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Gallardo’s troubles with Cardinals continue
So is it just one of those things where the Cardinals have Gallardo’s number?
“It might be,” he said. “That’s how this game is, this game is kind of — it’s weird.”
Things went bad early for Gallardo on Wednesday, as he allowed four runs on four hits to put his club in a big hole early. Gallardo gave up a leadoff single to Rafael Furcal, threw a wild pitch to allow Furcal to move to second, and then gave up a double to Jon Jay which put St. Louis on the board.
Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols came up next and promptly hit a ground-rule double. Gallardo followed that with a pair of walks and a double play, but another double added the fourth run before Gallardo escaped with two runners on base.
This wasn’t the first time Gallardo has struggled through the first inning this season, though. In his 33 regular-season starts, Gallardo posted a 5.73 ERA in the opening frame, his highest mark for any inning.
Gallardo has no more than four career losses against any other team, and he has a losing record against just six of the 21 teams he’s had at least one start against in his career. In his 12 starts against the Cards, Gallardo has allowed 43 earned runs, seven more than against any other team.
“I can’t explain it,” catcher Jonathan Lucroy said. “If he pitches against these guys like he pitched against the Diamondbacks, they’ve got no chance. Bottom line. Period.
“He was just a little off. Sometimes he gets a little off.”
Those times just seem to always come when Gallardo is facing St. Louis.
Twelve starts against the Cardinals is tied for Gallardo’s most against any opponent, along with the Astros. He’s also had 11 starts apiece against the Reds and Pirates, and 10 against the Cubs. Those four teams have combined for 98 earned runs against Gallardo, an average of 24 1/2 runs.
Gallardo also has more losses in Busch Stadium than anywhere but his home ballpark. In six starts at St. Louis, Gallardo has a 1-4 record with a 4.54 ERA.
He has a higher ERA at six other ballparks — Dodger Stadium, Fenway Park, Coors Field, Nationals Park, Citi Field and Target Field — but Gallardo has gone a combined 2-6 in 14 starts on the road against those teams.
But it’s not like Gallardo has never shown the ability to beat the Cardinals. He does have that one win, which came earlier this season in St. Louis. Gallardo no-hit the Cards through seven innings, finishing with eight shutout innings of one-hit baseball.
“It seems like it’s going to be one way or the other, good or bad [against St. Louis],” Gallardo said. “As a starter, you can’t think about things like that. Whether you’re 6-0 against a team or 1-8.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Brewers notes 10/11
Shifting infield has its advantages for Brewers
ST. LOUIS — Only one team shifted its infield defense more often than the Brewers in the regular season, and no team did so more often against right-handed hitters.
Trailing only Tampa Bay, Milwaukee shifted on 157 balls in play during the regular season, according to Baseball Info Solutions.
For the Brewers, shifting their infield has to do with more than just overloading one side against pull-hitting sluggers. It’s a key element of their defensive strategy.
“We don’t want to cover areas where the guy rarely hits the ball. We want to take away as many hits with ground ball outs as we can,” said Brewers infield coach Garth Iorg. “There’s a lot of balls we take away [with the shift] that nobody even realizes.”
An excellent example of that came in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, as a perfectly positioned infield helped reliever Takashi Saito get a crucial double play on a grounder by Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols.
But like any strategy, it does not always work out as planned.
Even if a player hits the ball to one side 90 percent of the time when it’s on the ground, that still leaves the 10 percent of balls that can get through an exaggerated shift. The first two games of the NLCS also have provided examples of that.
As second baseman Rickie Weeks shifted up the middle Sunday in the first inning, Matt Holliday delivered an RBI single through the right side of the infield that likely would have been an out had Weeks been in his usual position.
With three Brewers infielders playing on the right side of second base, Lance Berkman led off the fourth inning of Game 1 with a single on a hanging curveball, slapping a soft grounder to where the shortstop normally would be — just past third baseman Jerry Hairston Jr.
“When you do that, some days you’re going to look bad,” Iorg said. “That was a little hanger that [Berkman] swung, hit off the end of the bat and cued it over there. And that’s going to happen. Sometimes you’re going to look silly, but we’re willing to risk that.
“I hope that [Berkman] hits the ball to left field all series. That would be fine with us.”
Hairston, who was acquired from the Nationals in late July, said he has not noticed the Brewers shifting any more than other clubs he’s been on.
But he certainly thinks the strategy works.
“If he wants to pepper it the other way for a hit, that’s better than him driving it for a double or a home run,” Hairston said. “We want to take their advantages away. If Lance hits a ground ball toward the left side, that’s a plus for us because he’s not driving the baseball. We’d probably prefer that than him hitting a double somewhere.”
La Russa: Brewers, Cards are like twins
MILWAUKEE — A lot has been made of the rivalry between the Brewers and Cardinals this week, especially the perception that the teams do not like each other.
But even if they do not always get along, the two teams have proven to be evenly matched, splitting their 20 games this season, including the first two of the National League Championship Series.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa even went so far on Tuesday to say the two clubs were nearly identical.
“I think we are so similar — like twins,” La Russa said.
“And the Brewers, they have grown up. Every year, they are a year older, and now they are as good as anybody. They are very dangerous to play against, they have a lot of weapons. … So I think they are a lot like us. I think it’s a very even series.”
Weeks starting to find groove at plate
Batting fifth in the Brewers’ order, Weeks’ bat is one Milwaukee could really use.
“I’ve always got confidence,” Weeks said. “I’ve been swinging the bat pretty good, I think. … Of course I’d like to see some results.”
In Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Monday, Weeks got his second hit in as many days, a no-doubt two-run homer that put the Brewers back within striking distance of the Cardinals in the fourth inning.
It was his first career postseason home run, and Weeks picked up his second and third RBIs of his 10-game postseason career. Along with the home run, Weeks hit a double in Milwaukee’s six-run fifth inning in Game 1 of the series and had an RBI triple in Game 2 of the NL Division Series.
The part of the cycle Weeks doesn’t have in the postseason is a single.
“What he’s doing right now on that ankle is impressive,” said Brewers slugger Prince Fielder.
“Rickie’s tough. What he’s doing, you couldn’t ask somebody to do that. But he’s willing to do it for the team, which is just really awesome.”
Since returning Sept. 10, Weeks has just 12 hits in 62 at-bats. Before the injury, Weeks was batting .272 with 19 home runs and 43 RBIs.
Including the final three regular-season games, Weeks is batting just .111 over his last 36 at-bats. But the encouraging thing for Weeks and the Brew Crew is that the four hits have all gone for extra bases.
Along with the three postseason hits, Weeks blasted a home run in Game 161 of the regular season off the left-field NYCE Stadium Club in the third deck.
If he can put a few more of those hits together, and perhaps a two- or three-hit game sometime this series, it could make a very big difference in the Brewers’ lineup.
“Rickie’s a great player, man,” said Milwaukee third baseman Jerry Hairston Jr. “I know he missed a lot of time. Anytime you miss close to two months, your timing is going to be off. Obviously he’s not completely 100 percent yet. But we definitely need him. He’s a great player.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Brewers notes, 10/10
After scare, Axford good to go for Brewers
MILWAUKEE — Brewers closer John Axford said he didn’t worry overnight about his availability for Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, but his manager did.
Axford was struck on the right forearm and hip by a line drive on the final play of Milwaukee’s Game 1 win. An X-ray after the game was negative, but Axford was not cleared for Monday’s Game 2 until he participated in an afternoon throwing session at Miller Park.
“I’m good to go,” Axford said. “There wasn’t any worry on my side. I knew after I got in there with the trainer and we took the precautionary X-ray, it was going to be OK.”
Axford threw a variety of pitches in the bullpen on Monday afternoon and checked out. That came as quite a relief to manager Ron Roenicke.
“I was concerned overnight that thing was going to swell up more and [he wouldn’t] be able to throw,” Roenicke said. “Last night, I was encouraged, though, when I left here by what [head athletic trainer] Roger [Caplinger] had to say about it. And Ax was feeling pretty good, too.
“I knew it was hit hard, and it looked like it hit him somewhere around the arm. I saw it right away; it got him pretty good. Very happy to see that he’s OK today.”
Axford’s save was his second in the postseason, to go with a club record 46 in the regular season, tied with Atlanta’s Craig Kimbrel for the most in the NL. Axford had converted 44 consecutive saves, including his first in the postseason, before surrendering the tying run in Game 5 of the NL Division Series against the D-backs.
Prince shows off his defensive skills
MILWAUKEE — Whether they’re towering fly balls or screaming line drives, Prince Fielder is best known for hitting home runs. But he showed Sunday he could play a little defense, too.
With no outs and a runner on second in the top of the fifth, Fielder made an impressive diving stop, robbing Jon Jay of a hit and a likely RBI.
“Anytime I can help on defense, it is good,” Fielder said. “I’m not the greatest defender, by any means, but anytime I can help on both sides of the ball, it’s good. Because sometimes you’re not going to hit, so you’ve got to pick it up on defense.”
Of course, with his go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning, Fielder reminded everyone of what he could do with the bat as well.
But considering how much more often Fielder hits big home runs, the diving stop was more impressive. Thanks to his diving stop, the Brewers and starter Zack Greinke managed to escape the fifth inning with just one run scoring, keeping the game within three runs.
“I think sometimes people underestimate his athleticism and his defense,” said left fielder Ryan Braun. “He’s made a lot of good plays for us this year.
“That’s a big play in that situation, especially when you’re headed for [Albert] Pujols, [Lance] Berkman and [Matt] Holliday. The least amount of guys on base possible for them is certainly advantageous for us.”
Nursing hand injury, Hawkins now available
MILWAUKEE — It’s been more than a week since LaTroy Hawkins last pitched, as a result of a hand injury suffered in Game 2 of the National League Division Series.
But with Hawkins being a relief pitcher, the injury went unnoticed by everyone other than the Brewers as he missed four games.
“You guys finally figured it out,” Hawkins said when asked about the injury Monday afternoon. “It’s old news now for me.”
A liner off the bat of D-backs catcher Miguel Montero caught Hawkins on his right hand, and the pain in his fingers prevented him from pitching. He has been available for the last two games, but just has not been used.
Said manager Ron Roenicke: “He’s back on track now where we don’t need to try to stay away from him anymore.”
Brewers notes, 10/8
Roenicke hasn’t decided on Wolf or Marcum for Game 2
MILWAUKEE — Not needing to use Zack Greinke in relief for Game 5 of the National League Division Series made things a lot easier for Brewers manager Ron Roenicke.
Now that Greinke can pitch Game 1 of the NL Championship Series against the Cardinals on Sunday, the only games Roenicke has to worry about are Games 2 and 4.
“If we would have used [Greinke] last night, we would have had some tough calls on how we run this rotation through the series,” Roenicke said. “But the way it is now, it works out well.”
Greinke is set for Game 1, and Yovani Gallardo is Milwaukee’s probable Game 3 starter. If the series goes the distance, Greinke and Gallardo would pitch Games 5 and 7, respectively. That leaves right-hander Shaun Marcum and lefty Randy Wolf for Games 2, 4 and 6.
Marcum had the best road ERA among qualified starters this season, which could make him a logical choice for Game 4 in St. Louis, but he also was the Brewers’ best starter for much of the season, so Roenicke likely would prefer to get two games out of him as well.
Neither Marcum nor Wolf performed well in the NLDS, as they each surrendered seven runs in short outings against the D-backs on the road. But Roenicke said he is unlikely to swap one of them out for lefty Chris Narveson, despite his good numbers against the Cards.
“I still really like these guys,” Roenicke said. “I think it’s comforting to know that they have pitched well against St. Louis. I think they know that, which should give them confidence.
“They know they get another shot at this, which they really want, because they weren’t happy with the way they pitched the other games. So I think they’ll both be fine.”
Roenicke likes what he’s seeing from Weeks
MILWAUKEE — While the box score may say that Rickie Weeks went 0-for-3 in Game 5 of the National League Division Series, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said Saturday that he was pleased with Weeks’ performance.
Weeks is just 1-for-18 in the postseason, and he has struggled since returning in early September after missing 41 games with a severely sprained left ankle. Even so, Roenicke liked what he saw out of Weeks in Friday’s game, a 3-2 victory over the D-backs.
“First at-bat, he smokes a ball to right field. That’s really where he’s had some trouble,” Roenicke said. “And the next one, he gets hit. [Then he] tried to bunt — actually the bunt wasn’t that bad — but [Ian] Kennedy got off the mound great down the line to catch it.”
Had he not hit it right at Justin Upton, the ball Weeks hit in his first at-bat of Game 5 would have been an easy double. His only hit of the series was an RBI triple in Game 2, which scored Prince Fielder to put Milwaukee up, 4-1.
Since that triple, Weeks has gone 0-for-14 with a strikeout and a hit-by-pitch.
Despite the struggles, Roenicke said he does not think Weeks is pressing at the plate, and he remains confident in his ability to contribute as the Brewers move on to the NL Championship Series.
“I was OK with his at-bats yesterday — I thought that was an improvement from where he was,” Roenicke said. “And I know he’s feeling better all the time. Hopefully, he’ll get it together in this series, and we’ll see the kind of player he was before the ankle injury.”
Greinke’s personality suits Game 1 showdown
MILWAUKEE — Typically, Zack Greinke is a quiet, reserved person. In postgame interview sessions, his answers are short and to the point, and he rarely makes much eye contact.
In addressing the media Saturday ahead of his start in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series — first pitch Sunday is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. CT, with the national broadcast beginning at 2:30 p.m. on TBS — a different side of Greinke came out. He was fun. Greinke was joking around about his teammates, and he even cracked a smile or two.
Asked about the Cardinals, he was frank: “No one really likes [Chris] Carpenter.”
On teammate Ryan Braun’s description of his awkwardness, Greinke drew laughs: “He’s jealous of a lot of things I do.”
As for his impression of center fielder Nyjer Morgan, it was honest, and Greinke drew more laughter.
“Ninety-five percent of the time, he’s great,” Greinke said. “Everyone else probably likes him 100 percent of the time. But every now and then, he talks too much for me and gets annoying. But I tell him that. Everyone on the team loves him.”
When Greinke tells Morgan he’s annoying, does he pipe down?
“Sometimes.”
So much for Greinke’s seeming lack of personality.
Maybe all it took was a trip to the NLCS for Greinke to share the fun, joking side of his personality. It’s certainly something his teammates have seen throughout the season.
“His personality’s a lot different than others, but once you get to know him and figure him out, he’s a joy to be around. He’s a lot of fun,” said Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy. “He has a really dry sense of humor, but he’s mostly cracking jokes all the time and running his mouth. It’s a lot of fun, because he means well, he wants to win, and he loves this team.”
With the game tied in the bottom of the 10th in Friday’s 3-2 NL Division Series clincher over the D-backs, Greinke was warming up for a potential 11th inning. He was available to pitch in the win-or-go-home situation, but he was obviously not manager Ron Roenicke’s first choice out of the bullpen.
Now, Greinke is ready for a showdown against his club’s bitter rivals.
With Game 1 at Miller Park — where the Brewers are 16-0 with Greinke on the mound this season, including a 9-4 victory in Game 2 of the NLDS — Milwaukee could not ask for a better way to start its first Championship Series since 1982.
“There’s still work to be done, and Zack has been awesome the whole year,” said Yovani Gallardo. “I kind of wanted to tell him today not to go to the bullpen, because we weren’t going to need him. It was huge that we were able to win there [before he came in].
“That was big. We knew we were going to have to win that inning, and we were able to do it.”
Greinke was supposed to throw a bullpen session Friday, but he was told to hold off in case he was needed in relief. Though he warmed up, Greinke did not throw so much that he couldn’t come back on Sunday.
If the game had continued and Greinke pitched an inning, or perhaps even more, the Crew would have likely needed to go with Shaun Marcum and Randy Wolf in Games 1 and 2 of the NLCS. While both were solid pieces of Milwaukee’s rotation during the regular season, they also surrendered seven runs each in Games 3 and 4 against Arizona.
Instead, the Brewers turn to Greinke to open the next round.
“If we would have used [Greinke] last night, we would have had some tough calls on how we run this rotation through the series,” Roenicke said. “But the way it is now, it works out well.
“With Zack there, we know he’s going to be able to come back and pitch a couple of games. We know if we go to Game 7, Yo will be able to pitch a couple of games. And then we’ll fill in the others with Marcum and Wolfy.”
Greinke went 11-0 at home this season, making him just the 14th pitcher since 1900 to win at least 10 home games in a season without a loss and the first since Cliff Lee went 10-0 at home for the Indians in 2008. Greinke posted a 5-6 mark with a 4.70 ERA on the road.
Most teams would be happy just to have either Greinke or Gallardo. Milwaukee has both, and Marcum and Wolf are not far behind on the totem pole.
“It’s awesome. A lot of fun for me,” Lucroy said. “It’s like driving a Cadillac, man. Every day, you get to drive a Cadillac or a Range Rover. You’re not driving junkyard cars.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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