St. Louis Cardinals punch back against the Milwaukee Brewers

Summary

The Cardinals coming off a doubleheader sweep at the hands of these same Milwaukee Brewers, and an overall 4-game losing streak faced yet another left-hander tonight in Kyle Harrison. He was not particularly sharp, giving up booming doubles to Jordan and Burleson that resulted in RBI along with a solo HR to Jose Fermin.

On the other side of the ledger, birthday boy (26) Michael McGreevy was very sharp. Arguably among one of the best games he has pitched as a big leaguer. Alec Burleson helped that along with a late 2-run HR to extend the lead to 5-0. The Brewers break thru against Gastelum for a single rally, but the Cards win 5-1.

• Harrison for the Brewers (a lefty) and a well-rested Michael McGreevy start tonight on the bump.
• A right leaning line-up tonight features Winn leading off (JJW gets a day), followed by Herrera (DH), Walker, Velazquez (LF), Burleson, Fermin (2b), Jordan (3b) and Nootbaar (CF).

• Interesting to take such a sub-optimal defense alignment to try and squeeze out a little offense with a pitch-to-contact pitcher.

• O’Brien, Soriano and Gastelum will be hot tonight in the bullpen. Unknown about Stanek. Graceffo, Svanson and Bruihl likely hands off. Romero likely in the prefer not to use category (16 pitches yesterday), but probably not hands off.

Harrison for the Brewers (a lefty) and a well-rested Michael McGreevy start tonight on the bump.

A right leaning line-up tonight features Winn leading off (JJW gets a day), followed by Herrera (DH), Walker, Velazquez (LF), Burleson, Fermin (2b), Jordan (3b) and Nootbaar (CF).

Interesting to take such a sub-optimal defense alignment to try and squeeze out a little offense with a pitch-to-contact pitcher.

O’Brien, Soriano and Gastelum will be hot tonight in the bullpen. Unknown about Stanek. Graceffo, Svanson and Bruihl likely hands off. Romero likely in the prefer not to use category (16 pitches yesterday), but probably not hands off.

In the first, Yelich singled, Bauers walked, and Mitchell got an infield hit but McGreevy worked around the early threat. Winn opens with a double, Ivan advances him and Walker drives him in with a double. Burleson defeats the “can’t hit lefties” narrative with an RBI double for an early 2-0 lead.

In the second Pratt singles, but Pages throws him out attempting to steal. Ortiz K’s. Jones K’s. The Cardinals go quietly in the bottom of two. That bottom of the line-up is not fear inspiring.

In the third, Yelich K’s. Chourio K’s. What is going on here? Bauers grounds out. In the bottom half, Winn lines out. So does Herrera. Walker gets on via E-4 on a 115 mph B.B. Cardinals have had five balls struck over 100 mph, so Harrison isn’t fooling many people. NV grounds out.

In the fourth, Contreras flies out. Mitchell grounds out. Lara K’s. McGreevy has now set down eight batters in a row. In the bottom, Burly grounds out, proving he can’t hit lefties. Fermin hits a homerun to extend the lead to 3-0. Jordan lines out. Nootbaar grounds out.

In the fifth, Pratt lines out. Ortiz grounds out. Jones pops out. Now eleven in a row. But the seventh inning looms. In the bottom half, Harrison is out and Anderson is in to pitch for the Brewers. Pages K’s. Winn grounds out. Herrera pops out.

In the sixth, Yelich grounds out. Chourio flies out and Bauers grounds out. That makes fourteen in a row set down by McGreevy. McGreevy seems intent to take the bullpen out of a seventh inning meltdown by pitching it himself. In the bottom half, Jordan leads off with an infield hit. NV K’s. Koenig now in for Anderson to face Burleson. Burleson greets him with a 2-run HR. 109 mph, 443 feet. Who says he can’t hit lefties? Fermin lines out. Jordan with an infield hit, breaking a long hitless streak. Nootbaar grounds out. Maybe he needs lessons from Burly on how to hit lefties.

Romero in for the eighth. Issues the obligatory first batter up against the lefty Yelich. I hate walks. But he gets the next three to keep the drama low. Cardinals go quietly in the bottom.

ROB in for the ninth. Other than a two out single to Pratt, no drama here either. Cardinals win 5-1.

McGreevy back out for the seventh at 83 pitches, working to protect a 5-0 lead. In ways, it feels like the Brewers have the Cardinals right where they want them. Out front but relying on their bullpen. Contreras flies out. Mitchell ends the streak at 15 in a row with a double. Lara singled, ending McGreevy’s night. Gastelum in his MLB debut. First and third, one out. A SacFly breaks the rookie in. A double puts two more runners in scoring position, but a comebacker ends the threat. In the bottom half, Stallings in. Pages K’s again. Winn K’s. Herrera K’s. 5-1 going into the 8th.

• Check out Today on the Farm – Wednesday 7.8 for updates on MiLB action.

• The Cardinals close out the Brewers series tomorrow, a night game.

• After watching, my view that the Brewers have pretty much outclassed the Cardinals in every aspect of the game. The Cardinals do some things well, but the Brewers do those things better. The Cardinals do some things not so well and the Brewers appear to have no such infirmities. Maybe a lack of power that will limit them come playoff time, but that is quibbling.

Check out Today on the Farm – Wednesday 7.8 for updates on MiLB action.

The Cardinals close out the Brewers series tomorrow, a night game.

After watching, my view that the Brewers have pretty much outclassed the Cardinals in every aspect of the game. The Cardinals do some things well, but the Brewers do those things better. The Cardinals do some things not so well and the Brewers appear to have no such infirmities. Maybe a lack of power that will limit them come playoff time, but that is quibbling.