The Sports Xchange
MLB Team Report – Milwaukee Brewers – INSIDE PITCH
The good news Sunday was that the Brewers won their third consecutive game from Philadelphia, 9-1 — their longest winning streak since taking nine in a row in early April.
The bad news was that Ryan Braun didn’t make it through three innings.
Braun was removed in the third because of continuing soreness in a right thumb that has bothered him for weeks and robbed him of his power. Braun batted just once, striking out in the first inning.
Prior to the game, Roenicke noted Braun’s thumb situation has become troublesome because some days his star left fielder appears OK and others you can see him struggling with his swings.
“We’ve got to figure out what to do there,” said Roenicke. “We’ve got to start going in the right direction with him, and sometimes it’s not (going that way).
“I’m hoping we don’t have to (put Braun on the disabled list) but we start making gains and he says, ‘Yeah, I feel really good today,’ and then all of a sudden it’s a bad day and a setback.
“We keep going back and forth with this. He’s out there playing, hitting third for us, and I expect the Braun that I’ve seen for the last two years, and he’s not the same. He’s still getting hits, he’s still helping us win games, but he’s not that guy that can carry a team like I know he can.”
Braun indeed has been impacted by the ailing thumb at the plate. He is batting .304 with nine home runs and 36 RBIs, certainly not awful numbers. But Braun has had to adjust his swing to compensate for the sore thumb and has not hit a home run in his last 65 plate appearances.
Braun has been one of the most feared sluggers in the National League since getting to the majors in 2007. He led the circuit with 41 home runs and a .987 OPS last season but has not been able to drive the ball with any authority in some time because gripping the bat with his top hand has been so painful.
———————————————–
MLB Team Report – Milwaukee Brewers – NOTES, QUOTES
RECORD: 25-37
STREAK: Won three
PAST 10 GAMES: 6-4
NEXT: Brewers (RHP Yovani Gallardo, 4-6, 5.25) at Marlins (RHP Ricky Nolasco, 3-6 3.61)
PLAYER NOTES:
–RF Norichika Aoki went 1-for-3 on Sunday with a walk and a run scored to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. Aoki is 13-for-41 during the streak and batting .336 with a home run and seven RBIs over his last 35 games.
–RHP Yovani Gallardo looks to avoid losing consecutive games Monday when he starts for the Brewers in the first of a three-game series at Miami. Gallardo took the loss his last time out, surrendering five runs on six hits in six innings of a 6-1 loss to Oakland and is 1-5 with a 6.21 ERA in his last seven starts.
–LF Ryan Braun was pulled for a pinch-hitter in the third inning due to a sore right thumb which has been bothering him for several weeks. Before the game, manager Ron Roenicke expressed concern about Braun’s condition, which is one reason Braun has gone 65 plate appearances without a home run
–RHP Hiram Burgos was scratched from his scheduled rehabilitation start Monday at Single-A Wisconsin after experiencing tightness in his shoulder during a throwing session Sunday. Burgos will attempt to throw again later this week and be reevaluated at that point. He has been on the disabled list since May 22 with a right shoulder impingement.
–INF Scooter Gennett hit his first career triple in the second inning Sunday, giving the Brewers nine triples in their last eight games. Milwaukee leads the National League with 24 triples on the season.
–RHP Jim Henderson returned from the 15-day disabled list and threw a scoreless ninth inning Sunday. Henderson has not allowed a run in his last eight appearances, holding opponents to just four hits and a walk while striking out six.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “Kyle’s a pretty confident guy but it’s still important to everybody. It was nice to give the bullpen a day and have everybody fresh for the Miami series. Anytime your starters throw well, guys feed off of that.” — Manager Ron Roenicke on RHP Kyle Lohse.
———————————————–
MLB Team Report – Milwaukee Brewers – ROSTER REPORT
MEDICAL WATCH:
–LF Ryan Braun (sprained right thumb) left the game June 9 in the third inning. He remains day-to-day.
–RHP Marco Estrada (strained left hamstring) was placed on the 15-day disabled list June 5, retroactive to June 4. He left the June 3 game.
–RHP Jim Henderson (strained right hamstring) went on the 15-day disabled list May 25. He was activated June 9.
–RHP Hiram Burgos (right shoulder impingement) went on the 15-day disabled list May 24. He will go out on a minor-league rehab assignment June 10 to pitch for Class A Wisconsin
–RHP Mark Rogers (right shoulder instability) went on the 15-day disabled list March 25, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on May 26.
–INF Taylor Green (labral tear and bone spurs in left hip) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on May 15. He had season-ending surgery April 23.
–LHP Chris Narveson (sprained left middle finger) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 7. He threw a bullpen session May 21 and batting practice May 24. He began a minor league rehab assignment at Triple-A Nashville on May 30.
–1B Mat Gamel (right knee surgery in March 2013) went on the 60-day disabled list March 20. He is out for the season.
–1B Corey Hart (right knee surgery in January 2013) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on April 9. He began running May 11 and the Brewers are hopeful he can begin a minor league rehab assignment by the end of May.
ROTATION:
RHP Yovani Gallardo
RHP Wily Peralta
RHP Kyle Lohse
BULLPEN:
RHP John Axford
LHP Michael Gonzalez
RHP Burke Badenhop
RHP Brandon Kintzler
RHP Alfredo Figaro
RHP Francisco Rodriguez
LHP Tom Gorzelanny
RHP Donavan Hand
RHP Jim Henderson
CATCHERS:
Jonathan Lucroy
Martin Maldonado
INFIELDERS:
1B Yuniesky Betancourt
2B Rickie Weeks/Scooter Gennett
SS Jean Segura
3B Aramis Ramirez
INF Juan Francisco
INF Jeff Bianchi
OUTFIELDERS:
LF Ryan Braun
CF Carlos Gomez
RF Norichika Aoki
OF Logan Schafer
———————————————–
