Crew fights back from adversity
Counsell pleased with mentality
When the Milwaukee Brewers lost the opener of a day-night makeup doubleheader, 6-0, Tuesday in St. Louis, they had dropped three consecutive games. A loss in the nightcap would drop them to .500 for the season and change their status as the only National League Central club with a winning record.
Not only did the Brewers win the nightcap, 8-5, they battled to claim the next two games, 7-6 and 6-4, winning their second series at Busch Stadium this season after going three years without taking any from the Cardinals.
Bouncing back has become commonplace this year for the Brewers, who entered the series opener against San Diego on Friday night with a 3632 record and 21⁄2-game lead in the division. Not bad for a club in the early stages of a rebuild that wasn’t projected to contend this season.
“I’m worried more about how we’re playing (than the standings),” manager Craig Counsell said before the game. “That’s what is more important. Just how we have bounced back from adversity and tough things. Guys have responded.
“Where I’m getting the biggest enjoyment out of this year is how we’ve responded to some difficult situations. The standings, obviously you know them but there’s a pretty big chunk of the season left. To have that be your main thought is kind of silly at this point.”
When it was noted that mid-June is not really that early, Counsell smiled and said, “It’s not early but there’s a lot of games left. (More than 90 games) qualifies as a lot for anybody, I think.”
The Brewers’ 6-4 victory Thursday night was remarkable in many ways. They let a couple of early leads slip away, stayed in the game with slick defense, held off the Cardinals in the late going despite the unavailability of high-leverage relievers Jacob Barnes and Corey Knebel, and won when Eric Thames lined a two-run homer in the ninth on a 0-2 pitch from St. Louis closer Seung Hwan Oh.
“(Thursday) night was a game we all enjoyed,” Counsell said. “It was a hard-fought win. We had three hard-fought wins in St. Louis. One trait of it has been a lot of guys contributing. The bullpen was outstanding; we got four shutout innings. And you win a game off the other team’s closer. That’s pretty satisfying.”
Ups and downs: After three years in Korea, Thames has been on a wild ride upon his return to the majors. He was fantastic in April, slugging a club-record 11 home runs with a remarkable 1.376 OPS. Then came the other end of the spectrum in May -- .221 average, three homers, .791 OPS.
The first 14 games of June have included both highs and lows. Thames was batting only .174 but drew enough walks for a .321 OBP and hit enough homers (four) for a .800 OPS. The bottom line was that Thames ranked among the NL leaders with 18 homers, 44 walks .400 OBP and .589 slugging percentage.
“I have a hard time analyzing the daily ups and downs of Eric Thames,” Counsell said. “He’s doing good. He had a good series in St. Louis. He is taking his walks.
“We’re creating threats every time (leadoff hitter Eric) Sogard and Thames come around. One of those guys is getting on base and we’re creating a threat that inning. I think he’s in a good place.”
Braun is closer: Ryan Braun did a full pregame workout again and is getting closer to being ready for a minor-league rehab assignment. Braun has been on the disabled list for a second time with a calf strain since May 26.
The Brewers and Braun have been looking at possible rehab scenarios but it is complicated because minor-league affiliates are approaching their all-star breaks.
“The good thing, for me, is we’re at the point where he’s doing a full pregame workout. We’ll see how he responds in the next couple of days to that activity and hopefully have a good idea after this weekend.”
Second baseman Jonathan Villar, on the DL with a lower back strain, is playing catch and doing some light hitting in the cage, but Counsell said, “He’s probably a little farther off (than Braun).”