Milwaukee Brewers Week in Review: Taking the Road by Storm

What a difference a week made for the Milwaukee Brewers. After a 2-5 start at home, the Crew was nearly perfect to open their first road trip of the season.

Sparked by strong starting pitching and plenty of power at the plate, the Milwaukee Brewers came within a few runs of an unblemished 6-0 mark in week 2. Going 5-1 to start the away schedule is a terrific way to gain some confidence.

This club has talent, but as with many inexperienced clubs, they’ll be a bit inconsistent. So, as bad as the 2-5 opening week may have felt, their trip to Toronto and Cincinnati again shows why the 2017 Brewers will be fun to watch.

No one should be surprised by the offensive output – though a couple of guys have outperformed expectations to start. However, the pitching staff has been impressive and been the biggest key to Milwaukee’s success this pas week.

Series Recap

Swept 2 games on the road from the Toronto Blue Jays (W-W)
Won 3 of games on the road against the Cincinnati Reds (W-W-L-W)

This week’s record: 5-1 (7-6 overall)

Three Up

Eric Thames was absolutely white hot, showing why GM David Stearns took the chance on the Korean import. He ripped 5 home runs in the 4-game series in Cincy, posting a 1.200 slugging percentage and .672 wOBA – both tops in MLB.
- Thames became the first player in club history to hit 5 home runs in his first 10 games with the Brewers.
- Through Sunday, Thames is tied for the MLB lead in home runs (6) and has the highest OPS among all qualified hitters in baseball (1.376 OPS).
A three-headed monster has emerged in the back of the Brewers’ bullpen with Jacob Barnes, Corey Knebel and Neftali Feliz slamming the door from the 7th inning on.
- The trio didn’t give up a single run across 9 innings, struck out 10 (just 2 walks) to collect 3 saves and 5 holds.
- Through the team’s first 13 games, this group has giving up 1 run over 18.2 innings (0.48 ERA) with 20 punch outs.
Milwaukee Brewers’ starting pitching often set the tone this week. The group went 5-0 with a 3.00 ERA, this while pitching in the band box of Great American Ballpark and facing the Jays’ always dangerous lineup.
- Jimmy Nelson and Chase Anderson were the dominant hurlers. They combined to go 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA, 12 strikeouts and only a pair of walks.
- Wily Peralta and Tommy Milone weren’t great, but they kept the team in games. If they continue to average about 6 innings and 3 runs per start, Milwaukee will be happy.

Three Down

Zach Davies’ early-season struggles continued in his one start this week. He got a no-decision, but gave up 3 runs in just 5 innings. He also allowed 5 hits and a pair of walks in the Crew’s only loss of the week.
- Davies has already given up 8 free passes in 14.1 innings of work. His 5.02 BB/9 and 11.3% walk percentage are both more than twice his rates from last season.
- It’s not just the walks that are hurting. With 13.2 hits per nine innings, Davies’ WHIP now sits at 2.023.
As the main outfield reserve, Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a rough week. He went 0-for-8 with 5 strikeouts, including 3 whiffs on Sunday.
- Nieuwenhuis is now 1-for-21 to open the season. He has gone 0-for-13 with a walk and 8 strikeouts in his last 7 games played.
- His -0.2 WAR was the worst on the team this week.
After a nice start against Toronto (2-for-5, HR, SB), Keon Broxton went 2-for-15 with 6 whiffs and no walks.
- In his last 4 games, Broxton has a .388 OPS and zero stolen bases.
- He has made contact on just 73.9% of balls in the zone, the lowest among qualified Brewers this week.

Browsing the Box Scores

6-0: Milwaukee has this record in games that catcher Manny Pina gets the start. Pina owned a 1.401 OPS in those 4 contests this week, collecting 3 hits on Tuesday and 4 more on Friday. For the season, Pina has a .462/.481/.654 slash line, is tied for the club lead in doubles (5), and owns a 0.8 WAR (2nd on team).
33%: This is the amount of time that Jonathan Villar has failed to make contact when he swings in 2017. He has the 9th-highest swing and miss percentage in MLB this year, as he has the 2nd-most strikeouts through two weeks (21).
22: That number is the home run total for the Milwaukee Brewers. Their 22 dingers is tied with the New York Mets for the most in MLB. Milwaukee blasted 12 homers this week alone, led by Thames’ 6 and Ryan Braun’s 4 home runs

Looking Ahead

The Milwaukee Brewers are heading to Wrigley Field on Monday for the 3-game set with the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs (puke!).