Adrian Houser is not the same pitcher he was when the season started. Houser began the year looking like a rock-solid option for the Brewers. Now, he is looking like a gas can who might not be starting the next time through the rotation. Houser started hot with two strong starts then the last four have been a disaster. For Houser, the problems have existed with tough first innings, but last night in Milwaukee’s 8-3 loss to Detroit, he fell apart in the fifth inning. The Brewers starting pitching continues to struggle in this part of the season. Milwaukee has now lost three straight games and is four games under .500 for the year.

Player of the Game: Jeimer Candelario – What a game from the former Cubs prospect (Gotta squeeze that in there). He finished the game with 2-for-4 with four RBIs plus a home run. Candelario broke the game open in the fifth inning with a two-run single then added a home run later in the game. He was responsible for scoring four of the Tigers’ eight runs.

Honorable Mention: Cory Knebel – The former Brewers closer had a nice little outing amid a blowout. He was perfect in his inning of work. Brewers should keep Knebel in these low leverage spots for the next week or so. If they can get Knebel back to a version that is close to his old self, Milwaukee has a deep back-end bullpen with Knebel, Josh Hader, and Devin Williams.

One thing to wonder about: What do you do about Omar Narvaez? While the decision to not keep Yasmani Grandal will make the Brewers look smart in the future, the decision to go with Narvaez is not looking great. He is truly struggling behind the plate for the Brewers. He isn’t doing anything that makes you think this guy should be on the roster next season. Brewers could non-tender him next offseason, although, that is admitting yet another bad move by David Stearns this season.

Next up: Milwaukee plays their first day game in the middle of the week since last summer it feels like with their matchup against Detroit today. It is Corbin Burnes day which is the best day of them all right now for Brewers’ fans. He will try to continue his stellar season. Matthew Boyd goes for Detroit. He is having a rough year ERA wise, but it’s not as bad as the stats show. He has been decent of late. Brewers do thrive off lefties this season with the eighth-highest OPS.

Charlie.