Milwaukee Brewers: 5 Offensive Numbers Creating Wins

Despite some ugly pitching, the Milwaukee Brewers’ offense has been diverse and consistent enough to push the club into first place.

It’s incredibly challenge to have sustained success if your pitching staff has allowed the highest opponent OPS (.801) in MLB and owns the 18th-highest ERA. However, an unrelenting barrage by the Milwaukee Brewers‘ lineup has led the team to a 25-19 mark – best in the NL Central.

April saw Korean import Eric Thames draw nearly all the attention. In fairness, his ridiculous opening month was the clear driving force behind the team’s 13-13 start.

Thames, seeing his first MLB action since 2012, owned a 1.276 OPS in April. He also set the franchise records for home runs (11) and runs scored (28) in the first month.

But the Brewers have a better record through May’s first three weeks, sitting at 12-6 for the month. This has been done in spite of the extended absences of Thames and Ryan Braun. And let’s not forget, Jonathan Villar has been far from great to start the year.

The offense is averaging 5.30 runs per game in 2017, ranked 3rd in MLB as of Monday morning. That doesn’t happen because of one or two players or because of one strength on the team.

There are a number of offensive statistics one could look at to figure out how this club can continue to post huge numbers. Five of those intriguing numbers are below, with each contributing to the success of the whole. The biggest question will be, “How long can it last?”

5 – Most Players with an .800 OPS or Better

This is how a machine keeps running consistently, even when missing key cogs. Milwaukee has 8 different players posting an .800 OPS or better (minimum 75 plate appearances), more than any other team in baseball.

Thames (1.094) and Braun (.903) are obvious ones. Travis Shaw (.882) and Domingo Santana (.810) should have been expected to be in this neighborhood as well. Even Hernan Perez (.821), when he got regular playing time in 2016, showed the potential to reach this mark – which he has so far.

Jesus Aguilar (.916), who was red hot in Spring Training and showed plenty of power, probably didn’t figure to have enough plate appearances. He has had to step up with Thames out and has continued the bashing from first base.

But the biggest surprise, maybe in the entire league, has been the catching duo of Jett Bandy (.878) and Manny Pina (.816). They both have been valuable sticks in the lower half of the order, and each added a game-winning hit to their resumes recently.

4 – Most Runs Scored in the 1st Inning

If you’ve watched a handful of games this season, you probably already knew this stat. However, that doesn’t make it less impressive. The Milwaukee Brewers have scored 45 runs in the opening frame this year (1.02 per inning).

Milwaukee has scored in the 1st inning in 19 of their 44 games – 43% of the time. In 13 of those games, they’ve tallied 2 or more runs, and scored 5 or more on three occasions.

It’s not rocket science to understand how getting off to a quick start leads to more victories. An early lead in baseball can dictate decision-making, build confidence, and put pressure on the opposition.

The ability to score early and often is especially important with a below-average (sometimes worse) pitching staff. Score first and give the hurlers some breathing room. If your pitcher gives up the first run or two, the offense can answer right back.

3 – On Pace to Break the Franchise Home Run Record

The Brewers have been the MLB home run leader for a vast majority of the season. As of Monday morning, they still held the top spot with 66 long balls – one better than the Washington Nationals.

Their torrid beginning has slowed lately, hitting just 1 home run in the last 5 contests. Part of that was ballpark factors playing in San Diego’s Petco Park and rainy, windy Wrigley Field. The other factor has been those missing at-bats from Braun and Thames.

Still, this offense is on pace to hit 243 home runs, which would be 12 better than the current record held by the 2007 squad (231). Playing mostly without Thames and Braun the past 10 days has certainly put a damper on the production. Their health will play a big role in reaching that feat.

However, the Brewers will only get there with continued power coming up and down the lineup. So far, 14 different players have a home run and 7 guys have hit at least 5 taters. It’s that sort of expanded output that has Milwaukee winning some games they shouldn’t.

2 – Most Runs Scored with Zero Outs in the Inning

Truthfully, I’m not really sure what the impact of this statistic is – but it was interesting. Normally it’s pointed out how well a team might do with 2 outs in an inning. That lends itself toward the idea of “clutch” and keeping a pitcher on the ropes.

The best theory in how this is related to the Brewers’ success is two-fold. For one, they are a quick-strike team as evidenced by their propensity to collect extra-base hits. They not only own the home run lead, but also have the highest percentage of hits that go for extra bases (42%).

Secondly, Milwaukee isn’t wasting outs on the bases. Last year – and a number of years prior – the Brewers sat among the league leaders in this category. Managers, including Craig Counsell, would claim it’s aggressiveness and that it created more runs than it lost. It’s been different this year.

The players appear to have a better handle on when to take those chances. Milwaukee has the 2nd-fewest outs on the bases in 2017, just 1 more than the stingiest team. That has played a role in maximizing outs and runs, and keeping pressure on the opposition.

1 – Most Games Scoring 6 Runs or More

This isn’t an advanced stat to understand, but it speaks volumes. Overall, the Brewers haven’t been the type of club to constantly go from 10 runs to 2 runs on a nightly basis. They have consistently put up runs, game in and game out.