Crew Comes Home for Nine

So what’s the deal with the Brewers and the West Coast? They just can’t seem to get anything going out there. There was that disastrous L.A. series, and now they were able to take only one game from the Padres. Yes they rallied last night, and managed to score five runs, but it still wasn’t enough. Hendrickson got lit up like a Christmas tree, and according to Ned Yost, “Your game generally goes on how your starting pitcher fares.” So right from the start, the Brewers must have known they were in trouble.

Hendrickson, who fared pretty well in his first outing at Miller Park when he relieved the ailing Ben Sheets, gave up five runs in the first inning alone, and was yanked after 2 1/3, allowing a total of seven runs. Fernandez fared a little better, and gave up only one run, but the damage was done. An 8-zip deficit in the 5th inning is no easy feat to overcome.

Couple the horrendous pitching with the fact that the top of our order, with the exception of Carlos Lee, couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat, and you have a very ugly series in San Diego.

So with this West Coast trip, the Crew falls to a game below .500 going into a nine game homestand. Mike Maddux definitely has his work cut out for him if he’s going to straighten out our pitching situation. We’ve picked AAA clean since two of our starters and our best long reliever are on the DL, and so far, what we’ve gotten hasn’t been too impressive. Our situation at the moment isn’t dire, but we need a big winning streak to keep it from becoming that way. At least we’re still ahead of Chicago!

Dave Bush gives it a go tonight against Jose Lima and the Mets. Lima is 0-1, with a 9.00 ERA. He surrendered seven hits and five runs in five innings of work, striking out five and walking four. Doesn’t sound too tough, but crappy pitchers seem to have a way of finding incredible stuff when they throw against the Brewers. Bush is coming off of an ugly outing against the Dodgers, when he was forced to start on short rest to fill in for Sheets. Maybe he’ll have his good stuff tonight.

Ok everybody. We’ve got nine games at home. Let’s all get out to the park and show our guys some support. I’ll see you all there tomorrow. Until next time, go Brewers!