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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.
Weeks helps Crew overcome wildness
MILWAUKEE — To be effective, Manny Parra has to be wild, to some degree. That was certainly the case for the Brewers lefty on Wednesday at Miller Park.
Despite throwing four wild pitches, Parra (2-5) effectively limited the Twins’ offense, giving up two runs during 5 2/3 innings as the Brewers took the 5-3 victory over the Twins.
Parra tied a club record with four wild pitches in a game, set by Ed Sprague on May 14, 1975, against the Rangers. According to both Parra and catcher Jonathan Lucroy, however, with a splitter like Parra’s, wild pitches are going to happen.
“With my split-finger, I’m bound to throw wild pitches,” Parra said. “I think last year, I shied away from it a little bit … but I’ve got to keep throwing that pitch, that’s the way I’m successful. I get guys swinging at some of those pitches.”
But as Lucroy was quick to point out, Parra only allowed two runners to score following a wild pitch — Twins first baseman Justin Morneau and third baseman Michael Cuddyer in the fourth.
“He did a good job of getting back in control and throwing some strikes,” Lucroy said. “The one thing you can take away from that is the way he bounced back and minimized the damage.”
Perhaps most importantly for Parra, though, the Brewers’ offense made the most of its opportunities, giving the lefty just enough run support to earn his first win since May 23, also against Minnesota, and his first win as a starter since Sept. 25, 2009, against the Phillies.
While the Brewers entered the game with a 5-19 record when not hitting a home run, they played small ball on Wednesday night to get the victory.
After both were stranded following a pair of singles to lead off the first, Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart combined to drive in four of the Brewers’ five runs. Weeks, who went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored, played a role in all five Brewers runs on the night.
“We hustled to get our runs, we scrapped to get our runs,” Brewers manager Ken Macha said. “Sometimes, you have to do that. It’s not always on the big boys to do everything.”
Following a Weeks walk in the third, Hart ripped a double to the left-field corner, which scored Weeks from first.
One inning later, Weeks drove in a pair when he came up with a big two-run, two-out single to put the Brewers up, 3-2.
With Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and Casey McGehee combining for a 0-for-10 night, with a lone RBI from Braun in the seventh on a fielder’s choice, the top of the Brewers’ order showed its run-producing potential.
“I don’t know if we would be 1-2 in most lineups, but we are in this lineup,” Hart said. “We try to get on base for the guys behind us. It’s nice to drive in runs, as well, but I think our goal is to get on as much as we can for Prince and Brauny.
“I’m not a power hitter. … I see myself as a guy that I role play to try to get going for those guys.”
Behind Parra, the Brewers’ bullpen was effective once again, giving up one run over 3 1/3 innings on four hits, while striking out five and walking just one.
Lefty Zach Braddock — who returned to the team after missing Tuesday’s series opener due to a death in the family — got a huge out for the Brewers in the sixth, entering in place of Parra to strike out pinch-hitter Jim Thome.
According to Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, the decision to remove starter Francisco Liriano, who had thrown only 77 pitches over five innings, was done to try to take advantage of a big opportunity in a National League ballgame.
“Got to try to win a ballgame. We’re losing. He’s probably got one more inning left in him, anyway,” Gardenhire said. “You’ve got a couple of guys on. Try to get him in a situation where, if he hits a double, score a couple runs.
“This National League stuff is different than it is over in our league. Have to take a chance when you can.”
After Braddock, the Brewers used Kameron Loe for one out in the seventh, Carlos Villanueva in the eighth, and John Axford closed it out in the ninth, earning the save.
“We got some big outs from the bullpen tonight,” Macha said. “Braddock coming in in the sixth inning, striking out Thome. Loe getting the strikeout on Cuddyer in the seventh. Good inning by Villa … and Ax made good pitches. He put the ball right where he wanted to.”
Brewers beat 5/23
Brewers’ wildness sets dubious club mark
MILWAUKEE — Brewers hurler Manny Parra tied one club record for wildness on Wednesday and played a key role in breaking another.
Parra tied a 35-year-old record by throwing four wild pitches during a 5-3 win over the Twins. An inning after Parra exited, reliever Kameron Loe also threw a wild pitch, giving the team five during the game, which broke the previous record.
Parra threw wild pitches in the second and fourth innings, then threw two in the sixth inning. Only once, however, did a wild pitch occur in an inning that featured a Twins run. First baseman Justin Morneau and third baseman Michael Cuddyer scored on a Delmon Young single to left in the fourth after advancing one base on a wild pitch one batter earlier.
“With my split-finger, I’m bound to throw wild pitches,” Parra said. “Obviously, it’s not good, but at the same time, I can’t stop doing that.”
While attempting to intentionally walk Young in the sixth, Parra threw the ball over the head of catcher Jonathan Lucroy, allowing Jason Kubel to advance from second to third base.
With Kubel on third, Brewers manager Ken Macha changed tactics and elected to have Parra pitch to Young. The strategy paid off when Young grounded to third baseman Casey McGehee, who threw to Lucroy to get Kubel for the out.
Parra’s four wild pitches tied Ed Sprague’s record, set on May 15, 1975, in Texas. As a team, the Brewers last threw four wild pitches in a game on Sept. 20, 2004.
“Those things are going to happen,” catcher Jonathan Lucroy said. “The two pitchers both have real good pitches. The split is unpredictable for Manny, and then Kameron’s pitch is his two-seamer, and that moves a lot.
“Those are two plus pitches, and they’re both really good but unpredictable. It’s going to happen, but both Kam and Manny did a great job of minimizing it.”
Braun will open second restaurant Thursday
MILWAUKEE — Nearly three months after opening his first restaurant in downtown Milwaukee, Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun is set to open his second on Thursday, Ryan Braun’s Tavern & Grill, in Lake Geneva, Wis.
Braun is scheduled to be in attendance on Thursday night, greeting guests, family and friends after the Brewers’ day game at Miller Park against the Minnesota Twins.
“I’m really excited about it,” Braun said. “It’s a great group of people. The chef’s great, the décor is cool, and I love Lake Geneva, so I’m excited to have an extra excuse to get down there as often as possible.
“I’m excited to get down there on Thursday and see what it looks like. I haven’t been there in 2 1/2 weeks, so I’m sure it’s really come together since then.”
According to a press release issued by Braun’s agent, the restaurant, located at 430 Broad Street, was extensively remodeled and will feature a comfortable, casual dining experience. It will serve Italian-American cuisine.
Additionally, the release notes that Braun has been involved every step of the way, from development to design to ambiance, and he is thrilled to open the Tavern and Grill doors to the Lake Geneva community.
As for the differences between Ryan Braun’s Waterfront, his downtown Milwaukee restaurant, and the new establishment, the budding restaurateur said each would reflect the surrounding community.
“I think they’re both specific to the demographic,” Braun said. “The one here in Milwaukee is a little more modern and contemporary. The one in Lake Geneva is a little more rustic, maybe a little cabin feel if you will.”
Macha would tweak Interleague slate
MILWAUKEE — When asked before Wednesday’s game what he would do to change Interleague Play, Brewers manager Ken Macha had one idea: Balance the schedule.
“This is my suggestion, [though] I don’t know if it’s possible: two 15-team leagues,” Macha said. “Each league has three divisions with five teams in it. You’d have an Interleague series every series throughout the season. That’s my suggestion.”
Macha’s suggestion came after he was informed of an idea from Twins manager Ron Gardenhire in the visiting dugout for changing Interleague Play: Play by American League rules in National League parks and NL rules in AL parks.
Though the Brewers’ manager did not give an opinion on that idea, he was very much in favor of balancing the schedule. As an example, Macha pointed to the geographic rivalry series. The A’s, who Macha used to manage, played the Giants annually. That meant facing outfielder Barry Bonds, then an elite offensive threat.
“For years, with Barry Bonds playing for the Giants, I was in Oakland,” Macha said. “And Seattle, who had a very good team, they were playing San Diego. And at that time, [the Padres] weren’t very good.”
A more recent example that Macha discussed was the Texas Rangers this season. The Rangers have been red hot during Interleague Play, but have not faced the top two teams in the NL Central. Oakland, on the other hand, has faced both Cincinnati and St. Louis.
In addition to balancing out Interleague Play, having six five-team divisions would make the playoff races more equitable, Macha said.
“You don’t play the same schedule, and sometimes, one team runs roughshod over another,” Macha said. “One year in Oakland, we were 17-2 against Seattle. So you have a four-team division, and you’re playing each team 19 times, if you have a couple teams in that division that are bad, you may finish second in that division.
“Then [you win] the Wild Card, instead of coming out of the East, where those teams may be better because their record may not be as good.”
Loe putting together dominant run for Crew
MILWAUKEE — Since being called up from Triple-A Nashville on June 1, reliever Kameron Loe has been nothing short of dominant for the Brewers, allowing only one earned run in 10 outings.
Including his strikeout in the seventh inning on Wednesday, Loe has pitched 13 1/3 innings over those 10 outings, giving up seven hits. Against the Twins on Tuesday, he tossed two scoreless innings and did not give up a hit while walking two and recording three strikeouts.
Though the 6-foot-8 right-hander was not as strong in his second inning of work on Tuesday, he managed to get through the top of the Twins’ lineup and escape with an impressive outing.
“In the second inning when he went out there, their hitters were going back in saying, ‘This ball’s sinking unbelievably,'” Brewers manager Ken Macha said. “So they started laying off some pitches that were down. We’ll see how that goes as we proceed.”
It was Loe’s third outing of two or more innings this season, with his season-high coming on June 3 at Florida, when Loe pitched 2 1/3 innings without allowing a run.
Over his two innings on Tuesday, Loe faced eight Twins hitters, with the three strikeouts coming against Michael Cuddyer, Delmon Young and Jason Kubel.
According to Macha, the sink on Loe’s pitches has been excellent.
“I watched some of the first inning he pitched [again], and his ball just disappears,” Macha said. “He struck out Cuddyer and he probably thought he was going to barrel the ball up and it was almost on the ground. The sink on his fastball’s been off the charts.”
Second-rounder among three picks to sign
MILWAUKEE — Three additional Draft selections, including second-round pick Jimmy Nelson, were signed this week by the Brewers, the club announced Wednesday.
Nelson, a right-hander from the University of Alabama, joins two other draft picks and three undrafted players in the Brewers’ latest round of signings.
Additionally, the Brewers have signed 21st-round pick Kevin Shackelford, another right-hander from Marshall University, and utility player Derrick Shaw, who was drafted in the 41st round out of Florida A&M.
The three new undrafted signees are lefty Charlie Bashara, right-hander Travis Stortz and center fielder Reggie Keen.
With the six new signees, the Brewers have now signed 34 players, 29 of which were draft picks from the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.
Worth noting
Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Wednesday’s game. … Lefty reliever Zach Braddock rejoined the Brewers before Wednesday’s game after leaving the team and missing Tuesday’s series opener due to a death in the family. … The Brewers, who came back from three runs down on Tuesday night to win, 7-5, tied a season high for their biggest comeback.
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 recap 5/23
Brewers’ staff pieces together win over Twins
MINNEAPOLIS — With the way things had been going, the Brewers needed a complete team effort from their pitching staff on Sunday against the Twins. That’s exactly what they got as five pitchers combined to lead the Brewers to a 4-3 win in the series finale at Target Field.
Before the series finale, manager Ken Macha worried that short pitching performances could leave his staff in a state of “total disarray.” That’s because after a one-third-of-an-inning outing by Dave Bush to open the series and a 12-inning game on Saturday, the Brewers had no starter available after using lefty Manny Parra in the 11th and 12th innings in the second game of the series.
Instead, the Brewers avoided that scenario and put together the best complete-team performance they’ve had since before losing 11 of their last 12 games.
“It was a total team effort today, and it’s been that way the whole way,” pitching coach Rick Peterson said. “Nobody has gone into bed and under the covers. Everybody realizes our struggles, but guys are making a concerted effort to improve themselves.”
With the Brewers down a run in the fourth, right fielder Corey Hart stayed hot, crushing a 1-0 pitch from Carl Pavano to the third deck in left, the first ball that has been hit there in Target Field. At an estimated 440 feet, Hart’s home run was the longest yet at the new stadium.
Hart’s blast was his ninth of the season and sixth in the last nine games. First baseman Prince Fielder added a solo shot to right in the sixth, which proved to be the eventual game-winning run.
But it was the Brewers’ pitching that stole the spotlight on Sunday.
Marco Estrada, who had thrown 21 pitches in relief less than 24 hours earlier, got the nod for the start and gave the Brewers three innings, in which he allowed two runs on four hits.
After Estrada was Parra, who remained available to pitch despite being unavailable to start. After being tagged with the loss the night before, Parra (1-3) got the win, throwing two scoreless innings while giving up three hits, walking two and striking out a pair.
With that, the Brewers led, 3-2, through five innings, despite having used two pitchers that had thrown in relief the previous night.
“That’s fighting right there,” Parra said. “We were trying any way we could to get nine innings. It was a good battle.”
But as impressive as the Brewers’ first two pitchers were, it’s the late innings that have been the biggest problem recently. Fortunately for them, the last three pitchers got the job done as well.
Lefty Zach Braddock, who was called up from Triple-A Nashville before the game, delivered two impressive innings, giving up just one hit and one walk while striking out a pair.
With the way Estrada and Parra started things off, Braddock said he didn’t want to disappoint.
“Everyone who pitched today pitched a great game,” Braddock said. “I just wanted to keep up with everyone else and do the job that was asked of me.”
Next up for the Brewers was veteran reliever Trevor Hoffman, making his 1,000th career appearance. In his first action since stepping out of the closer’s role to work with Peterson on his mechanics, Hoffman was dominant in the eighth.
He needed just 10 pitches, nine of which were strikes, to retire the Twins in order and set things up for John Axford to close it out in the ninth.
“He threw strikes, he was crisp [and] he was hitting the corners,” Macha said. “He threw a very good changeup to [Trevor Plouffe] for a strikeout. It’s encouraging.”
Axford, who got his first Major League save on the final day of the 2009 season, was sent out with a chance for his second in the ninth. In order to do so, however, he had to get through the heart of the Twins’ order.
After a leadoff double by Orlando Hudson to the gap in right, Axford got Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer each to strike out swinging with 96-mph fastballs. Axford still wasn’t done, though, as Jason Kubel singled in Hudson and the Twins loaded the bases two batters later.
But with a 1-2 curveball to Plouffe, Axford secured the win as they avoided what would have been the club’s fourth sweep in their last five series.
“It felt good; I just had to get it done,” Axford said. “It was great, it really was. A lot of emotion right there on the mound. That’s probably some of the most I’ll show really at the end. But I was excited. I wanted to get that save and go home with a win.”
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 recap 5/22
Brewers’ five-run ninth all for naught
MINNEAPOLIS — For once, the Brewers were the ones that rallied from four down to take the lead in the ninth. That lead lasted all of four batters in the bottom half of the inning.
The Brewers batted around in the ninth and tagged a pair of Twins relievers, including closer Jon Rauch, for five runs on five hits to carry a one-run lead with three outs to go.
But it just wasn’t enough. The Twins tied it up in the bottom of the frame to send it to extra innings and added another run in the 12th inning to hand the Brewers a tough loss on Saturday, 8-7, at Target Field.
“We just can’t seem to get over the hump,” Brewers manager Ken Macha said. “This thing’s going to turn sooner or later.”
And it could have been even worse. Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo opened the game up much the same way Dave Bush did on Friday night, surrendering four runs with two outs and two runners on in the first inning.
Gallardo got out of the inning, however, retiring eight of the next nine batters he faced. But the Brewers’ offense struggled early as just three runners reached base through the first four innings.
They didn’t get a lot of help from the Twins’ defense, either.
Minnesota turned a double play in four of the last six innings, including three that ended the inning. Making it even more impressive was the fact that not one of the four double plays came easily for the Twins.
“They made some big plays that maybe at the time didn’t seem like they were that big but turned out to be huge,” said Milwaukee third baseman Casey McGehee, who drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth. “It’s kind of what they do — it’s Twins baseball. You know they’re going to pitch, you know they’re going to play defense, they’re going to run the bases well and when they throw some hitting in there, they’re pretty darn good.”
The first double play came with two on and one out in the seventh, on a hard hit ground ball by Carlos Gomez to third. Twins third baseman Nick Punto stepped on the bag at third and fired to first to retire Gomez and end the inning.
In the ninth, the Brewers finally strung together a few hits, as the first five batters reached base in the inning. Ryan Braun ripped a low liner to the opposite field. Alexi Casilla — who entered the game in the eighth for an injured Orlando Hudson — snagged Braun’s line drive and caught Gomez too far off first to record the first two outs of the inning.
With the Brewers trailing, 6-5, at the time, a single from Braun could have made an already big inning even bigger for the Brewers.
“Brauny comes up and absolutely tattoos one there [but] can’t get it through the hole,” Macha said. “It’s just the way things are going right now.”
After getting a runner on with one out in each of the next two innings, the Brewers grounded to first baseman Justin Morneau, who started and ended both double plays.
But the Brewers still had a chance. Despite yet another early deficit, they continued to battle into the 12th. Unfortunately, the bullpen couldn’t hold on long enough, something that has become all too familiar for the Brewers this month.
Reliever Marco Estrada was tagged for two runs in the seventh, which came just after the rally-killing double play in the top of the inning. In the ninth, Carlos Villanueva — who has assumed the closer’s role in Trevor Hoffman’s absence — allowed the Twins to tie it up at 7 before escaping.
Finally, in the 12th, lefty Manny Parra — who was originally scheduled to start Sunday’s series finale — was the reliever who took the loss. Parra (0-3) entered in the 11th with the Brewers out of options in the bullpen and promptly shut down the Twins in order.
His final inning, however, was a different story.
Parra sandwiched two walks around a Joe Mauer single, loading the bases with none out in the inning. After getting Michael Cuddyer to ground into a fielder’s choice, Parra allowed the winning run to score on a sacrifice fly to right field by designated hitter Jason Kubel.
“I put myself in that situation walking two guys,” Parra said. “That’s brutal. You just can’t walk two guys. I mean, I gave them [the game].”
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 4/27
Packers take batting practice at Miller Park
By Jordan Schelling, MLB.com
Narveson to make first start of year
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Capuano notches win in Class A start
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A Schelling For Your Thoughts 
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