Brew Crew impress with series win on the road against the Padres thanks to dazzling pitching from unlikely sources

The bright start to the season continues for the Brew Crew.

Despite injury troubles stressing them out, the Milwaukee Brewers picked up a surprising series win against the San Diego Padres. The Brewers went into San Diego and won three of four games thanks to some heroics from unlikely candidates.

Colin Rea’s gem on Thursday got the series started on the right foot, while Eric Lauer would follow with a solid performance of his own. After a loss on Saturday, Wade Miley led the bounce back with seven shutout innings in a 1-0 victory.

The Brewers now boast an 11-5 record through the first 16 games of the season. They hold the third best winning percentage in MLB, behind only the Tampa Bay Rays and the Atlanta Braves. Three games in Seattle will finish this road trip before an off day Thursday leads them into a long awaited home-stand.

Master Brewer Leaderboard (through 16 games)

(The Master Brewer Leaderboard is a season-long leaderboard tracking and ranking exceptional performances from Brewers players in the form of Master Brew Points 🍺, which at the end of the season will tally up to crown our Crewsing for a Brewsing Player of the Year.)

Wade Miley 🍺🍺

Miley went inning for inning with Yu Darvish to lead the Brewers to a narrow 1-0 victory. This is the second start this season that has seen him battle one of the best pitchers in baseball and come away with the victory. Through 18 innings, Miley has a 1.50 ERA with 14 strikeouts and three walks.

Rowdy Tellez 🍺🍺

I’d say Rowdy’s slump is long gone. Tellez lived on base against the Padres and added plenty of power to the mix as well. Rowdy finished the series 7-for-16 with a pair of walks, two runs scored, three homers, and seven RBI. His OPS is up to .882 after a slow start.

Colin Rea 🍺

The most surprising performance of the series goes to Colin Rea. After Eric Lauer’s start in San Diego was pushed back a day, on this podcast we were scrambling trying to think who the Brewers would call up to start the series opener. Enter Colin Rea. The baseball journeyman fired 5.2 innings with only one walk, two hits, and one run allowed. He’ll get a chance to follow it up on Tuesday as his performance earned him another turn in the rotation.

Eric Lauer 🍺

Eric Lauer bounced back from a tough second start by flummoxing his former team. Lauer worked six innings with just one run allowed on two walks and five hits. He also struck out five Padres.

Bryse Wilson 🍺

Another three inning save was in the cards for Bryse Wilson on Friday night. He followed Eric Lauer’s six innings and allowed just one run. Wilson’s ERA currently sits at 1.00 after nine innings pitched as a Brewer.

Devin Williams🍺

Devin Williams has still managed to not allow a run this season. His two scoreless innings in San Diego give him five scoreless frames to start the year. He pitched a clean 9th inning on Friday, before nailing down a rollercoaster save on Sunday. Every out he recorded in the series came via strikeout.

Peter Strzelecki 🍺

Peter Strzelecki also has a scoreless streak working to start the season. Across 7.1 innings pitched, he has a 0.00 ERA and has compiled three holds. Sunday saw Craig Counsell turn to him in the 8th inning, a role which has previously gone to Matt Bush.

Victor Caratini🍺

The trade for William Contreras in the offseason always meant Victor Caratini would have less playing time in 2023. That has been proven true, but Caratini played well in his limited opportunity this weekend. Caratini went 4-for-4 on Saturday and made an excellent defensive play, as he snagged a bunt directly out of the air for an out.

Luke Voit🍺

Jesse Winker’s illness meant Luke Voit was pressed into duty last week. Voit rose to the occasion, finishing the series 4-for-9 with one run scored and two RBI.

Leaderboard through 16 games

Garrett Mitchell: 🍺x5

Brian Anderson, Peter Strzelecki, Bryse Wilson: 🍺x4

Wade Miley, Brice Turang, Willy Adames, William Contreras, Devin Williams: 🍺x3

Joey Wiemer, Jesse Winker, Christian Yelich, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Gus Varland, Hoby Milner, Javy Guerra, Corbin Burnes, Rowdy Tellez: 🍺x2

Joel Payamps, Mike Brosseau, Colin Rea, Eric Lauer, Victor Caratini, Luke Voit: 🍺