Milwaukee Brewers embarked on what I’m calling ‘The Worst Road Trip Ever’ on Monday and played their first game last night. Milwaukee will be traveling to Oakland, Chicago then Pittsburgh in nine days. They play nine games. It’s the dumbest fucking thing ever. Especially when you consider that Milwaukee was just out in Arizona two weeks ago, wouldn’t have made sense to come directly to Oakland after? I digress. Brewers drop the first game thanks to Matt Olsen walk-off home run in the 10th inning off Josh Hader. It was not an expected outcome with Hader on the mound, but sadly, this has become something that’s happened more often than not.

Player of the Game: Matt Olsen – He had himself a night in a small dose. Olsen had an RBI double off Adrian Houser in the third inning to give Oakland their first run of the game then he added the walk-off winner in the 10th inning. He is having a similar year to last season despite missing nearly a month of games in April and May. He hit his 22nd dinger of the season, and he is only the fifth left-hander to go deep off Hader.

Honorable Mention: Orlando Arica – You will not see Arica with an RBI or a home run last night but I liked what I saw from him on Tuesday night. He had three hits and scored one run. They need more of those nights from Arcia. I’m not saying he needs to be a two or three hit guy every time out yet he cannot afford to fall into funks. It seems like that has improved from past years.

The Thing I Liked: Late inning heroics again – Even though the Milwaukee Brewers lost, they did try to make some late-game magic. Yasmani Grandal drove in the first run of the game in the eighth then Eric Thames tied in the ninth. I have to commend the Brewers on their ability to keep trying to fight and produce in late games. Trust me, teams know the Brewers have been good versus bullpens in the last few weeks.

The Thing I didn’t like: The Houser problem – For the first time all year, Adrian Houser looked like he belonged as a starting pitcher. He has electric stuff that we’ve seen out of the bullpen, and we finally saw it in the rotation. Houser made a case to get another start if Craig Counsell goes that route. But he is sorely missed in the bullpen. Part of me thinks you’re getting Houser in the 10th versus Hader, and that could have easily happened to him too yet it’s one less day you have to burn Hader.

Next up: Brewers will take on Oakland again. They’ll try to win the second game of the series which hasn’t been the easiest for them. They’re facing Brett Anderson who did not pitch well his last time out but looks to rebound. He is a big-time groundball left-hander so the Brewers may have to manufacture some runs. Brewers are giving the big TBD but many assume it’s Jordan Lyles.

Charlie.