When General Manager David Stearns brought Eric Thames into the fold with Milwaukee Brewers, people had questions for him. This is a first baseman getting a three-year deal for putting up absurd numbers in South Korea. Many people say Korean baseball league is like playing quadruple A so if a player can do it there, they can probably handle Major League Baseball. Thames proved Stearns’ investment this weekend in Cincinnati where he hit five home runs in four games leading to Milwaukee taking three of four games.

Sunday: Milwaukee 4 Cincinnati 2
Headline: Power is the name of the game – Milwaukee had only five hits in this game. Three of the five were home runs. Ryan Braun started off the scoring with a two-run blast then birthday boy Travis Shaw had his first positive impact on this road trip with a dong as well. Thames hit another big fly in the seventh to push the lead to two. Also, Wily Peralta pitched well for the third straight outing with six innings only making one real mistake.

Saturday: Cincinnati 7 Milwaukee 5
Headline: Bullpen falls apart as Brewers bats continue to mash – This was the first time manager Craig Counsell brought Thames out to face a left-hander, and he only faced Brandon Finnegan once as Reds pulled him after the first inning. Thames sent two deep in this one, but the pitching was bad for Milwaukee for the first time in nearly a week. Zach Davies scuffled again, but the bullpen was a bigger problem. Carlos Torres and Jerad Hughes both struggled in a major way. We’ll see how they’ll do next time out.

Next up: Milwaukee finishes up their road trip in Chicago for three with Cubs. This might be the right time to play Cubs after they’ve been swept by Pittsburgh Pirates at home this weekend. John Lackey grabs the ball on Monday while Brett Anderson and Kyle Hendricks go in the next two, therefore, Milwaukee avoids both Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester. Brewers get one game out of three it will be a successful road trip, so, win tomorrow and the next two days are gravy.

Charlie.