Braun has been in a good groove since coming off the DL
CHICAGO – Hey, Brewers fans, I have some news for you, and I hope you’re sitting down.
Your team beat Cubs left-hander José Quintana. And the Brewers did it in a day game, no less. No, I’m not kidding. You say stranger things have happened? OK, name one.
That’s the way it played out Tuesday afternoon at Wrigley Field for the Brewers, who pushed aside two seasons of frustration against Quintana and a yearlong trend of losing in matinees.
At the heart of the decisive and much-needed 7-0 victory over the division-leading Chicago Cubs was Ryan Braun, who has made a career of answering the
boos cascading down from the Friendly Confines with one big hit after another. In his first two at-bats against Quintana, Braun crushed curveballs far out to left for two-run homers, the second one nearly carrying a glove-wielding fan over the back railing and onto Waveland Ave.
Simply put, Braun loves hitting at Wrigley. In 78 games in the venerable ballpark, he is batting .338 with 17 home runs, 55 runs scored and 67 RBI.
“I’ve always enjoyed playing here,” Braun said. “As a competitor, there’s no more enjoyable atmosphere to play in than this. This place, along with Philadelphia and L.A., is always a fun place to play. The more hostile the environment, the more enjoyable it is as a competitor.
“This place is always packed; they’re always loud. It is a very challenging place to win. But it’s fun competing.”
Including Lorenzo Cain’s blast to leftcenter to open the game, the Brewers launched three out against Quintana, who departed having allowed five runs in five innings. That just happened to be exactly the number of runs the crafty left-hander had allowed the Brewers over seven previous starts.
“We’ve struggled against this guy,” said manager Craig Counsell, whose team improved to 18-30 in day games. “It was something we needed.
“Ryan’s been swinging the bat really well since the all-star break. He has been really locked in since coming off the DL (with back tightness). He’s been in a real groove, especially against lefthanded pitching.”
Indeed, Braun has been on a tear. Over his last 16 games, he is batting .388 (19 for 49) with four homers and 12 RBI, boosting his overall OPS to .770 (it was .711 at the break).
If you’ve watched the Brewers throughout the season, you are aware that Braun has been striking the ball hard enough to have better numbers. His 23% line-drive rate is the best of his career and his hard-hit rate (38.1%) is among the tops. Yet, entering Tuesday, he was hitting .279 on balls put in play, far below his career norm of .329.
In other words, until recently, Braun was hitting into very bad luck.
“I’ve swung the bat well all year,” Braun said. “I know it sounds crazy because I’m hitting .255. But if you look at all the Statcast data or anybody who has watched our games would know I’ve hit the ball really hard. I’ve just been incredibly unlucky.
“I’m sure with normal luck I’d have a .900 OPS or something in that range. It’s just the way the game goes sometimes. You hope if you continue to hit the ball hard, they’ll start to fall. I’ve seen a little more of that recently. Hopefully, it evens out over the next six weeks or so.”
Quintana, who saw his career ERA against the Brewers jump from 0.92 to 1.67, learned the hard way what happens if you hang curveballs to Braun. The early five-run lead was daunting the way Brewers starter Jhoulys Chacín (seven innings, three hits, no runs) was throwing the ball en route to boosting his record to 12-4 with a 3.72 ERA.
“Everything he has thrown me (in the past), he has had success with,” said Braun, who was 3 for 21 (.143) against Quintana. “I’ve hit a few balls hard… but everything he had showed me had worked for him. I think everything he had shown all of us had worked against us.
“He has thoroughly dominated us every time he has pitched against us. I think it was important to get off to a good start. Lo Cain set the tone. It was important to get a couple of runs early because he’s had so much success against us. I’m sure facing us he’s always been comfortable.”
The Brewers’ offense obviously is more potent with a healthy-and-hot Braun, 34, who carried the team for years before injuries, age, and yes, bad luck, started working against him. This is definitely a case of better late than never, with the playoff races heating up and the Brewers pulling within two games of the Cubs.
“It was pretty close to a must-win,” Braun said. “If you want to stay in the division race, you had to win one of two. Ideally, you’ve got to win both.
“These guys are really good. You obviously didn’t want to leave here down five games. Huge win today, and tomorrow is even bigger.”
When you beat Jose Quintana AND win a day game, all at once, tomorrow seems so much brighter.