Brewers working with fine margins as offense continues to misfire, latest Master Brewer update
The stress of Brewers viewing continues
Great wins and painful losses typify the past few days of Brewers baseball, and largely the team’s season to date.
With a 10-7 record, the Brewers are not in bad shape by any means and currently share the NL Central lead with the Cardinals, but there’s no mistaking the fact that Craig Counsell’s team need to start scoring some runs.
Milwaukee’s gifted pitching staff continues to win them games, but it’s also leaving no room for a bullpen drop-off, particularly on nights when star relievers are being rested. As such, the Brewers’ habit of entering late inning situations with a 1-0 or 2-0 lead thanks to outstanding pitching can quickly become precarious, and certainly isn’t all that great for the health of Brew Crew fans.
Andrew Snyder made his return to the hosting chair to talk through all of that with me, in spite of the fact he’s still in the UK as COVID-19 has left him stranded in a hotel for a few more days at least. With that in mind, please forgive the audio not being quite as crisp as usual.
Master Brewer Leaderboard
(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.)
Josh Hader 🍺
Now up to eight saves for the season having gone 2-of-2 in this four-game block, it’s approaching the point where it’s as simple as if Hader is in the game, the Brewers are going to win. Sure, that is what you want from a closer, but it’s hard to imagine anyone being as ruthless or efficient as he has been to start the season.
Eric Lauer 🍺
Did he get a helping hand from Angel Hernandez? Yes, but there were also instances were the wayward calls hurt Eric Lauer too. In spite of all of the uncertainty and chaos that the home plate ump brought to the closing game against the Phillies, Lauer allowed just five hits and a walk in a run-less six innings for Philadelphia. Even better, he set a new career-high with 13 strikeouts and also matched the Brewers record for single game strikeouts by a lefty.
Corbin Burnes 🍺
Another Corbin Burnes game with reliable excellence, even if on this occasion the bullpen let him down when his 6.2 innings at the mound came to an end. Giving up just two hits and two walks, Burnes allowed no runs for the Giants as he racked up 11 Ks of his own, and more generally showcased the full range of his control and the nasty range of pitches he brings in every appearance. Simply must-watch TV.
Leaderboard through 17 games
Rowdy Tellez, Corbin Burnes, Josh Hader: 🍺 x3
Brandon Woodruff: 🍺 x2
Willy Adames, Eric Lauer 🍺