Grandal appears on verge of a hot streak
Catcher Yasmani Grandal long has been known as a streaky hitter. During the hot streaks, he is tough to get out.
Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday that he felt Grandal was on the verge of another one of his offensive splurges. After hitting .357 (5 for 14) in the team’s series in Arizona last weekend, he returned home to collect three hits in eight at-bats (.375) in the first two games against Cincinnati.
The hot streak extended Grandal’s hitting streak to seven games, during which he was batting .346 (9 for 26). And he extended that streak to eight games in a big way with a two-run single in the fifth inning that delivered the decisive runs in the Brewers’ 5-4 victory over Cincinnati.
“I think he’s getting really close to being in a good spot,” Counsell said before the series finale against the Reds. “I think that’s really important. His good streaks are pretty darn good.”
Prior to this stretch, Grandal had gone cold in July, with only five hits in 35 at-bats (.143). Overall, he has been one of the most productive catchers in the majors, as the Brewers envisioned when giving him a one-year, $18.5 million free-agent deal in January.
Among major-league catchers, Grandal ranked first entering the game with 50 walks, 154 total bases and 36 extrabase hits, including 19 home runs. He was second with 80 hits, 46 RBI, .380 on-base percentage and 45 runs.
As in past seasons, Grandal has been a work horse, making 82 starts behind the plate as well as four at first base, and appearing in 96 of 104 games overall.
Williams back up, Smith down
The Brewers added a fresh arm to their overworked bullpen by calling up right-hander Taylor Williams from Class AAA San Antonio and optioning righty Burch Smith to that club. Smith pitched two innings in the 14-6 loss to the Reds on Tuesday night, surrendering six hits and five runs.
Williams will be in his fourth stint with the Brewers this year after three short ones that covered only seven games (1-1, 12.66 ERA). He was pitching well at San Antonio, going 3-1 with a 1.77 ERA in 34 games, with 45 strikeouts in 402⁄3 innings and 0.98 WHIP.
“He has thrown the ball well in Triple-A,” Counsell said. “We’ve had a number of guys who have gotten outs in Triple-A and haven’t performed as well here. There’s no answers for that necessarily. That’s just how it has gone.”
This marked the fourth time Smith came up and down this season.
Thames plugs along
Some fans have noticed that Eric Thames has been wincing at times on some of his ferocious swings at the plate. Asked before the game how he’s feeling, Thames smiled and said, ‘I’m OK. Everybody’s got something this time of year.”
Banged up or not, Thames has been mostly productive in sharing time with Jesús Aguilar at first base. The lefthanded-hitting slugger starts against most right-handed pitchers, with Aguilar facing the lefties.
After going 0 for 4 Wednesday, Thames was batting .254 with 14 home runs and 39 RBI, with a .362 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage.
“With Eric, for me, it’s always about balls and strikes,” Counsell said. “He got to a point last year where there was too much chase (swinging at pitches out of the strike zone). He has to take his walks, and he has done a much better job of that this year.”
As for some of the expressions and gyrations Thames shows during at-bats on occasion, Counsell said, “Eric is the same as he’s always been. He’s more animated in the box than most guys. But he’s himself, that’s for sure. It’s just Eric. After that, he takes 300 swings. So, there’s nothing wrong.
“That’s just what he does.”