Put this guy away! This is probably what Brewers fans were screaming all night as Ben Sheets gave up five runs over six innings of work, on two big mistakes. The Houston Astros evened up this week's series by picking up five runs on a two-run triple and a three-run homerun en route to a 5-2 victory Tuesday night. Both hits came with two strikes and two outs.
Things looked bright early for the Crew, as Ray Durham led off the game with a quality AB and a single to center. JJ Hardy responded immediately with a solid double over the right fielder's head. Durham scored easily from first to give the Brewers lead, but JJ Hardy was thrown out easily trying to stretch a double into a triple against Hunter Pence. Pence threw out Hardy so easily, JJ had plenty of time to stop 10-12 feet short of the bag and pretend to try and get out of a run down. It was rough, and JJ knew it, especially after Prince Fielder hit a single to right two batters later. Base running is easily one of JJ's biggest flaws as a baseball player, so much so that BP had him as one of the 50 worst base runners in the league one year ago. The result, nevertheless, was missed opportunity number one.
The momentum continued in the second as the hottest Brewers, yes I said the hottest, Mike Cameron and Jason Kendall combined for a couple of hits. Mike Cameron's double scored Craig Counsell who reached on an error, and Kendall's single put runners at the corners with nobody out. Unfortunately, Astros' starter, Brian Moehler, would get out of the jam without any harm. Sheets popped out on a bunt attempt, while Durham and Kapler struck out. Missed opportunity two.
Instead of the game getting busted open early, the Brewers led only 2-0 after the first two innings. This has been a common occurrence with Ben Sheets on the mound. Plenty of opportunities, zero run support. And up until Tuesday night, Sheets has delivered his fair share of quality outings. This time, he just couldn't hang on though. Benny conceded singles to Humberto Quintero and Darin Erstad to put runners at first and second with two outs in the bottom of the second, bringing up the poor hitting Michael Bourn. Ahead 2-2 in the count, Sheets missed his spot by about a foot and hung a curve ball knee high on the inner half of the plate. Bourn took advantage and hit a triple to tie the game.
The Brewers attempted to respond in the bottom half of the inning, getting Cameron and Kendall to get on back to back yet again. After an awful call to have Sheets swing away with nobody out, Ray Durham hit a solid single to right field. Dale Sveum made one of his worst calls of the year and tried to send Cam home, but Cam was meat for the second out. Gabe Kapler's fly out ended the threat. Missed opportunity three.
Three strikes and you're out. The Brewers whiffed on all counts considering they got five hits from the bottom of their order, and managed only two runs. The Astros made it hurt in the sixth when Geoff Blum, who destroyed the Brewers the last time he was at Miller Park, hit a 1-2 something (it wasn't a fastball, and it was 89 MPH so it probably wasn't a changeup) right down the middle to right field and out of the ball park, making tomorrow's afternoon game the proverbial rubber match.
Records: Brewers (72-55); Astros (64-62)
Countdown to 92 wins: 20 wins, 35 to play
Scoreboard Watching:
Chicago Cubs (6.0 GU): Win -- CIN 0,CHC 5
St. Louis Cardinals (2.5 GB): Loss -- PIT 5, STL 1
Philadelphia Phillies (4.0 GB): Win -- WSH 4, PHI 5
Arizona Diamondbacks (6.5 GB): Win -- SDP 6, ARI 7
Florida Marlins (6.5 GB): Win -- FLA 6, SFG 0
Los Angeles Dodgers (7.0 GB): Loss -- COL 8, LAD 3
Down on the Farm:
It was a very slow day on the farm on Tuesday night, with the Nashville Sounds game being shortened by rain and Brevard County's game being completely postponed. Nevertheless, it shouldn't go unnoticed that Angel Salome was named the Southern League player of the week, collecting 13 hits in five games during the week. This puts Angel in line to be the first catcher wiin the batting title in the Southern League since 1998 (Jason LaRue). Jason LaRue turned into a pretty below average catcher in the bigs despite hitting like a monster in his early minor league years. His numbers dropped considerably when he jumped to AAA, sort of like Brad Nelson. Hopefully, Angel will make the transition a little smoother, considering he's definitely in the future plans of the Crew.
Also lost in the mix of the signing of first round pick of Brett Lawrie, the blood line of Cutter Dykstra, and the potential of Jake Odorizzi is 31st round draft pick Brandon Rapoza. Rapoza went to Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida for two years after two years of Community College and played out his senior year as the teams closer. He carried a 0.97 ERA during that senior season, tossing 37 innings and striking out 42. Since signing with the Brewers in early June, Brandon has had his ups and downs. After a few struggles at the AZ Rookie League, he has been a huge asset for the Helena Brewers in the Pioneer League, giving up two earned runs in 15.1 innings of work. While his walk numbers (6 BB/7 K) are a bit alarming, Rapoza's heavy fastball, which has resulted in a 2.36 GO/FO, could help him find a way to the big leagues. If the Brewers do move a minor league team to Appleton, it'll be a blast to see this young guy play next season.