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Brewers go airborne to soar past Astros
MILWAUKEE — Yovani Gallardo stole a page out of Prince Fielder’s book on Tuesday night. According to Fielder, it’s the other way around.
Gallardo didn’t have his best stuff on the mound, but he sure made up for it at the plate on Tuesday, sparking the Brewers’ offensive outburst in a series-evening 7-5 victory over the Astros at Miller Park.
On the mound, Gallardo (8-3) gave up four runs on seven hits over six innings while striking out five and walking two. It was just the fourth time in 17 starts this season that Gallardo has given up four or more earned runs.
But he belted a solo homer in the second inning to put the Brewers on the board. Gallardo did his best Fielder impression, belting the first pitch he saw from Astros starter Brett Myers off the bullpen wall in left-center field.
Gallardo’s home run was his third this season, which gives him — by himself — more than any other pitching staff in the Majors. It was the seventh of Gallardo’s career, which extended his franchise record for home runs by a pitcher.
Three batters later, Fielder crushed a two-run home run to right.
“No, I’m taking one out of his,” the first baseman said when asked if Gallardo was taking a page out of his book. “He’s pitching good and hitting homers. He’s locked in all the way around.”
Fielder added his 17th homer of the season, a solo shot to lead off the fifth, for his 19th career multi-homer game. It was also Fielder’s 177th career home run, moving him ahead of Ben Oglivie for fifth on the Brewers’ all-time leaderboard.
After a slow start, Fielder now has 10 home runs in the month of June, including four on Milwaukee’s homestand.
“When I see the ball and I take my swing at it, good things usually happen,” Fielder said. “It’s just how baseball is. The only thing I’ve been trying to do different is to swing the way I swing. I’ve never been a guy to hit singles to left field.”
Rookie catcher Jonathan Lucroy got in on the act in the sixth, leading off with his second career home run. With Lucroy’s blast, the Brewers matched a season high with four homers in a game — the fifth time they accomplished the feat.
Myers (5-6) surrendered all four homers — a career high — as he gave up a season-worst seven earned runs on nine hits with two walks and five strikeouts over six innings pitched. The veteran entered the game having allowed just two home runs all season.
“I think we just hit the mistakes, I guess,” Fielder said. “I don’t know the exact formula we used. But I think we were able to just hit the mistakes and hit them hard.”
In the fifth inning, though, Brewers manager Ken Macha started to get a feeling of déjà vu.
With a 5-0 lead through four, Gallardo opened the fifth by giving up a leadoff double to catcher Jason Castro and followed with a walk to shortstop Oswaldo Navarro.
After a sacrifice by Myers, center fielder Michael Bourn ripped a two-run single to center on a 1-0 curveball.
“The game started to look eerily similar to last night,” Macha said, referencing Houston’s 9-5 comeback victory. “We got off to a big lead, and they got their first two guys on in the fifth inning and they got three hits, all of them on a breaking ball off of Yo.”
Following Bourn, a grounder to short got Gallardo within an out of escaping the inning, but a Lance Berkman single plated another run, putting the Astros within two.
Gallardo finally got out of it, coaxing Hunter Pence into a fielder’s choice to end the inning. Leading off the sixth, though, Gallardo gave up a leadoff home run to Pedro Feliz on a 2-0 fastball.
“It just got out of hand there for a little bit,” Gallardo said. “That one to Feliz, falling behind in the count, it’s a fastball situation. You’ve almost got to be perfect with the fastball, and I just left it up over the zone.”
But just as Gallardo let the Astros back in the game, Fielder and Lucroy gave the Brewers some extra breathing room with home runs leading off the fifth and sixth.
Like Gallardo, closer John Axford didn’t appear to have his best stuff in the ninth, surrendering a run and putting two runners on for Pence with two outs, but he shut the door and converted his eighth save in as many chances. The win gave the Brewers the chance to win their third consecutive series, and a win Wednesday would make it a 7-2 homestand.
“It would mean a lot,” Gallardo said. “It’s very important these last couple weeks before the All-Star break. We have a bunch of games here at home and we’re going to take advantage of it.
“All the guys are out their playing hard doing everything they can. So hopefully we just continue this, enjoy the win today and show up tomorrow and win the series.”
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 beat 6/29
Crew must alter rotation for Davis’ return
MILWAUKEE — At least one Brewers pitcher likely will not make their regularly scheduled start in the next homestand, manager Ken Macha said Tuesday.
If everything goes according to plan in his rehab start Wednesday for Class A Wisconsin, lefty Doug Davis will return to the rotation sometime during the Brewers’ four-game series with the Giants.
Macha does not expect to use a six-man rotation, which means one Brewers starter — not Yovani Gallardo — will be bumped from a start in the San Francisco series.
“Unless we have two guys throwing at the same time,” Macha said. “Six, I don’t think that’s going to happen. If we do six, then that pops somebody out at the other end over the last three days there.”
Without Davis’ return, the Brewers’ probable pitchers for the Giants series would be Dave Bush, Randy Wolf, Chris Narveson and Manny Parra. As Davis’ rehab start falls on Wednesday, his next outing on regular rest would coincide with Bush’s scheduled appearnace.
While Davis is anxious to return to the rotation, he understands it will force out another starter, something he is not pleased to do.
“They’re going to have to cut ties with somebody with me coming back,” Davis said. “I hate to see anybody leave and get sent down, or whatever it is, because of me.
“I know it’s part of the game, but if we’re winning I have no reason to say, ‘I can come in and do better than this guy.’ With the way we’ve been playing and the way they’ve been pitching, I can’t.”
At the same time, the success of the rest of the pitching staff only makes Davis want to get out on the mound that much sooner.
“There’s only so much you can do on the DL to help your team win,” Davis said. “Just to get back out there and get on the mound and actually contribute to a winning ballclub is something that you really can’t replace on the DL.”
Hawkins shows progress in bullpen session
MILWAUKEE — With another day came another step forward for reliever LaTroy Hawkins, who is finally seeing some progress with his right shoulder weakness.
Hawkins threw off the mound in a bullpen session Monday for the first time since going on the disabled list. By all accounts, things went as well as could have been expected.
“All reports were good,” said Brewers manager Ken Macha. “[Pitching coach] Rick [Peterson] was very pleased. I asked [bullpen catcher] Marcus [Hanel], who caught him, and he said he had some late life, he had pretty good velocity, free and easy. A lot of positive things.”
Macha said he planned to announce what the next step would be for the veteran right-hander after an upcoming bullpen session.
“We’ll wait until after Thursday,” Macha said, “and then I’ll do that update.”
Coffey working out arm angle issues
MILWAUKEE — Another reliever appears to be having arm angle issues for the Brewers.
Todd Coffey has struggled in his three appearances since returning from the disabled list on June 20. The right-hander has relinquished four runs — two earned — in one total inning of work. According to manager Ken Macha, the angle of his pitches is the issue.
“Flat. Everything’s flat in the zone,” Macha said. “Guys that he normally gets out — I think [Hunter] Pence was 2-for-11 off him and [Pedro] Feliz was 1-for-11 off him — they whacked him pretty good.”
While Coffey’s arm angle may be the cause of the flatness of his pitches, Macha said something else is causing him to have those issues.
The Brewers’ hope now is that Coffey will do what needs to be done to fix it. On Tuesday, the first step was early work for Coffey in the bullpen.
“He pulls off the ball, his front side opens early and his arm drops down,” Macha said. “He went into ruts like that last year at times, and he got it straightened out.”
Riske unconcerned with rare rough inning
MILWAUKEE — He was bound to give up a run eventually.
But the issue was not that Milwaukee reliever David Riske let Houston touch the scoreboard on Monday. The noticeable difference in his effectiveness was the cause for concern for some.
“Those hitters get paid, too, just like I do. It happens,” said Riske, who was not troubled by his outing. “You can’t be perfect every time.”
Riske, who had not allowed run in his first six appearances since coming off the disabled list June 8, surrendered two runs on two hits and a walk in one inning against the Astros.
According to Riske, his delivery may have been too fast, which caused his arm to drag a bit. He added that he wasn’t throwing as many strikes as he usually does. Manager Ken Macha said he thought Riske left some pitches up with a lack of movement.
“His split and changeup have been very good,” Macha said. “But when they were belt-high, they would up hitting them.”
Riske said he did not go back and watch his inning — and he does not plan to do so.
Instead, he just plans to move forward and try to get better results next time.
“I was just a little off, I had an off night,” Riske said. “I’m not worried about it. Not at all.”
Brewers add Jeffress to 40-man roster
MILWAUKEE — With an open spot available, the Brewers added right-handed reliever Jeremy Jeffress to the 40-man roster on Tuesday, optioning him to Class A Wisconsin.
Milwaukee designated Chris Smith for assignment when reliever Todd Coffey was activated from the disabled list, opening a spot on the 40-man roster. Smith eventually accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Nashville, but the open spot remained.
Jeffress, 22, was a first-round selection by the Brewers in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft. His time with the club has been marred by separate 50- and 100-game suspensions for testing positive for “a drug of abuse.”
Since signing with the club in 2006, Jeffress has played for the Double-A Huntsville Stars, Class A Advanced Brevard County Manatees and the Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
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 beat 6/28
Dutch heritage has Axford watching Cup
MILWAUKEE — Even with the United States and Mexico eliminated, at least one person in the Brewers’ clubhouse still has a rooting interest in the World Cup.
Closer John Axford, a native of Ontario, Canada, is pulling for The Netherlands, which beat Slovakia, 2-1, on Monday to advance to the quarterfinals against Brazil.
Axford is of Dutch heritage on his mother’s side of the family, and his grandparents immigrated to Canada before she was born, just after World War II.
“I remember being younger, we’d always get together for the games and watch them because my grandfather was really into it,” Axford said. “If he had his way, I’d definitely play soccer over baseball.
“I played soccer in elementary school. He actually taught me to kick with my left foot before I could learn with my right because he said, ‘Everyone kicks with their right, so you’ll learn with your left first.’ ”
Axford said his mother was either the first or second member of her family born in Canada, though he could not remember if she or his uncle was born first.
While Axford has not been able to keep up on the World Cup as much as he would like — he did not watch The Netherlands play on Monday — he knows the excitement will only grow if the team continues to advance.
“It’s a pretty big thing with our family,” Axford said. “I know if they continue going through [the tournament] everyone will be calling each other and talking with each other and trying to catch the last couple games.”
And what does Axford think of The Netherlands’ chances against Brazil in the quarterfinals?
“That’s going to be pretty tough,” Axford said. “I saw part of the Brazil game today, and they were doing pretty good. So it’ll be a tough game, but it should be a good game. Reading about it I think The Netherlands have got a pretty good shot.”
Capuano’s long wait to pitch again ends
MILWAUKEE — It took the bullpen’s worst outing in nearly a month, but lefty Chris Capuano finally got the opportunity he was waiting for on Monday.
With Brewers starters having delivered quality starts in 10 of the past 15 games and posting a 3.02 ERA over that stretch, Capuano entered Monday having not pitched in the team’s past 13 contests.
It seemed Capuano would continue to wait until a Brewers starter had a rough outing, though he tended to look at it a different way.
“I wouldn’t call it waiting for a bad start, that’s not really how we look at things,” Capuano said. “I’m waiting for my next opportunity and I’m ready every day when they need me.”
But on Monday, due to a bad three-inning stretch involving three relievers and the starter, Capuano finally got back on the mound, pitching a scoreless ninth, allowing one hit.
It was Capuano’s first scoreless outing since his return and just his third appearance overall since being called up a month ago and returning to the big leagues for the first time since the end of the 2007 season.
As the pitching staff has improved dramatically over the last two weeks, Capuano has been left on the outside looking in.
As a result, Capuano has had to put in some extra work to keep himself ready for when the Brewers finally needed him again.
“I’m throwing every day and when I’m not getting in there, I’ve been making sure I get on the mound every two or three days, keeping my pitch count up around the 50-pitch range,” Capuano said. “Sunday after the game, I went out and threw 50 pitches.”
Capuano, who is slotted in a long-relief role in the bullpen, had not pitched in 16 days before Monday.
In his two previous outings, a June 3 start in Florida and a June 12 relief appearance against the Rangers, Capuano tossed just 4 2/3 innings, giving up four runs on nine hits while walking one and recording five strikeouts.
With the experience of his long road to recovery under his belt, Capuano had little problem waiting two weeks for his next outing, especially when the team had been performing well.
“Nothing is harder than the two years I spent getting my arm healthy and getting ready to pitch at the big league level again,” Capuano said. “After what I’ve been through over the past couple years, and with the fact that I’m healthy and I feel good every day, it’s hard to be too down.”
Worth noting
Third-base coach Brad Fischer celebrated his 54th birthday on Monday. … With his leadoff home run on Sunday, second baseman Rickie Weeks ranks first in home runs from the leadoff spot this season with 13. Weeks also leads the Majors in RBI from the leadoff spot with 44. … Reliver LaTroy Hawkins will throw off the mound in a bullpen session on Tuesday, manager Ken Macha said on Monday. … Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings threw out the ceremonial first pitch on Monday, and one-hopped it to the plate.
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Narveson twirls gem to give Brewers victory
MILWAUKEE — Chris Narveson may not need to find a clubhouse assistant to pitch the first inning for him after all.
Instead, Narveson just pitched the first inning in the bullpen.
After taking his initial warmup easy before Sunday’s 3-0 victory over the Mariners, Narveson and catcher Jonathan Lucroy simulated the first two batters he would face in the bullpen before heading out to the mound. The idea was to shake the struggles that accounted for a 12.27 first-frame ERA this season.
And it worked. Narveson responded by going out and turning in a career-best performance for his seventh win of the season.
The southpaw tossed eight scoreless innings, allowing just five baserunners on four hits and one walk while recording seven strikeouts as the Brewers took the rubber match at Miller Park.
“Just mentally being prepared for them to play my game rather than seeing how they would react to my stuff,” said Narveson, referring to what he changed in his approach on the mound.
“I wanted to put the pressure on them and try to command the strike zone so they were hitting my pitch, instead of falling behind and have to maybe come into their pitch.”
After a two-out double in the first by left fielder Milton Bradley, the Brewers lefty responded quickly by getting third baseman Jose Lopez to fly out. That began a stretch of nine consecutive retired batters.
Through three innings, Narveson — who entered the game with a 5.76 ERA — had retired nine of the 10 batters he faced. He extended that streak to 11 of 12 before giving up a single to Lopez in the fourth.
“He did a nice job of getting ahead of our hitters,” said Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu. “After that, I thought we helped him out quite a bit with pitches outside of the zone.”
Before a sixth-inning single by second baseman Chone Figgins, Narveson had retired 17 of 19. Through seven innings, Narveson sent down 21 of the 24 batters he faced.
To complete the deviation from the norm, Narveson’s last inning was his worst, as he allowed two Seattle batsmen to reach base — on a leadoff single by shortstop Jack Wilson and a walk to Ryan Langerhans. Thanks to an inning-ending double play, though, Narveson escaped with his scoreless outing intact.
“He was awesome. He mixed his pitches well and threw his strengths to the hitters’ weaknesses,” Lucroy said. “He’s just keeping the ball down. All of his pitches were working today. Whenever the pitcher has that ability to mix all of his pitches and locate them and keep them down, it’s very rare that a guy gets beat doing that.”
A leadoff home run by Rickie Weeks provided all the offense Narveson and the Brewers needed.
Weeks was not done, however, as he finished the day 4-for-5, adding a double in the third and a pair of singles in the fifth and seventh. After opening the game with a homer, double and single, Weeks came up a triple shy of the cycle.
The four hits tied a career high, and it was Weeks’ fourth-career four-hit game. He last recorded four hits in a game on Sept. 2, 2008, against the Mets.
“It feels good,” Weeks said. “It’s just another day for me I guess. For the most part, you just try to get on base and you try to score runs to help the ballclub win.
“That’s my job — to get on base and try to score some runs.”
The Brewers added a pair in the fifth as Alcides Escobar scored on a Corey Hart double and Hart came around one batter later on a sharply hit Prince Fielder single to right.
With the RBI, Fielder made it four consecutive games in which he’s driven in a run.
While his numbers are still down from a year ago, the Brewers first baseman now sits second on the team with 15 home runs and fifth with 31 RBIs.
The Brewers improved to 5-1 on their current homestand with three games remaining against the Astros. Milwaukee is seven games under .500 at 34-41, and the Brewers sit 7 1/2 games behind the first-place Cincinnati Reds.
According to skipper Ken Macha, the Brewers are doing what they need to if they want to get out of their self-dug hole.
“What I put a lot of stock in is winning series,” Macha said. “That’s a step in the right direction, winning the series. The sweep [against the Twins] was a big plus, because that takes a couple other series out of the way that you have to win.
“If we had lost today, it would have been a step backwards. We want to just keep moving forward.”
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 beat 6/27
Parra recalls perfect game in Minors
MILWAUKEE — Three years ago this weekend, Brewers lefty Manny Parra had the best performance of his professional career when he tossed a perfect game for Triple-A Nashville.
In his second Pacific Coast League start, Parra retired 27 consecutive batters for the Sounds on June 25, 2007. Current Brewers bullpen coach Stan Kyles remembers the game well, as he was serving as the Sounds’ pitching coach at the time.
“It was the most dominating performance I’ve ever seen,” Kyles said. “He had 11 strikeouts, no balls were put in play hard, and it was just the best performance I’ve seen on the mound up close and personal. It was really impressive.”
What made the perfect game even more impressive was the way Parra’s bullpen session had gone prior to the game.
After struggling in his previous outing, Parra was not confident in his stuff as he warmed up. Once he reached the mound, however, everything changed.
“I remember when I was out in the bullpen, thinking it was going to be a struggle out there that day,” Parra said. “But when I got out to the mound, everything started going my way.
There was one ball, hit about five feet fair toward third, but just before reaching the bag it rolled foul. That was the one where I was like, ‘Wow, this could really happen.'”
Parra’s perfect game was the first thrown in the PCL since the Sounds’ John Wasdin did so on April 7, 2003.
“It’s something I never expected would happen to me,” Parra said. “I’ve always said I was not the kind of pitcher that would ever throw a no-hitter or perfect game because I tend to give up a lot of hits. That day, though, everything just came together for me.”
Gomez striving to be everyday player
MILWAUKEE — When the Brewers brought Carlos Gomez in from Minnesota, he was expected to be the club’s everyday center fielder. Despite his recent struggles, that’s still his goal.
“I want to play everyday no matter what happens at the plate,” Gomez said. “Everybody knows when they signed me that I was supposed to be the everyday center fielder.”
Brewers manager Ken Macha sees the potential in Gomez, but he has had a hard time keeping him in the lineup lately with his struggles at the plate.
For now, it appears as though Gomez will start against left-handed pitching and veteran center fielder Jim Edmonds will get the nod against righties. Like Gomez, though, Macha would like Gomez to improve to the point of facing both right-handers and southpaws.
“The plan was for [Gomez] to face right-handers also,” Macha said. “After he came off the DL and Jimmy was on the DL, he played against right-handers and he struggled.
“So hopefully we’ll get him to the point where he can be an everyday guy.”
For Gomez, the situation is much like the one he faced in Minnesota last season before the Twins traded him to the Brewers.
Gomez struggled to find playing time in a crowded outfield that featured three young outfielders in Delmon Young, Denard Span, and Gomez. According to Gomez, the one benefit of moving to the National League this season is being able to pinch-hit or enter as part of a double switch in any game.
Even with that, however, Gomez is not excited about the situation he’s faced with.
“I don’t want to be in this situation every year,” Gomez said. “I’m only 24 years old, and it’s happened to me two years in a row now. But they know what I can do if I play everyday. Good things can happen.”
Coffey needs time to freshen up to bigs
MILWAUKEE — Only time can help Brewers reliever Todd Coffey get back to the point he was at before going on the disabled list June 6.
Coffey struggled Tuesday in his first outing since returning, allowing two runs to score on two hits, as he did not record an out over three batters faced.
“The first one, probably, he doesn’t want to rehash that one,” said Milwaukee skipper Ken Macha. “[Saturday], he had a little lapse on covering first base, so that wasn’t good. Otherwise, he would’ve had a 1-2-3 inning. He threw the ball good.”
Though he made just one rehab appearance with Triple-A Nashville before returning, Coffey did not believe any additional time with the Sounds would have made a difference.
According to Coffey, pitching in the Minor Leagues does not do nearly as much as getting back into a pressure situation in the Majors after three weeks off.
“The first outing was a little shaky, but it was the first time I was really competitive in almost 20 days,” Coffey said. “Yesterday was definitely a step forward. I feel like I’m getting back on track.
“It’s not about the feeling off the mound down there, it’s about the feeling off the mound up here against big league hitters. It’s just going to take time. I took 20 days off, so it’s just going to take some time to get comfortable again.”
Brewers unveil top moment of 1980s
MILWAUKEE — With nearly 40 percent of the vote, Cecil Cooper’s two-run single in Game 5 of the 1982 ALCS against the Angels was selected as the top Brewers moment from the 1980s in fan and media voting.
Fittingly, all fans in attendance on Sunday received a bobblehead commemorating the hit.
Cooper’s game-winning hit gave the Brewers the American League pennant and advanced the club to its first World Series in franchise history.
Behind Cooper’s single, it was a close race for second place, as two moments from the 1987 season were decided by just 2.2 percent of the vote.
Dale Sveum’s walk-off home run on Easter Sunday, which extended the Brewers’ win streak to 12 games to open the season, edged out Juan Nieves’ no-hitter, which came just four days earlier.
The unveiling of the Top 3 moments from the 1980s occurred at 1 p.m. CT on broadcasts and in Miller Park. The same process will occur for the ’90s and 2000s, with separate polls and reveals for each decade.
On Sept. 3, the polls will open again at Brewers.com and fans will be asked to vote for their Top 3 moments in Brewers history from the group of Top 12 “finalist” moments (Top 3 moments from each decade).
Worth noting
Veteran center fielder Jim Edmonds celebrated his 40th birthday on Sunday. … With his appearance on Saturday, Trevor Hoffman moved into a tie for 11th place on the all-time games pitched list. … Sunday is the Brewers’ final Interleague contest of 2010. Despite going 5-10 last season and just 92-106 in the history of Interleague Play, Milwaukee entered Sunday’s contest with an 8-6 record against the AL this season and is guaranteed a winning record for the sixth time since Interleague Play began in 1997 — the first time since 2007.
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 beat 6/26
Davis to get one more rehab start
MILWAUKEE — Lefty Doug Davis is scheduled to start again Wednesday, when he’ll take the mound in Appleton for Class A Wisconsin in his third rehab outing.
After meeting with pitching coach Rick Peterson, bullpen coach Stan Kyles and general manager Doug Melvin earlier in the day, Brewers manager Ken Macha said Saturday they had decided they were not ready to put Davis back in the rotation just yet.
As a result, he’ll pitch for the Timber Rattlers with a target of 100 pitches. After that outing, Macha said he plans on Davis starting for the Brewers again shortly thereafter.
“We’ll fit him in somewhere before the All-Star break and he’ll get his first start back,” Macha said. “There were a whole bunch of reasons and I’m not going to enumerate them, just a whole bunch of reasons.
“Some of them are obvious. We’ve got guys pitching well. We’re going to get him slotted in and we’ve worked on trying to get everything lined up for a series and all the way up to the All-Star break.”
As for the blame as far as keeping Davis on the disabled list for another rehab start, Macha pointed to no one but himself.
“I told him if he’s upset, don’t be upset with anybody else but me,” Macha said. “He wants to get back in to pitch. But he was very understanding and he’s going to get back in to pitch.”
When Davis does return to the rotation, the Brewers could use five or six starters, Macha said. Regardless of what they do, changes will have to be made to both the rotation and the roster to fit Davis in.
As much as Macha would like to get Davis back in to pitch again, he recognizes the status of one starter in particular is not his top priority.
“We’ve got agendas to fill,” Macha said. “The No. 1 agenda is to get everybody in position to pitch well so that we can continue winning some games.”
Gerut, others on DL unsure of return date
MILWAUKEE — While one Brewers starter at least got some plan on Saturday for when he’ll return to the field, the general trend in the clubhouse among injured players seems to be a lack of any target date for their return.
Outfielder Jody Gerut made progress Friday taking batting practice for the first time since going on the disabled list, but remains unsure of when he’ll return from a bruised right heel. Likewise, a pair of Brewers relievers have no clear idea of when they’ll be back.
Veteran right-hander LaTroy Hawkins, who has been on the DL since May 9, is one of those two.
“I just do what [trainer] Roger [Caplinger] tells me,” Hawkins said. “If Roger tells me I can throw off the mound, I’ll throw off the mound. I’m out there though at 150 feet. I think I even got out to 170 feet yesterday, with no pain today.
“I’m just taking my time, but I should be close, because I’m getting out there pretty far.”
Hawkins’ fellow reliever, right-hander Marco Estrada, has been on the DL since June 4 with right shoulder fatigue, retroactive to June 1.
Though he was eligible to return on June 15, Estrada remains very limited in what he is able to do.
“It’s better, I had a cortisone shot a couple days ago,” Estrada said of his shoulder. “The pain’s still kind of there, but it is getting better. I can’t do anything. I have to wait until the doctor says I can start doing stronger work outs.
“Then hopefully I can play some catch, but I really couldn’t even tell you when that will be. I’d like to be back tomorrow, or at least play catch tomorrow, but who knows.”
Worth noting
Legendary broadcaster Bob Uecker was at Miller Park again on Saturday. When asked before the game what the time frame for his return was, Uecker admitted that he was unsure. … Since beginning the season 4-14, the Brewers have gone 11-5 at home, including a 4-1 record in series play. … Milwaukee currently is enjoying a season-high five-game winning streak. … With 13 and 11 hit by pitches, Rickie Weeks and Prince Fielder, respectively, are first and second in the Majors. Weeks moved ahead of Fielder with two on Friday.
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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