Helling is My Hero!

Rick Helling got thrown into a major mess last night in San Franciso. 6th inning, bases loaded, no outs, Brewers up by four, tying run at the plate. A good outing would be to get out of the jam with only one or two runs across. Helling took out the Giants, 1-2-3, nothing plated. That's a save if I ever saw one. Helling was absolutely masterful last night, not to mention efficient, throwing only 37 pitches in his three innings of work. In fact, Rick faced only 9 batters, and retired every single one. Zach Jackson got the win, but that 'W' was a gift from Rick Helling.

The entire team played pretty masterfully last night, displaying some of, if not the best defense I've ever seen. Jeff Cirillo, Bill Hall and Rickie Weeks turned an outstanding double play off of a bunt attempt. Gabe Gross chipped in on a DP with Mike Rivera when he threw that rocket from shallow center, and Rivera pulling a Sal Fasano block at home plate to tag Vizcaino. I could go on, but you get the idea. These guys played like a team for a change, and it was an absolute thrill to watch, even if I did have to stay up till after midnight to see it all. (did I mention that I hate West Coast trips??)

And speaking of thrilling, how about the offense last night? Bill Hall crushing a three run homer into the stands in left field. Mike Rivera blasting a two run homer to right center. Mike Rivera scoring between the feet of Giants' catcher Eliezer Alfonzo. (Outstanding call by home plate umpire Gary Darling, by the way.) A three-hit night for Prince Fielder; two hits for Carlos Lee; two for Jeff Cirillo plus a walk; two walks for Rivera; a hit for almost everyone else.

The best part? The majority of this offense came against All-Star Jason Schmidt, who shut out the Brewers on May 3 at Miller Park, (his first of four wins in May), and went on to win NL Pitcher of the Month.

Jackson's outing last night wasn't exactly pretty, but it got the job done, with lots of help from his defense. Sadly, last night might be the last we see of Zach for a while as tonight marks the long-awaited return of Tomo Ohka to the Brewers' rotation. Someone has to be sent down to clear a roster spot for Tomo. My suggestion would be Dana Eveland, but in order for Zach to continue to get starts and sharpen his skills, he would be the logical choice. And with Dana working from the pen and not starting, he can't do as much damage as in previous stints with the Crew. At least Zach would, most likely, get sent to AAA Nashville, which is a promotion in a sense, since he got called up from AA Huntsville. We'll all know for sure at some point today.

But back to Ohka. He said he wanted to come back sooner, but trainers wouldn't let him for fear of re-injury to his shoulder. As outstanding as Helling was last night, I'm sure we all remember his not-so-glorious comeback from the DL. Here's hoping that Tomo has a better first outing. He's going up against former Brewer Jamie Wright, who is winless in his last eight starts, and says without hesitation that he is ready.

Someone left me a comment suggesting that I make more predictions since Milwaukee won last night and St. Louis lost. (see yesterday's post) Well, I don't make predictions, but I do cross my fingers and wish real hard! Is it wrong in a situation like this to root for the Mets, the Braves and the Cubs? Just this once, of course!

So here's hoping the Braves can once again tomahawk the Cards, fingers crossed that the Mets can continue their domination and beat the crap out of Cincy, and maybe, just maybe the Cubs can muster something to get past Houston. Anything's possible. Hey, even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then. Until next time, go Brewers!