BrewCap: Bullpen Scuffles Again & Loses Atlanta Series

Milwaukee Brewers had 19 hits on Sunday afternoon. 19 hits. They did not win the game. Milwaukee lost to Atlanta 8-7 due to poor bullpen play for the third game this week. Milwaukee had multiple leads in the latter half of the game, and they could not hold it. It’s a disappointing loss to say the least for the Crew. They’ve lost three games this week where they could have won, instead, they fell apart late. It’s not great for a team contending for a playoff spot and the division. Still, Milwaukee has series wins against Arizona, Atlanta and Philadelphia which is encouraging.
Player of the Game: Jesus Aguilar – Usually when the Brewers lose, I tend to go with the opposing teams as the player of the game. But Milwaukee showed out on offense in this game. Aguilar had one of his better games of the season. He hit a home run and a double scoring four RBIs with three hits. Hopefully, Aguilar is finding a hot streak again. That would be awesome for mIlwaukee in the next week or so with Chicago and St. Louis on the schedule.
Silver Star: Ozzie Albies – Pick which Braves’ hitter killed Milwaukee in this game with only one hit. Dansby Swanson brought the game closer with a two-run shot against Corbin Burnes. But Albies broke the tie with Dan Jennings surrendering a home run in the seventh to give Atlanta the lead. It’s curious that Craig Counsell went out with a lefty for Albies. He only has seven homers as a right-hander but hits .320. I get Counsell wanted Jennings for Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis. The hope was he could survive the Braves second baseman, and it did not happen.
Honorable Mention: Hernan Perez – People want to throw shade at him, but Perez is playing good baseball right now. He’s batting .429 in his last seven games going 6-for-14 with two runs scored and a double. Sure, it’s not like an Aguilar run, but this is a good thing for Milwaukee to have a productive hitter off the bench. He’s going to get more time in the lineup.
Next up: Here we go, Milwaukee heads to Chicago for a pivotal two-game series with the Cubs. Brewers have lost nine straight day games, and the last two ended very poorly. Cubs send Jose Quintana to the mound. He’s been unstoppable versus Milwaukee. Maybe Mike Moustakas is the answer against him. Even though it’s a lefty-lefty matchup, Moustakas has three homers. Milwaukee goes with Jhoulys Chacin whose been one of the best pitchers for Milwaukee. We’ll see if he keeps it up.
Charlie.