Justin Smoak is one of the players that many fans have under fire to start the season for Milwaukee. The reason being is Smoak was supposed to replace Eric Thames and Jesus Aguilar. He hasn’t done a good job. Both Thames and Aguilar are very popular, so, it was on Smoak to produce. He did just that on Sunday with a three-hit game and two hits in the big inning for Milwaukee. The Brewers are able to salvage a win and avoid the first sweep of the year beating Cincinnati, 9-3. Brewers offense got going again and maybe, just maybe, this is a sign of things to come.

Player of the Game: Justin Smoak – As mentioned he had the big hits for the Milwaukee Brewers in this one. A leadoff double started the seven-run inning for Milwaukee then a two-run single for Smoak in his second at-bat of the inning busted open this game. This is one game for Smoak, but hopefully, this is the start for him. He worked hard in practice to try and fix what’s going on with him. Good to see him see results on the field.

Honorable Mention: Christian Yelich – Great game from Yeli who continues to find his stroke at the plate. Yelich had two hits on three at-bats along with two walks. Yelich drove in three yesterday with a big triple, a walk, and a home run that abused the scoreboard. Yelich moved up his average 50 points in the last week. Let’s hope it can continue this week.

One thing to know – Again, I’m asking you to stick with a similar lineup: On the recap Friday, I pleaded with Craig Counsell to keep a similar lineup that he did the day before. I’m asking the same thing. Manny Pina should be the everyday catcher with Omar Narvaez at the DH position. Then Mark Mathias can split time with Ben Gamel for the outfield spot. Mathias and Pina played a small role in making things happen again yesterday.

Are the Brewers in the playoffs this week? – Since the season is short and we’re now 13 games in, let’s take a look at the Brewers in the playoffs. Due to what’s happening with St. Louis, they’re the second-best team in the NL Central. They have a playoff spot because of that. More to come on the blog about how baseball should handle St. Louis.

Next up: Brewers and Twins get set to play three at Miller Park. Minnesota was red hot before getting swept by Kansas City over the weekend. Randy Dobnak gets the ball for Minnesota. He has allowed only one run and nine hits through three games this year. Brewers give the ball to Adrian Houser who was electric against the Chicago White Sox last week. This will be Houser’s first start against Minnesota.

Charlie.