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Utility man Inglett throws scoreless inning
MILWAUKEE — Brewers manager Ken Macha does not like to use position players as pitchers. A week ago, Macha went so far as to call it “embarrassing.”
Yet with the Brewers trailing the Reds, 12-4, on Tuesday, Macha asked utility man Joe Inglett to pitch the ninth.
Inglett was the first Brewers position player to pitch since infielder Trent Durrington threw on April 17, 2004, in Houston. Five other position players have taken the mound so far this season, including Felipe Lopez and Joe Mather for the Cardinals on April 17 and Jonathan Van Every on May 8 for Boston. Former Brewers utility man Bill Hall also pitched for the Red Sox on May 28, and he was joined by Houston’s Kevin Cash the same day, who pitched for the Astros against the Reds.
“It’s really the first time I’ve ever used a position player, even when I managed in the Minor Leagues,” Macha said. “It was interesting. He was throwing 51 [mph] and got them out.”
Inglett was effective, retiring the top of the Reds’ lineup in order. Brandon Phillips, Orlando Cabrera and Joey Votto had combined to go 11-for-15 (.733) before facing Inglett, driving in four runs with seven runs scored.
Against Inglett, the top of the Reds’ order managed a popup to third, a groundout to second base and a long flyout to center field.
“One, two, three. That’s all I can say,” right-handed starter Yovani Gallardo said of Inglett. “I was pretty impressed. For him to go in there and get three outs, he made it seem easy.”
Inglett touched 56 mph on the radar gun once, with his average pitch speed at 54 mph.
While the pitches registered as knuckleballs on the pitch tracker, catcher Jonathan Lucroy said Inglett was just throwing the ball to the glove.
“I put down fastball, but it wasn’t fast,” Lucroy said. “It’s just flipping them in there. That’s all it is. Just trying to save our pitching staff for tomorrow.”
Macha said that the status of his pitching staff was the reason he called for Inglett on the mound. After Gallardo went just 2 2/3 innings, Macha used Todd Coffey for one-third of an inning to close out the third.
Long-reliever Chris Capuano pitched three innings, followed by David Riske for the seventh and Trevor Hoffman for the eighth.
While Macha had four pitchers — Kameron Loe, John Axford, Carlos Villanueva and lefty Zach Braddock — remaining in the bullpen, none were available.
“Loe needed another day. I wasn’t going to use Axford. Capuano, I used him, so I needed a lefty [Braddock] for tomorrow,” Macha said. “I thought it would be ill-advised if I used Villa. But when your starter doesn’t get three innings in, that happens.”
Inglett, who did not want to talk about his Major League pitching debut after the game, was volunteered by his manager.
“I asked him if he’d pitched before,” Macha said. “He said, ‘I’ll go do that.'”
Brewers beat 7/24
Hart happy to find out wrist isn’t broken
MILWAUKEE — A day after slamming his wrist into the wall in right field, Corey Hart said he felt a little sore. The good news, though, is that an MRI on Friday revealed no fracture.
Hart said the exam was a relief: “Especially the way it’s going, I didn’t want to miss too much. I might miss a few days. I’ll take treatment until it stops hurting. I’m lucky I didn’t break anything. It could have been a lot worse.”
Hart injured his wrist Friday in the top of the third inning during the Brewers’ 7-5 victory over the Nationals. As he attempted to catch a long foul ball off the bat of Cristian Guzman, Hart slid and hit his right hand against the concrete wall below the padding.
Hart injured his wrist in a similar region of the ballpark where Braves outfielder Matt Diaz slid into the concrete wall and suffered a knee injury two years ago, which cost him much of the season.
Now it’s just a waiting game for Hart and the Brewers.
Hart was out of the lineup Saturday night, and Joe Inglett got the start in right field. Before the game, Hart sported a compression sleeve on his right wrist, which is intended to keep the swelling down.
Once he feels well enough to play again, Hart expects to return to the field. The Brewers have an off-day Thursday, which could give him an extra day of rest before returning.
But that’s not exactly his plan.
“I’d like to be in before then,” Hart said. “I’m probably not going to play these next two. Hopefully I’ll get at least a couple games against the Reds.”
Lucroy gets another shot at catching Parra
MILWAUKEE — Brewers manager Ken Macha shook up his catching rotation Saturday night, putting rookie Jonathan Lucroy behind the plate with lefty starter Manny Parra.
Over his past three outings, Parra had been paired with backup catcher George Kottaras. Lucroy struggled with stopping Parra’s splitter, which resulted in several wild pitches.
“I had that because of balls getting back to the screen on the split,” Macha said. “I just feel that we’re going to try this fit because of results we can get with Manny, so we’ll try somebody else back there.”
In three starts this month with Kottaras behind the plate, Parra has a 1-2 record with a 10.89 ERA, allowing 19 earned runs over 16 innings on 28 hits, including five home runs.
Conversely, in five starts with Lucroy catching during the month of June, the Brewers left-hander went 1-2 with a 4.18 ERA, allowing 13 runs on 29 hits (four homers) over 29 innings.
Parra had 36 strikeouts against 13 walks in June, compared with 12 against seven this month.
So does Macha think having Lucroy behind the plate is going to result in a better outing for Parra?
“I don’t know, we’ll see,” Macha said. “How did he do last time out? Sometimes catchers and pitchers get on the same page and it happens.”
Hawkins set for another rehab outing Monday
MILWAUKEE — Veteran reliever LaTroy Hawkins will rejoin the Brewers soon, but not before Tuesday at the earliest.
Manager Ken Macha said before Saturday’s game that Hawkins would pitch for Triple-A Nashville again Monday as he continues to rehab from right shoulder weakness.
“We’re just going to evaluate his Monday outing,” Macha said. “We’ll go from there.”
Hawkins pitched for the second straight night Friday, tossing 16 pitches over two innings while allowing just one hit as he earned the save.
Macha was hesitant to confirm that Hawkins would rejoin the club after his outing Monday, based on Hawkins’ own evaluation of his rehab outings, which Macha received from Brewers trainer Roger Caplinger.
“One of his other outings he kind of indicated he wasn’t really on top of his game quite yet,” Macha said. “I just got that report from Roger. I didn’t talk to [Nashville pitching coach] Rich Gale or anyone like that. Rick Peterson, our pitching coach, will talk to Rich Gale sometime.”
Worth noting
The Brewers’ comeback on Friday night, after being down 5-1 to win 7-5, marked their largest comeback victory of the season. They had previously come back from three-run deficits five times. … Milwaukee had homered in 12 straight games entering Saturday’s contest, going 8-4 during that stretch. It marks the longest streak for the Brewers since they homered for a franchise-record 20 straight games from July 1-24, 2008. … Prince Fielder entered Saturday’s game just one RBI shy of 500 for his career. He would become the 12th player in franchise history with at least 500 RBIs. … Rickie Weeks is on pace for 102 RBIs this season, all coming from the leadoff spot. Weeks would be just the second leadoff hitter in MLB history to eclipse the 100 RBI mark, joining Darin Erstad, who did it in 2000 with the Angels.
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 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.
Brew Crew runs streak to five thanks to rookie
MILWAUKEE — It was a dream come true for Jonathan Lucroy.
After belting his first career home run with a three-run shot in the fourth and a subsequent curtain call, the Brewers rookie catcher will never forget Friday night’s 8-3 victory against Seattle.
Entering the series opener against the Mariners, Lucroy had just one extra-base hit and zero RBIs in his Major League career. Following his performance Friday, he now has three of each.
“It was amazing,” Lucroy said of the curtain call. “I don’t know what happened, but somebody kind of pushed me up there. It was all kind of a blur after I crossed home plate.
“As soon as I did it, [Carlos Gomez] hit a home run and I was like, ‘Man, that’s what I’m talking about.’ I wanted to beat that team tonight.”
Lucroy’s home run to the Brewers bullpen in left-center came on a 1-2 fastball from Mariners lefty Ryan Rowland-Smith.
Two pitches later, Rowland-Smith (1-7) missed with a 1-0 changeup, which Gomez belted to left to put the Brewers on top, 4-3, in the fourth.
“The first time, I was just trying to get it up and in and I left it out over the plate,” Rowland-Smith said. “Gomez I think was sitting [changeup], and I threw a changeup for a strike. That’s two pitches that really cost me, obviously.”
Lucroy and Gomez quickly turned around a game that looked like it was headed for a Brewers loss, and right-handed starter Dave Bush. Over six innings, Bush (3-5) allowed three runs — two earned — on seven hits with no walks and three strikeouts.
Once he had the lead, Bush faced just 10 batters over the final three innings of his outing, giving up a pair of singles.
Both times, however, the Mariners who hit safely were thrown out.
First, leading off the fourth, shortstop Jack Wilson was thrown out by left fielder Ryan Braun as he looked to stretch a single into a double. An inning later, Bush got Franklin Gutierrez to bounce a ball to third baseman Casey McGehee, who threw out Chone Figgins as he tried to score from third.
While there was only one out in the inning, Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu felt it was a crucial opportunity for the club to score a run.
“You try to force that fourth run across,” Wakamatsu said. “We haven’t done a very good job of scoring runners, so you take your opportunity there. The thing we talk about is just not hitting the ground ball to third base anytime you’ve got a runner on third base, and we did it.”
Following that out, Bush retired the final four batters he faced, putting himself in line to grab his third win of the season and his second straight.
For Bush, who was pitching on nine days’ rest instead of his usual four, the key was overcoming some early struggles that could be attributed to the long layoff.
“I was a little bit rusty in the first couple innings, I was just trying to find a rhythm,” Bush said. “After that I settled in and I was able to get my fastball back down. In the first couple innings I was up in the zone a lot.
“It was a bit of a challenge to have that much time off, but that’s what I’m faced with right now, so I’ve got to be ready for it and do the best I can.”
Bush’s start was the ninth quality start by a Brewers starter in the club’s last 13 games. Over that stretch, Milwaukee has a 3.02 ERA, giving up 28 earned runs over 83 1/3 innings pitched.
Brewers starters have gone 7-4 during that stretch while the club has posted an 8-5 mark, including a current season-high five-game winning streak.
“It’s been good for everyone,” Bush said. “Overall, we’ve played a lot better lately. … We’ve just been playing better baseball all around. We’ve hit better, we’ve pitched better, we’ve played better defense.
“It lightens the mood all the way around inside here. Guys are more excited about being here, because we’re playing better. We’re playing closer to our potential.”
Even with the winning streak, the story of the night was the performance by Lucroy.
After the home run in the fourth, Lucroy added a walk, a double and a run scored in his final two at-bats, to finish 2-for-3 on the night with a homer, double and three RBIs.
“It’ll be something I’ll always remember,” Lucroy said. “It’s something you work for your whole life. For me, it was since I was 12, being a catcher.
“For something like that to happen in a situation like that, I think for me it’s pretty euphoric and unbelievable.”
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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