homer Bailey had to exit after four innings of Thursday’s game due to a right shoulder spasm, and he was sent back to Cincinnati for tests along with Arroyo. Fellow starter Edinson Volquez, just a few seasons removed from an All-Star appearance, was demoted to the minors earlier this week to try and sort out his first-inning struggles (opponents are hitting .432 against Volquez in the first inning and .193 in all other innings). The already-depleted bullpen saw reliever Matt Maloney placed on the disabled list, while Sam LeCure is dealing with forearm tightness.

In the wake of all of that, Cincinnati has fallen to third place in the NL Central, four games behind St. Louis. The Reds are in Atlanta this weekend to face one of the top pitching trios in baseball in Tommy Hanson, Derek Lowe and Jair Jurrjens.

CUBS BITTEN BY INJURY BUG

The Chicago Cubs (22-26) have seen their fair share of injuries lately. At the moment, they are minus three-fifths of their starting rotation plus catcher Geovany Soto and center fielder Marlon Byrd, all of whom are on the DL.

Byrd was hit in the face by Red Sox pitcher Alfredo Aceves on Saturday night and suffered multiple fractures. While there is no timetable for his return, Soto (groin) could rejoin the team on Sunday, according to the Chicago Sun- Times. Some pitching help could also soon be on the horizon.

Starters Andrew Cashner and Randy Wells both went down after one turn through the rotation. Cashner recently aggravated a strained right rotator cuff, which has kept him out of action since April 6. Subsequent medical examinations have ruled out any further damage, leaving open the possibility he’ll be able to pitch in an extended spring training in the near future. Wells has been shelved since April 5 with a strained right forearm, although he has completed his rehab and is in line to start Saturday’s game against the Pirates.

Matt Garza, on the other hand, was placed on the DL on Tuesday with a nagging elbow injury. An MRI revealed no structural damage and his DL stint is retroactive to May 18, meaning if all goes well he could be ready for the St. Louis series beginning June 3, according to general manager Jim Hendry. The GM was able to put a positive spin on the rash of injuries.

“I haven’t seen it this bad in a long time but it still is not as bad as it was in 2004 when we lost Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Mark Grudzielanek, Todd Hollandsworth, Sammy Sosa, Joe Borowski, Aramis Ramirez, Todd Wellemeyer, Tom Goodwin, Kent Mercker, Alex Gonzalez and Mike Remlinger all to extended stays on the DL,” Hendry told the Chicago Tribune. “I actually feel pretty good about this team because with Randy Wells coming back and Matt Garza on track to be back next week we should be in position to get some stability with our starting pitching.”

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