Brewers look to pad wild card lead against Padres at Miller Park.
September 7, 2008
Strong starting pitching has helped the Milwaukee Brewers bounce back from a four-game losing streak.
Hoping to follow up consecutive successful starts from CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets, Manny Parra looks to help the wild card-leading Brewers to a third straight victory as they conclude their four-game home set with the San Diego Padres on Sunday afternoon.
Sheets allowed five hits while striking out seven in a complete-game, 1-0 victory on Saturday. The previous night, Sabathia yielded one run in seven innings of a 3-2, 11-inning win over the Padres (54-88) to snap a four-game skid.
Milwaukee (82-60) owns a 4 1/2-game lead in the NL wild-card race and is four games behind NL Central-leading Chicago.
“We’ve got a lot of starting pitching where we can sustain winning streaks and stop losing streaks,” Sheets told the Brewers’ official Web site.
Stellar work from the rotation has helped the Brewers overcome some weak hitting. They have failed to score more than three runs in any of their last four games, and five of their last six.
Parra (10-6, 4.10 ERA) has not earned a decision in either of his last two starts. He gave up four earned runs and six hits in five innings of a 6-5, 10-inning loss to the New York Mets on Tuesday.
“In my opinion, it was another subpar performance,” Parra told the Brewers’ official Web site. “I’m catching too much plate. Five innings is just not going to cut it.”
The left-hander, who won eight straight decisions from May 20-July 20 but has only one win in eight starts since then, will make his first career start against San Diego on Sunday.
The Padres are a major league-worst 16-34 when facing a left-handed starter.
Prince Fielder’s RBI ground out was the difference Saturday for the Brewers, who have scored 15 total runs while opening 2-4 in September.
“It’s just the nature of the game and the cycle of the game,” Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said.
The Brewers will try for an offensive resurgence while facing San Diego’s Chris Young (4-5, 4.91), who makes his second start since coming off the disabled list due to a strained right forearm.
Young, who hasn’t won since May 16, allowed four runs and six hits in five innings of a 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday - his first appearance since Aug. 10.
“It was really nice to be back out there. I missed it,” Young said. “Even though we didn’t win, it was still fun going out there and competing. I was a little bit rusty.”
The 6-foot-10 right-hander has made one career start versus Milwaukee, allowing two runs in six innings of an 11-inning, 4-3 loss to the Brewers last Sept. 29 at Miller Park.
Luis Rodriguez had three hits and rookie Chase Headley added two Saturday for San Diego, which has dropped five of its last six games and owns the worst overall record in baseball. Rodriguez is 6-for-13 with three doubles and two RBIs in this series.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Brewers extend wild card lead as Sheets shuts out Padres.
September 6, 2008
Ben Sheets’ at-bat in the second inning left him numb and could have been disastrous for Milwaukee. Fortunately for the Brewers, the feeling returned to his hand.
Sheets pitched a five-hitter for his career-high 13th win and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the San Diego Padres 1-0 on Saturday night.
But it came very close to turning out much differently.
With a runner at third and two outs in the bottom of the second, Sheets hit a bouncer back to Jake Peavy to end the inning. As Sheets walked off the field, his right hand was throbbing.
“Jake Peavy threw him a slider that he hit off the end of the bat,” Brewers manager Ned Yost said. “If you ever played baseball and got one of those real stingers in your finger, it hurts so bad from your fingers that you want to throw up.”
Sheets (13-7) didn’t complain, but before the Padres batted, he left the mound and knelt with his back to the plate.
Home plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth and Yost came out to talk with Sheets, who rapidly snapped the fingers on his right hand. After a bit, Yost returned to the dugout while Culbreth visited Padres manager Bud Black to explain the situation.
Yost said Sheets’ hand was totally numb and that he had no feeling in his fingers.
“I think he lost feeling in his fingers from his at-bat,” Black said. “The ball off the end of the bat, that can ring you. I think Fieldin just wanted to give him as much time to get the feeling back in his hands as to not put anybody in jeopardy if they got up there and Sheets couldn’t feel the ball.”
Sheets walked the next batter, but then slowly regained the feeling in his fingers and retired the following three.
“My fingers went numb and it took a pretty long time to get back the feeling,” Sheets said. “They gave me a little time, and it helped out a lot.”
He struck out seven in his fourth career shutout — third this season — and 18th career complete game.
Sheets outpitched Peavy (9-10), who allowed a run and five hits with four walks in seven innings. It was just the third time this season in 25 starts that Peavy walked four or more batters.
“Ben’s as good as anybody in the game when he’s on,” Peavy said after notching his 19th quality start of the year. “He’s dominating. Tonight, obviously he had it. Sheets was too good for us tonight.”
Black said that Peavy’s pitched well, but doesn’t have the record to show for his efforts.
“All year, the run support just hasn’t been there,” Black said.
The Padres had scored 3.69 runs per game to support Peavy, the fourth-lowest mark for any NL starter.
Prince Fielder’s RBI double in the third accounted for the only run for the Brewers, who fell five games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.
The Padres lost for the fifth time in six games.
Sheets is in his eighth season marked by six stints on the disabled list.
While he missed one start on April 23 due to soreness in his right triceps and left his last start early with tightness in his right groin, Sheets has otherwise stayed healthy this year. He threw 120 pitches in this one, 82 for strikes.
Sheets was 12-5 in 2007 and 12-14 in 2004.
In his last start Sept. 1, he allowed just two hits in five scoreless innings against the New York Mets. He left the game in a precautionary move when he felt tightness in his left groin.
Sheets retired nine of the first ten before Luis Rodriguez singled leading off the fourth. Sheets got the next seven before Rodriquez doubled with two out in the sixth. He also had an infield single to start the ninth.
Sheets had never beaten the Padres in four previous starts.
Chase Headley singled in the seventh and the ninth. His hit in the ninth advanced pinch runner Jody Gerut to third with two outs, but Will Venable grounded out to second as the sellout crowd of 42,667 screamed in support.
Fielder, whose last home run came on Aug. 13 off Josh Banks at San Diego, hit a line-drive double to right that scored Ryan Braun who was on with an infield hit in the third.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Brewers hand the ball to Sheets against Padres at Miller Park.
September 6, 2008
Ben Sheets appears to be fine and so do the Milwaukee Brewers.
After leaving his last start early due to a minor injury, Sheets is expected to be on the mound looking for a career high in wins while trying to help the Brewers to a second straight victory when they face Jake Peavy and the San Diego Padres on Saturday night.
Sheets (12-7, 2.97 ERA) allowed two hits in five scoreless innings and had retired 10 consecutive batters before being lifted for a pinch-hitter due to slight tightness in his left groin in a 4-2 loss to the New York Mets on Monday.
While the incident seemed like another setback for the oft-injured All-Star, it proved not serious enough for Sheets to miss Saturday’s start for the Brewers (81-60), who snapped a four-game losing streak with a 3-2, 11-inning victory over the Padres on Friday.
After cutting the Chicago Cubs’ lead to four games in the NL Central and remaining four up on Philadelphia in the wild-card race, the Brewers are confident Sheets can be effective Saturday.
“It’s not serious because I didn’t even go see the trainers (before Tuesday night’s game) and they didn’t come to me either,” Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said. “I don’t foresee any setbacks.”
The right-hander, who has missed just one start this season, has not allowed a run over his last 11 innings, but is 0-2 with an 8.46 ERA in four career starts versus San Diego. He gave up three runs in 6 2-3 innings of a 3-2 loss to the Padres on Aug. 14.
The Brewers struggled against Peavy (9-9, 2.69) in that contest and in their last two outings versus the 2007 Cy Young Award winner.
Peavy yielded a run and four hits while striking out eight in seven innings versus Milwaukee last month and has given up one run and six hits over his last 14 innings against the Brewers dating to last season. He is 3-2 with a 2.66 ERA in eight starts against Milwaukee.
The right-hander, though, has failed to earn a decision in his last two appearances overall, but shined in his last start, allowing five hits while striking out a season-high 13 in eight scoreless innings of a 2-1 win over Colorado on Sunday.
“It’s just been one of those years,” Peavy said. “I feel like I’ve thrown the ball fairly well. But, of course, the bottom line is 9-9. It’s not fun to be a .500 pitcher in the win-loss column.”
On Friday, J.J. Hardy singled home the winning run for the Brewers, who improved to 1-4 on a 10-game homestand that started with three straight losses to the Mets before a 5-2 loss in Thursday’s series opener with San Diego (54-87).
“Every game is important now and it felt good for us to get a win,” said Hardy, who is batting .370 with five home runs and 17 RBIs over his last 19 games, but is 1-for-8 versus Peavy.
Brian Giles went 4-for-6 and homered off Eric Gagne in the eighth inning Friday to prevent CC Sabathia from earning his 10th win since joining Milwaukee. Giles, who is 5-for-10 in the series, is batting .462 (12-for-26) with five doubles, two home runs and six RBIs against Sheets.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Brewers end 4-game slide with 11 inning win over Padres.
September 6, 2008
CC Sabathia was his usual dominant self Friday night, but the Milwaukee Brewers needed a clutch hit from shortstop J.J. Hardy to finally get a September win.
The Brewers, trying to make the playoffs for the first time in 26 years, beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 in 11 innings on Hardy’s RBI single. The win snapped the Brewers’ four-game losing streak and got them within four games of the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs, who lost to Cincinnati on Friday.
“I was just trying to see the ball and hit it hard,” said Hardy, who was 0-for-5 before his game-winning hit. “Every game is important now and it felt good for us to get a win tonight.”
Sabathia, who has not lost in 12 starts since he was acquired by the Brewers on July 7, gave up a run and five hits while striking out nine. He also had two singles and drove in a run.
He left with a 2-1 lead, but Brian Giles tied the game in the eighth inning, hitting reliever Eric Gagne’s second pitch into the right-field seats for his 11th home run, prompting loud boos.
In the 11th inning, backup catcher Mike Rivera led off the inning with a single off of reliever Brian Falkenborg (2-3). Craig Counsell reached on a fielder’s choice and moved to third on Ray Durham’s single. Hardy then hit a 1-2 pitch to left-field to drive in Counsell.
Brian Shouse (5-1) relieved David Riske with two runners on in the 11th inning and got a double play to get out of the inning to record the win.
It was Sabathia’s first start since his disputed one-hitter Sunday against Pittsburgh. Baseball formally denied the Brewers’ appeal of a play from the game in which Pittsburgh’s Andy LaRoche was awarded an infield single that Sabathia bobbled, and it stood as the only hit he allowed in the shutout.
It didn’t take long for Sabathia to give up his first hit Friday. On his third pitch of the game, Giles lined a solid single to right.
Sabathia said he almost felt a sense of relief when Giles got the single.
“I came in and told Rickie (Weeks) that there wouldn’t be any controversy today,” he said. “I just tried to go out there and battle and keep us in the game.”
Sabathia said he was not upset that Yost pulled him after seven innings, even though he did not end up getting the win.
“We won the game and that’s the most important thing,” he said. “In September, we’re just trying to get wins and get in the playoffs.”
Yost said he pulled Sabathia because he had “labored a bit” in the seventh inning and wanted to put his bullpen in a position to win the game.
“It was a grind,” Yost said. “It just shows you there are no easy games in September for anybody. That was a hard fought game.”
Josh Geer, making his second major league start for the Padres after being called up Aug. 29, pitched five innings, giving up two runs on seven hits.
“Geer did a good job of keeping us in the game,” said Giles, who had four hits. “That’s disappointing to loss, but we had our work cut out with him (Sabathia) on the hill.”
Padres manager Bud Black said Hardy’s game winning hit came on a good pitch from Falkenborg.
“Just good hitting,” Black said. “He got a pitch that he squared up on. That’s baseball.”
Jason Kendall’s RBI single in the second inning gave the Brewers a 1-0 lead. The Padres tied it on Adrian Gonzalez’s RBI fielder’s choice.
Sabathia helped his own cause in the fourth inning. With two outs, Bill Hall tripled. After Kendall was walked intentionally, Sabathia hit the first pitch back up the middle. Padres second baseman Edgar Gonzalez knocked it down, but could not make the play and Hall scored.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Brewers look to get back on track against Padres at Miller Park.
September 5, 2008
The Milwaukee Brewers felt CC Sabathia threw a no-hitter his last time out. They’ll be thrilled with a victory of any sort at this point.
Sabathia looks to continue his dominance of the NL and help the Brewers snap a four-game slide when they continue their four-game home series against the last-place San Diego Padres on Friday night.
The Brewers (80-60) lead the NL wild-card race by four games over Philadelphia, and Sabathia (9-0, 1.43 ERA) has been a big reason why. He has six complete games in 11 starts since Milwaukee acquired him from Cleveland on July 7 in a blockbuster five-player trade.
“The Sabathia investment feels pretty good right now. I think he’s been a huge boost for the team, not only on the field but in the clubhouse,” Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said. “He’s just really just a great guy.”
Sabathia, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, went the distance again Sunday, throwing a one-hitter while tying his season high with 11 strikeouts in a 7-0 win at Pittsburgh.
The lone hit Sabathia allowed came on a check-swing single back to the left-hander, who attempted to bare-hand the grounder only to misplay it. The play was ruled a hit, much to the dismay of the Brewers, who appealed to a scoring review committee to have it changed to an error and give Sabathia his first no-hitter. The committee upheld the original ruling Wednesday.
“It’s over,” said Sabathia, who won his second straight NL pitcher of the month award this week. “If I make the play, there’s no debate. So, it’s just one of those deals. My own fault, so there’s nobody to blame but me. Hopefully I get in a position to try and do that again one day. We won the game, we got a sweep. That was the most important thing.”
Milwaukee hasn’t won since Sabathia’s one-hitter, getting swept in three games by NL East-leading New York before falling 5-2 to San Diego on Thursday in the opener of this series.
Last year, the Brewers squandered an 8 1/2-game lead in the NL Central and missed the playoffs.
“I’m sure everyone knows the circumstance, where we are, whatever, but it don’t matter if you don’t play good baseball,” Brewers center fielder Mike Cameron said.
“Keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing until whenever, Sept. 28 or whatever it is. Then you look up and see where you’re at. I would think everyone here knows that this is a pretty damn good baseball team.
The Padres (54-86) are looking to build on Thursday’s victory, which snapped a three-game skid.
Josh Geer (1-0, 3.60), one of the organization’s top prospects, makes his second career major-league start.
The rookie right-hander’s debut began in shaky fashion Saturday, as he gave up hits to the first two batters. Geer got out of that jam, though, and wound up with two runs and five hits allowed in five innings of a 9-4 victory over Colorado.
“There’s a great confidence with the way he carried himself in the first inning,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “That was a great sign.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Brewers’ wild card lead is dwindling after 4th straight loss.
September 5, 2008
Mike Cameron and Jeff Suppan were each brought to Milwaukee for their postseason experience, and they both had the same message Thursday night.
“Keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing until whenever, Sept. 28 or whatever it is,” Cameron said. “Then you look up and see where you’re at. I would think everyone here knows that this is a pretty damn good baseball team.”
The stumbling Brewers just haven’t shown it on this homestand. Will Venable hit his first career home run and the San Diego Padres beat Milwaukee 5-2, handing the Brewers their fourth consecutive loss.
With all of the NL’s playoff hopefuls taking the day off, maybe Milwaukee should have, too, even with principal owner Mark Attanasio in the crowd. The Brewers’ wild-card lead was trimmed to four games over Philadelphia, and they fell five games behind NL Central-leading Chicago with 22 games left.
“I’m sure everyone knows the circumstance, where we are, whatever, but it don’t matter if you don’t play good baseball,” said Cameron, who signed with Milwaukee in the offseason and is being counted on to provide defense and leadership down the stretch after the Brewers collapsed last year.
Suppan (10-8), who left the Cardinals for a $42 million, four-year deal before the 2007 season, entered 5-0 with a 3.00 ERA in six starts since Aug. 1 but couldn’t stop the young Padres.
“That’s the season, you grind through it. When you learn that, you figure you just keep going until …” Suppan said, trailing off. “There’s so many different ways you can lead.”
Nick Hundley and Luis Rodriguez each drove in two runs for San Diego, which snapped a nine-game road losing streak and is tied with Washington and Seattle for the fewest victories in the majors.
“I know it’s been piling up,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “I don’t know what the number was. We haven’t been good on the road, especially considering our arrival time and coming against a team that if the season ended right now is in the playoffs. That’s a good club.”
San Diego got to Milwaukee just before the sun came up Thursday after a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers late Wednesday night, but it was the Brewers who looked jet-lagged after being swept by the New York Mets.
This loss was much more troubling than New York’s sweep.
Milwaukee squandered an 8½-game lead last summer and missed the playoffs, and while these Brewers seem more battle tested, after going 20-7 in August they’ve started September 0-4 — all at home.
“I don’t like it, I don’t think anybody likes it, but it is what it is and we start changing it tomorrow — hopefully,” Brewers manager Ned Yost said.
San Diego, mired in last place in the NL West, eliminated Milwaukee from postseason contention in its visit last year before the Brewers won the final two of the season to force the Padres into a one-game playoff with Colorado for the wild card that the Rockies won.
In this four-game series, only San Diego can play spoiler, but the Brewers’ problems were self-inflicted Thursday. Milwaukee stranded nine runners after leaving 26 on in the series against the Mets.
“That’s something again we talked about it going in cycles — we didn’t do a great job of it against New York and continued it again,” said Yost, whose club went hitless in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position. “You’re looking to get just that one big hit and it opens up the floodgates a little bit and we just didn’t get it tonight.”
Venable, who was called up from Triple-A Portland last Friday, went deep in the sixth in his sixth big league game. Suppan was chased minutes later after loading the bases on a single to Hundley, an error and an intentional walk. Rodriguez’s sacrifice fly off Guillermo Mota gave San Diego a 5-1 lead.
Hundley had a sacrifice fly in the second and a two-out RBI double in the fourth. Rodriguez’s fifth-inning single drove in Brian Giles, who slid in just around Jason Kendall’s tag at the plate.
Milwaukee had its chances, stranding two runners in the first, two in the second, one in the third, three in the fourth after loading the bases with one out and one in the ninth.
Shawn Estes (2-1), making his first start since May after being sidelined with a broken left thumb, allowed one run and seven hits over six innings for San Diego. Trevor Hoffman surrendered a leadoff single to Kendall in the ninth before finishing for his 28th save.
“I look at my team like this: If we don’t hit a guy good, it’s because he pitched good,” Yost said. “Really, because we can hit.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Mets take first two games of series against Brewers at Miller Park.
September 3, 2008
Now that major league rosters have expanded, the New York Mets have a bunch of new arms in their suspect bullpen.
It appears they plan to use ‘em, too.
Carlos Beltran hit a three-run homer, Endy Chavez drove in the decisive run in the 10th inning and New York beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 Tuesday night thanks to a stellar effort from its much-maligned bullpen.
Six relievers combined for seven shutout innings, helping the NL East leaders remain two games ahead of second-place Philadelphia. The Mets improved to 5-2 on their eight-game road trip against playoff contenders, winning for the 16th time in 21 games overall.
“When you have a number of pitchers like we have, and we have put most of them in somewhat stressful situations, you’re not afraid now to call them in those times,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “And you figure if you keep them short, keep them having some success, then the next time they go out there, they feel very confident about themselves. That’s the plan. Sometimes it goes well. Sometimes it doesn’t.”
Milwaukee’s wild-card lead was cut to 4½ games over the Phillies.
Still missing injured closer Billy Wagner, New York goes for a three-game sweep Wednesday in this potential postseason preview.
“We just have to keep playing good baseball down the stretch and put ourselves into position to win games, and we’ll win our share,” Manuel said.
Pinch-hitter Daniel Murphy opened the 10th with a single off Salomon Torres (6-4) and went to third when catcher Jason Kendall made a throwing error on Jose Reyes’ sacrifice bunt.
“It was a really, really tough play,” Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said. “Reyes is one of the fastest players in the league, so Kendall had to rush the throw. And it’s one of the toughest plays for a second baseman to make covering first. Kendall had to hurry and he just threw it on the foul side of the base.”
Murphy scored easily on Chavez’s sacrifice fly to right.
“I was just trying to put the ball in play and make something happen,” Chavez said.
Joe Smith (3-3) got the final out in the ninth and Luis Ayala pitched the 10th for his fifth save in six opportunities since coming to the Mets in a trade with Washington.
Ayala gave up a two-out double to pinch-hitter Brad Nelson, his first major league hit, and walked pinch-hitter Gabe Kapler before striking out Weeks.
“(The bullpen) came out and pitched the ball well,” said Weeks, who matched a career high with four hits. “You’ve got to tip your cap to them.”
New York lefty Jonathon Niese lasted three-plus innings in his big league debut. The 21-year-old Niese, starting in place of injured John Maine, gave up five earned runs and seven hits to go with four walks and two strikeouts.
“It’s the first one,” Manuel said. “You almost have to kind of throw that one out for him. You have to give him the benefit of the doubt. It was obviously a tremendous experience for him. The fact that we end up winning the game is the most important thing.”
Weeks hit Niese’s second pitch for a home run to left. Niese then walked the next two batters but got out of the inning by stranding runners at second and third.
New York took a 2-1 lead in the second on a run-scoring double by Fernando Tatis and an RBI groundout by Damion Easley.
Beltran, who left Monday’s game in the eighth with a bruised knee, gave the Mets a 5-1 lead with his 22nd homer in the third. New York has homered in 13 straight games.
Milwaukee tied the score at 5 in the fourth after Niese gave up hits to the first five batters.
Brewers starter Manny Parra hit a two-run double and J.J. Hardy drove in a run with a single that ended Niese’s night. Nelson Figueroa struck out Ryan Braun but walked Prince Fielder before Corey Hart tied the game with a single. Hardy, however, was thrown out at the plate on a strong throw from Beltran in center.
Parra tossed five-plus innings, giving up five runs — four earned — and six hits. He struck out six but has just one win in his last eight starts.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Brewers look to even crucial series with Mets at Miller Park.
September 2, 2008
The New York Mets probably would prefer not to have to dip into the minor leagues to find a starter for a critical September game against a fellow playoff contender.
Calling up their top pitching prospect should make them a bit less apprehensive.
Jonathon Niese, a 21-year-old left-hander, will make his major league debut Tuesday night at Miller Park as New York tries to build off its series-opening win against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Mets (77-61) have one of the best rotations in the National League, but it looked like their starting five would take a hit last week when John Maine went on the disabled list with a bone spur in his pitching shoulder.
Maine has had a solid season (10-8, 4.18 ERA) in the rotation, but on Tuesday New York will turn to a pitcher with a significantly higher upside. Niese was one of the most sought-after prospects in baseball near July’s non-waiver trading deadline, but the Mets refused to part with the young southpaw in a deal to strengthen its lineup or its shaky bullpen.
A seventh-round pick in 2005, Niese jumped from Double-A to Triple-A earlier this season, and he pitched well in New Orleans, going 5-1 with a 3.40 ERA. Now, he’ll take the mound for the Mets, who lead Philadelphia by two games in the NL East.
“We think very highly of Jonathan Niese,” vice president for development Tony Bernazard said Sunday. “He’s a 21-year-old that we expect to be an important member of this organization.
“You have to perform at some point, and it happens to be Tuesday against a very good team. Let’s see what he has. We’ll find out a lot about where we’re at with him in the next month.”
The Mets are off to a fine start in September after taking the opener from wild card-leading Milwaukee (80-57) on Monday, 4-2.
New York’s bullpen, missing closer Billy Wagner, has been maligned for its struggles all season, particularly in terms of costing ace Johan Santana wins. The Mets trailed 2-1 when Santana exited Monday, but they took advantage of the Brewers’ relievers after starter Ben Sheets left with tightness in his left groin. They scored once in the seventh and three times in the eighth - including a two-run Carlos Delgado homer off of Eric Gagne - to seize the victory.
Delgado has more homers (20) and RBIs (60) than anyone in the NL since June 27.
“Carlos has been amazing,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “If he’s swinging it well, he seems to come up at the right time and put a good swing on it. He’s been outstanding.”
While the Brewers spent Sunday worrying about CC Sabathia being denied what they perceived as a no-hitter in Pittsburgh, they face a far bigger concern after Sheets - who has a history of injuries - exited what was a promising outing on Monday.
Any injury to Sheets will put more pressure on Manny Parra (10-6, 4.00). Parra, a rookie left-hander, began the season 8-2, but he’s just 2-4 with a 4.44 ERA since the All-Star break.
He was outstanding in his latest start, but Milwaukee’s bullpen couldn’t hold a lead for him. Parra gave up a run over six innings Wednesday at St. Louis, striking out seven, and left with a 3-1 lead. But the Brewers allowed the Cardinals to score four times in the eighth and Parra was left without a decision in the 5-3 loss.
“Manny pitched great,” manager Ned Yost told the team’s official Web site. “He was on the attack and right after them.”
Parra gave up three runs in four innings in a 4-2 loss at Shea Stadium on April 11, his only start against the Mets.
New York has won 10 of 13 on the road.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Gagne blows golden opportunity for Brewers in loss to Mets.
September 2, 2008
The shadows in late afternoon at Miller Park can be brutal to hitters, but Carlos Delgado made good contact anyway.
Delgado’s two-run homer off Eric Gagne in the eighth inning propelled the New York Mets to a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday.
“Probably the worst shadows that I’ve been involved with since I’ve been in professional baseball, but it goes the same way for both teams,” Delgado said. “It was pretty tough, but whatever. We got it done.”
The Mets had little success against Ben Sheets, but the Brewers’ right-hander left the game after five scoreless innings as a precautionary measure with tightness in his left groin. New York then battered six Milwaukee relievers for four runs on seven hits and four walks in the final four innings.
“He’s one of our top pitchers,” Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said of Sheets. “Do you wanna take a chance of losing him? I don’t. I take no chances with starting pitchers this time of year. Very, very slight, started to get some tightness and I’m not taking a chance of him pulling it.”
It was the fourth win in five games for the Mets, and all four victories have been comebacks.
“Good teams do this,” Delgado said. “It’s important. It shows that you can do it. Ideally, you want to be ahead but if you’re not you’ve got to put together some good at bats, get some base runners and come up with a big hit. It says a lot about the character and the will we have with this ballclub.”
It was Delgado’s 462nd career homer, tying him with Jose Canseco for 31st place on the all-time list.
“Obviously, it’s flattering,” Delgado said. “I’m going to play a couple more years, so I’m not so concerned with the guys on that list.”
The Mets first baseman has 20 homers and 60 RBI since June 27, the most of any NL player in that time.
“Carlos has been amazing,” New York manager Jerry Manuel said. “If he’s swinging it well, he seems to come up at the right time and put a good swing on it. He’s been outstanding.”
While the Milwaukee relievers imploded, the beleaguered Mets bullpen pitched three shutout innings. Nelson Figueroa (3-3) pitched a scoreless seventh to earn the victory in relief of Johan Santana. Luis Ayala pitched the ninth for his fourth save in five chances.
“They stepped up and attacked the hitters,” Manuel said. “Threw strikes. I felt that going in, a lot of our right handers appear to match up well with this team. They’re a very aggressive hitting club. We were able to get it done.”
Gagne (4-3) gave up three runs and four hits in the eighth. He has a 6.81 ERA this year after signing a $10 million, one-year contract with the Brewers.
Trailing 2-1, Daniel Murphy greeted Gagne with a double. One out later, Delgado hit his 31st home run of the year to give New York a 3-2 lead.
“He was trying to make an 0-2 pitch, and it got too much of the plate,” Yost said. “He wasn’t even trying to throw a strike. He just didn’t hit his spot. He didn’t execute.”
Carlos Beltran singled and scored on Ryan Church’s double to the center-field wall, increasing the Mets’ lead to 4-2. Beltran later left the game with a bruise behind his right knee suffered when colliding with home plate umpire Ed Rapuano while sliding into home.
Tony Bernazard, the Mets’ vice president of player development, said Beltran was day-to-day and the injury did not appear to be serious.
“He’s sore, but he should be fine,” Bernazard said.
Santana pitched six innings, giving up two runs and seven hits. He struck out 10.
Sheets had given up only two hits and a walk before being pulled. The right-hander — counted on along with CC Sabathia to lead the Brewers back to the playoffs for the first time since 1982 — put on a team jacket and stayed in the dugout talking with Yost and pitching coach Mike Maddux after leaving the game.
A year after blowing a seven game lead in the final 19 days of the season, the Mets fell behind quickly in their first game of September. Milwaukee made it 1-0 in the first when J.J. Hardy’s liner to left hit off Murphy’s glove and rolled into the left-field corner. Murphy slipped on the warning track and Hardy slid into third with a triple.
Ryan Braun followed with a double to left to make it 1-0.
Santana balked with Prince Fielder on third in the sixth, giving the Brewers a 2-0 lead.
The Mets scored their first run in the seventh on reliever Mitch Stetter’s wild pitch, allowing Beltran to score from third. Stetter then got Jose Reyes to fly out with runners on second and third to preserve the lead.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Brewers appeal ruling in Sabathia’s one-hitter against Pirates.
September 1, 2008
Nobody in the Brewers organization will have trouble remembering CC Sabathia’s start Sunday in Pittsburgh as one of the best pitching performances of the year.
But how will history remember it?
The Brewers will be filing a formal appeal to Major League Baseball in an effort to overturn a scoring decision in the fifth inning, when Andy LaRoche hit a check-swing dribbler back to Sabathia. The left-hander bobbled the ball, and LaRoche was credited with the only hit of the game.
Sabathia struck out 11 and essentially allowed only two well-struck balls all day, both right at infielders. A different ruling would amount to the second no-hitter in club history and first since Juan Nieves in 1987.
Media relations director Mike Vassallo said he did not know how long the appeal process will take, though his office will send a DVD of the play and proper documentation to MLB’s office in New York via priority mail, likely to arrive no later than Wednesday morning.
The league, after considering the evidence submitted by the Brewers, may overturn a decision through the two-year-old appeal process. Under MLB rule 10.01, “The League President, after considering the evidence submitted and any other evidence he wishes to consider, may request that the official scorer change a judgment call or, if the League President concludes that the judgment of the official scorer had been clearly erroneous, may order a change in a judgment call.”
Pittsburgh official scorer Bob Webb offered an explanation of what he saw on Sunday, when he ruled the play a hit almost immediately and declined to change his ruling after viewing replays.
“Even if he comes up with the ball cleanly, in my estimation, he’s got more than ordinary difficulty in getting the runner at first base,” said Webb, who described the ball as “spinning” when Sabathia approached it.
Brewers manager Ned Yost did not see it that way.
“It’s not a very good explanation in my mind,” Yost said. “No. 1, the ball was not spinning; the ball was rolling. There’s a huge difference. It’s a lot easier for a left-handed pitcher to go to the third-base line and make that throw than a right-handed pitcher. The explanation didn’t cover it for me, but again, that’s water under the bridge and it’s all said and done.”
Brewers official scorer Tim O’Driscoll, in his 21st year at the position, said he saw the play differently, though he said the only opinion that mattered was Webb’s.
“If CC fields with his glove, which he should have done, there’s no question about anything because the guy is out by 15 feet,” O’Driscoll said. “With normal effort, should an out have been made? In my opinion, it was [with] normal effort. He had plenty of time to throw him out.”
O’Driscoll admitted he was glad to not be in Webb’s shoes.
“I know without question, the rest of the game, he was just praying someone would get a base hit,” O’Driscoll said. “The official scorer in any city does not want to become the center of a controversy. It’s like a referee or umpire, we don’t want anybody to notice us. We want to go home quiet and not have a controversial situation.”
The situation is not entirely lost on O’Driscoll. During his first season in the official scorer’s capacity, O’Driscoll oversaw the game that snapped Paul Molitor’s 39-game hitting streak in 1987. Indians first baseman Pat Tabler dropped a throw from third base, allowing Molitor to reach on an error, and Molitor never got another chance at the dish. Rick Manning singled in the winning run in the ninth with Molitor on deck.
“Unlike a 300th win, which Nolan Ryan was going to get eventually, or Robin Yount’s 3,000th hit,” O’Driscoll said, referring to other events that took place in Milwaukee, “with Molitor, you were sitting on every at-bat. I just couldn’t take a piece of coal and turn it into a diamond.”
O’Driscoll said he was surprised Webb made his decision so quickly, though he conceded there were times when a call needed to be made based on original reaction.
Yost said Monday an overturning of the ruling would offer limited consolation.
“Yesterday was the day it should have been a no-hitter,” Yost said. “It takes away from that aspect. The celebration with your teammates, the excitement of our plane ride home yesterday, that’s all gone. So whatever they call it, they missed their opportunity to do it right.”
The Brewers were able to overturn a scorer’s ruling earlier in the year, when Prince Fielder was retroactively charged with an error in Houston on a dropped throw to first base. Astros outfielder Michael Bourn was initially given an infield single, and Guillermo Mota went on to allow two runs. The earned tallies were later changed to unearned, dropping Mota’s ERA by half a run.
Vassallo said the league took two weeks to respond to that appeal before making a change, and did indicate the official scorer had been involved in the decision-changing process. No known precedent exists for the retroactive awarding of a no-hitter.
Hookscenter.com wire report (Radcliffe).