This Week in Brewers Baseball: Opening Week
As we push through the marathon of a 162-game schedule, we're looking to give you an overview of each week that was, and what to expect in the days ahead. It all got started a week ago with another ugly 12-3 Opening Day loss for the Milwaukee Brewers, but things certainly improved as the week wore on
Series Recaps
Lost 2 of 3 games at home to the San Francisco Giants (L-L-W)
Won 2 of 3 games at home over the Houston Astros (W-L-W)
This week's record: 3-3 (3-3 overall)
Three Up, Three Down
Scooter Gennett
His .389 average, .500 OBP and .889 slugging percentage would be enough to put him here, but there are some other factors to consider.
Gennett blasted his 1st career HR against a lefty, ambushing Madison Bumgarner on Opening Day before drawing a walk against him later as well. Scooter entered the season 14-for-113 versus southpaws (.124 average) with 1 walk and 34 strikeouts.
After one week, he leads the Brewers in HRs (3), hits (7) and runs (5). Gennett also ranks 5th in MLB in OPS at 1.389 and is tied for 7th in baseball with a 0.5 WAR.
Jimmy Nelson
The Brewers' right-hander pitched into the 7th inning in both of his starts, earning the 3-2 win Sunday after a tough 2-1 defeat on Tuesday. He gave up a just a pair of earned runs in each start while fanning 9 Houston Astros in 6 frames Sunday.
Nelson showed great poise in his 1st two starts, utilizing both his slider and curveball to effectively avoid the hitters' barrels. After 2 starts, Nelson has a 0.975 WHIP and 8.1 strikeouts per 9 innings (K/9), terrific numbers to build from.
Tyler Thornburg
In 3 appearances (3 IP), Thornburg has not allowed a run, owns a 15.0 K/9 ratio, and picked up the Brewers' 1st win of the season last Wednesday. He has struck out at least one batter each time out and earned a hold Sunday in relief of Nelson.
Thornburg has faced 11 batters, giving up just 1 hit and 1 walk as the command of his changeup has been a key factor in his early success. He is quickly being looked at as a reliable late-inning reliever.
Wily Peralta
Many were shocked when Craig Counsell named Peralta the Opening Day starter, and Peralta has done nothing to silence his critics in a pair of starts to begin the year. After 8.1 frames, he owns a 10.80 ERA, a 2.280 WHIP and a pair of losses on his ledger.
Peralta allowed 6 hits and 5 runs (4 earned) on Opening Day in just 4 innings of work. He then gave up 7 hits and 6 runs, including 3 HRs in just 4.1 frames in a 6-4 Brewers' loss. In 8.1 innings, Peralta has the same number of walks as strikeouts (6).
After injury and ineffectiveness a year ago, many are doubting Peralta will even reach his 2014 levels, let alone take a step or two forward. He's going to get plenty of leash in a season like this one, but if improvement isn't shown at some point, other options will be explored.
Pitchers Not Missing Bats
It's only been 6 games, but Milwaukee pitchers have struggled to avoid the bats of their opponents and rack up many strikeouts thus far. Over the long haul, that could be a recipe for disaster - especially at Miller Park.
The Brewers' strikeout percentage of 16.6% is the worst in the National League (2nd-lowest in MLB). They also have the worst swinging strike percentage in the NL, getting whiffs just 8.4% of the time a hitter swings. It's a trend worth tracking.
Hitting With Runners in Scoring Position
This is a stat that tends to fluctuate, and many stat experts argue it means little in terms of being a skill; however, the Brewers have shown an inability to come up with a big hit in the early going.
Milwaukee ranks 27th in MLB with a .174 average with runners in scoring position. The Brewers have done a tremendous job of getting runners on base, but as we've seen a few times already, they've been unable to deal the big blow, leaving 7+ guys on base in 3 of their first 6 contests.
Browsing the Box Scores
1) Milwaukee batters rank 4th in MLB in walk percentage (BB%) at 12.2%. This is extremely encouraging considering the Brewers have been among the bottom third in walks over the past few years. They've twice had 7 walks in a game this year. Jonathan Villar leads the team with 5 free passes.
2) The quartet of Jeremy Jeffress, Blaine Boyer, Michael Blazek and Tyler Thornburg have allowed zero runs over 13.2 IP. The trio of Carlos Torres, Ariel Pena and Sam Freeman gave up 11 runs (5 HR) in just 5 frames.
3) Brewers' pitching has given up a HR in each of the first 6 games of the season, the 4th time it has happened in franchise history. The 2001 team holds the club record, allowing at least 1 HR in each of its first 13 games. They finished with a 68-94 record.
Looking Ahead...
The Brewers travel to St. Louis for the Cardinals' home opener on Monday (or Tuesday barring the weather). It's the start of an 8-game road trip that will trickle into the following week as well.
On Milwaukee's first road trip, they'll hit St. Louis for 3, then over to Pittsburgh for a 3-game weekend set before taking on the Twins in Minnesota for a pair. It will be a challenging early-season journey for the Crew...
Brewers' Head-to-Head Road Record (Since 2012)...
@ St. Louis: 14-23 (.378)
@ Pittsburgh: 17-19 (.472)
@ Minnesota: 5-5 (.500)