Bacon's Forever Franchise

[bacon96]

Re: Bacon's Forever Franchise

Game 23: @ Pittsburgh Pirates
On a cold Tuesday night in Pittsburgh, we played a tight game versus a fairly equal team in the Pirates. We scored 3 runs in the first but they came back with three of their own in the second. Jacob Quantrill did everything we needed from him despite allowing those runs. His line ended at 5.2 innings with 3 strikeouts and a walk. The difference in this game was a sac fly that Josh Carroll hit in the 6th inning. The bullpen was unstoppable until D.J. Ryan came on. Ryan is usually dominant but today he allowed each of the first three hitters on base before striking out future stud Timmy Alexander and then inducing a double play to end the ball game. Final 4-3.

Game 24:
The offense had the pedal to the metal to begin this game as we scored 5 in the first frame to again give B.J. Butler an early lead. Michael McCoy continues to show his great hitting ability as he had two doubles in this game. He is nearly batting .400 on the month but has yet to hit one over the fence. We added on in the 5th when Derrek Hills hit his third home run of the year. Just like in his last start, Butler could not hold the lead. He allowed six runs and left with the game tied after five innings. We picked up two runs in the 7th inning and then another two in the ninth before we brought on Broderick Blankenship to finish off the ballgame. Final 10-6.

Game 25:
We pounced on the Pirates' starting pitcher in this game. Joe Looper only recorded two outs and seven total runs before exiting. The scoring was a team effort started by Troy Drennan but then we hit consecutive extra base hits from Mark Chiavacci, Josh Carroll, Nellie Orvella and Oswaldo Segovia (with Segovia's being a home run) to put up seven total runs in the first frame. Shawn Malone had his first great start of the season in this game as well - he pitched just five innings but gave up only two runs and with the offense adding on, this was plenty to earn his first win of the year. We added on more against the Pirates bullpen by putting up crooked numbers in the 2nd, 6th and 8th en route to our easiest win of the young season - 15-3.

Series Recap:
Our big bats were able to carry the team to a sweep against the division rival Pirates resulting in 29 total runs in just three games on the road. The big bats in this series were Josh Carroll, who went 6-12 with a triple and six runs batted in and Derrek Hills, who also had six hits but also hit two home runs and drew two walks.

What's Next?
Our road trip continues, this time out west to Denver, Colorado. The hosting Rockies enter the series 14-10 and are just half a game out of first place in the NL West. They just took two of three from their rival Giants where speedsters Speedy McGee and Miguel Ramirez starred in their wins.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Re: Bacon's Forever Franchise

Game 26: @ Colorado Rockies
The Colorado offense was on full display to begin the series here. Austin Wright had difficulty throwing strikes and it felt like Colorado took advantage every chance they got as they scored their first eight runs of our ace. Next, Tony LaBandeira allowed five runs before we had to go back to the 'pen where our run prevention unit did its job. Kendall Thompson and Broderick Blankenship combined to throw the last three innings and allowed just a hit plus two walks but our offense couldn't overcome the deficit and we lose 13-6.

Game 27:
We took a quick 2-0 lead after two innings but the thin Colorado air would not let the score stay that way. Jacob Quantrill couldn't finish five innings as he allowed five runs and even gave out five free passes. Then, Ricardo Mejia made his season debut and continued the trend of loud contact. Jordan Hendricks also made his first appearance and was rudely greeted by Tomas Triunfel who took him deep on the first pitch thrown by the veteran reliever. The Rockies offense was powered by five total home runs and our offense was unable to put one over the fence. Final 9-4.

Game 28:
Game three was another game that was broadcasted on stream and there was some late game drama built in to this one. The game was deadlocked 3-3 after five innings but then Devon Sampson threw his good performance away by allowing back to back doubles and a run to score. Then, when they were up 4-3, Rockies reliever Drew Barnes lost all contact with the strike zone and walked two batters before Dylan Bell sent a blooper to right field to tie the game late. We wasted no time as we came back in the ninth inning when Jake Fish and Michael McCoy hit back to back doubles. Final 5-4.




Series Recap:
We were able to salvage a game in the series on Sunday versus Colorado and are trying again to crawl back to .500. Michael McCoy has continued to be a bright spot and a consistent hitting machine but he is doing it without power. Nearly hitting .400 but nothing hit over the wall.

What's Next?
We come back home to finish the month versus the Washington Nationals. Washington is 9-18 which is last in the entire National League. They do have a great contributor so far in Gordon Landry but the bright spots are few and far between.

Baseball is better!

[bacon96]

Re: Bacon's Forever Franchise

Game 29: vs Washington Nationals
Back at home, we begin hosting the putrid Washington Nationals. I decided to push up Austin Wright to make his start, the rotation has been bad but the higher rated pitchers deserve more opportunities to snap out of it. And that turned out to be a good decision because other than Wright's blow-up 4th inning, where he allowed three runners to score, the Nats offense did nothing against our ace. The same couldn't be said about our bullpen because both Jordan Hendricks and Tony LaBandeira came in and gave up multiple runs in their appearances. LaBandeira has been especially bad, pitching to an 8.43 ERA after his first 16 innings from the bullpen this month. Thankfully, the offense came through with eleven runs thanks to dingers from Michael McCoy and Nellie Orvella, both of which occurred with runners on base. This formula will definitely help us win many more games moving forward but it's known to be difficult to duplicate. Brew Crew winners in this one 11-7.





Game 30:
In the second game of the series, we jumped out to a quick lead thanks to a Derrek Hills three run bomb and B.J. Butler did a great job holding down the fort as the starting pitcher. He went six innings and only allowed two runs, both on solo home runs. We then added on in the bottom of the sixth when Josh Carroll hit another round tripper. Nothing else eventful went down until the ninth inning when Michael McCoy misplayed a ball in left field which would result in an inside-the-park home run by Mike McCann before the closer finished it off, final 6-5.

Game 31:
We end our Nationals series plus the month of April on the same day and Washington wouldn't let us finish on a high note. Our starter, Jacob Quantrill, finished off his rough April with another tough outing at home as the Nats put up six before we turned it over to our 'pen with one out in the fifth. On the other side, Rich Parker shut us down all the way until the seventh when Troy Drennan opened up the scoring and Derrek Hills hit a dinger for us too but it was a classic situation of "too little, too late" for the Crew. Final 9-4

Series Recap:
We finished the series with a loss but taking two of three to win the series is what really matters here. The offense was clicking in all three and once our starting pitching settles in, we'll be a very good baseball team.

What's Next?
We welcome back the St. Louis Cardinals to begin the month of May. The Cards just took three of four in San Diego to bring their record to 13-19 at the end of April. This leaves them in fourth in our NL Central division.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Re: Bacon's Forever Franchise

Here are my team stats through the end of April:

April 2020 Milwaukee Brewers Stats - Hitting
NAME	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	WAR	BA	OBP	SLG
Michael McCoy	123	23	50	14	0	1	16	11	26	0	1.5	.407	.452	.545
Derrek Hills	92	18	26	4	0	6	21	18	21	0	1.1	.283	.405	.522
Kenny Story	54	7	22	3	1	0	7	7	11	0	1.0	.407	.468	.500
Nellie Orvella	67	12	21	8	0	3	14	4	13	0	0.9	.313	.347	.567
Josh Carroll	71	10	19	3	2	2	16	11	19	0	0.9	.268	.376	.451
Mark Chiavacci	49	11	22	9	0	0	18	6	7	0	0.8	.449	.491	.633
Troy Drennan	117	20	32	12	0	4	20	9	25	0	0.8	.274	.320	.479
Jake Fish	93	13	25	9	0	4	17	15	31	0	0.6	.269	.376	.495
Dylan Bell	37	5	9	3	0	2	4	5	5	0	0.5	.243	.333	.486
Flash Miller	99	14	19	2	0	4	7	14	30	3	0.3	.192	.292	.333
Oswaldo Segovia	115	16	36	3	0	2	11	12	22	0	0.2	.313	.378	.391
Nick Paxton	36	1	9	0	0	0	0	5	8	0	0.2	.250	.341	.250
Alexander Goodwin	39	5	9	1	0	3	6	7	15	0	0.1	.231	.348	.487
Nick Brady	10	1	1	0	0	0	1	2	1	0	0.0	.100	.286	.100
Pedro Liriano	33	3	4	2	0	0	2	6	12	0	0.0	.121	.256	.182
Tommy Darling	26	1	3	0	0	0	1	1	7	0	-0.2	.115	.148	.115

April 2020 Milwaukee Brewers Stats - Pitching
NAME	GP	GS	W	L	SV	QS	HLD	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	ERA
Austin Wright	7	7	4	2		4		43.0	51	22	6	11	14	1.44	4.60
Jacob Quantrill	7	7	3	2		3		41.0	51	24	7	13	15	1.56	5.27
Devon Sampson	6	6	1	3		3		34.2	40	24	6	13	17	1.53	6.23
B.J. Butler	6	6	3	1		6		33.1	38	22	7	6	11	1.32	5.94
Shawn Malone	5	5	1	4		1		26.1	43	19	4	8	11	1.94	6.49
Broderick Blankenship	12		0	0			0	18.1	20	9	2	8	9	1.53	4.42
Tony LaBandeira	15		0	0			2	17.0	23	17	6	4	14	1.59	9.00
Kendall Thompson	12		3	0			3	12.0	11	8	3	2	9	1.08	6.00
Austin Trout	9		0	0			3	11.2	14	7	2	3	8	1.46	5.40
Bryce Black	10		0	2			4	10.2	9	4	1	2	6	1.03	3.38
D.J. Ryan	9		0	1	8		0	9.1	6	4	1	6	10	1.29	3.86
Will Bell	7		0	1			1	6.2	8	3	1	2	7	1.50	2.70
Sidney Knight	8		0	0			1	6.2	5	2	1	3	7	1.20	2.70
Jordan Hendricks	3		0	0			0	3.2	7	4	2	0	2	1.91	9.82
Ricardo Mejia	2		0	0			0	3.1	7	3	1	0	1	2.10	8.10

Next up are our hitting league leaders:

MLB League Leaders - Updated: May 1, 2020
WAR		WAR	Hits		H
	1. Paul Keys	2.5		1. Michael McCoy	50
	2. Reggie Kellogg - CHC	2.2		2. Jimmy Schmitz - StL	44
	3. Jimmy Schmitz - StL	2.1		3. Alexis Elias - MIN	43
	4. Miguel Ramirez - COL	2.0		3. Brandon Smith - PHI	43
	5. Alexis Elias - MIN	1.9		5. Orlando Blanco - StL	42
Home Runs		HR	Runs Batted In		RBI
	1. Clayton Anderson	12		1. Paul Keys	34
	2. Kevin Wolf - LAA	11		2. Reggie Kellogg - CHC	33
	2. Paul Keys - CLE	11		3. Clayton Anderson - MIN	31
	4. Frankie Fernandez - CHC	10		4. Casey Cain - HOU	27
	4. Dylan Clark - HOU	10		4. Joseph Buscher - LAD	27
Stolen Bases		SB	Walks		BB
	1. Homer Webster	12		1. Michael Mayfield	26
	1. Gordon Landry - WSH	12		2. Vance Baird - MIN	24
	3. Matt Davis - SEA	10		2. Paul Keys - CLE	24
	3. Miguel Ramirez - COL	10		4. Oscar Rodriguez - CHC	23
	5. Bryce Lewis - CHC	9		4. Kenji Suzuki - SF	23
Batting Average		AVG	Runs		R
	1. Michael McCoy	.407		1. Brandon Smith	26
	2. Enzo Hamilton - OAK	.392		1. Colt Snow - PHI	26
	3. Travis Berry - MIA	.370		3. Mo Money - CLE	24
	4. Jimmy Schmitz - StL	.367		3. Gordon Landry - WSH	24
	5. Brandon Smith - PHI	.364		3. Alexis Elias - MIN	24

Then we have a pitching league leaders:

MLB League Leaders - Updated: May 1, 2020
WAR		WAR	Innings Pitched		IP
	1. Vince Cartwright	1.9		1. Vince Cartwright	54.0
	2. Chip Wolf - MIN	1.7		2. Ethan Kintzler - DET	52.2
	3. Will Palmer - TOR	1.4		3. Chip Wolf - MIN	49.1
	3. Kole Robertson - SD	1.4		4. Tadahito Takatsu - SF	48.2
	5. Enrique Fernandez - KC	1.2		5. P.J. Kid - TB	48.0
Wins		W	Saves		SV
	1. Buck Shauver	6		1. Dan Murray	14
	1. Edwin Rodriguez - CHC	6		2. Train Lucas - SD	12
	3. Vince Cartwright - NYY	5		2. Sergio Gomez - NYY	12
	3. Reynaldo Villegas - LAD	5		4. Roberto Reyes - NYM	11
	3. Adam Hendricks - COL	5		4. Lane Wright - CWS	11
Strikeouts		K	Earned Run Average		ERA
	1. Vince Cartwright	65		1. Vince Cartwright	1.17
	2. Chip Wolf - MIN	63		2. Enrique Fernandez - KC	1.52
	3. Will Palmer - TOR	55		3. Christoper Reed - LAD	1.58
	4. Kyle Moss - HOU	53		4. Reynaldo Villegas - LAD	1.67
	5. Blondie Pena - HOU	52		5. Ernesto Rodriguez - NYY	1.83

Lastly, these are how the standings are looking after April:

MLB Standings - Updated: May 1, 2020
AL EAST	W	L	GB
Yankees	22	10	-
Red Sox	19	14	3.5
Orioles	18	13	3.5
Rays	15	18	7.5
Blue Jays	14	17	7.5
AL CENTRAL	W	L	GB
Twins	19	12	-
White Sox	16	15	3.0
Indians	15	18	5.0
Royals	12	19	7.0
Tigers	12	19	7.0
AL WEST	W	L	GB
Astros	17	14	-
Rangers	16	14	0.5
Angels	16	14	0.5
Mariners	17	16	1.0
A's	14	19	4.0
NL EAST	W	L	GB
Marlins	18	13	-
Mets	18	13	-
Braves	16	17	3.0
Phillies	15	16	3.0
Nationals	10	20	7.5
NL CENTRAL	W	L	GB
Cubs	21	11	-
Reds	16	14	4.0
Brewers	15	16	5.5
Cardinals	13	19	8.0
Pirates	11	20	9.5
NL WEST	W	L	GB
Rockies	17	12	-
Dodgers	17	13	0.5
Padres	15	16	3.0
Diamondbacks	13	18	5.0
Giants	12	19	6.0

[bacon96]

Re: Bacon's Forever Franchise

I also feel the need to mention how bad we have been at the catcher position. Since Pedro Liriano went down with his injury, there has been a huge hole for what is done at the plate by the guys who play behind the plate. Liriano ALSO wasn't good so I'll add him to this compilation. Three of the four options have been very bad so Dylan Bell will likely take on a death hold of the position but hopefully, it won't take a toll on his health. Bell is only 3+ years into his MLB career so we have so control long term if he does turn into the best option for us later on.

2020 Brewers Catching Core Stats - Hitting
NAME	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	WAR	BA	OBP	SLG
ALL CATCHERS COMBINED	106	10	17	5	0	2	8	14	25	0	0.3	.160	.292	.264
Dylan Bell	37	5	9	3	0	2	4	5	5	0	0.5	.243	.333	.486
Pedro Liriano	33	3	4	2	0	0	2	6	12	0	0.0	.121	.256	.182
Tommy Darling	26	1	3	0	0	0	1	1	7	0	-0.2	.115	.148	.115
Nick Brady	10	1	1	0	0	0	1	2	1	0	0.0	.100	.286	.100

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Re: Bacon's Forever Franchise

May Schedule and Preview

We enter the month of May in third place but this month will consist of many opportunities to change that for the Brewers. We open at home against the woeful St. Louis Cardinals before traveling to south Florida for our lone trip to play the Marlins for four games but then back to Milwaukee to host the Diamondbacks. Of these first ten games, none of the opponents are off to a great start considering the level of expectations for each team. Our big road trip for the month is to head to Chicago to play the Cubs then on to Cincinnati for four games. Chicago and Cincy currently sit 1 and 2 in the NLC standings entering May. After that trip, we have a couple off days built into a long homestand where we'll host the AL best, New York Yankees, the Cubs (again) and finish off the homestand against San Francisco.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Re: Bacon's Forever Franchise

Game 32: v. St. Louis Cardinals
The offenses go back and forth in this game as both starters delivered rough performances. Shawn Malone gave up five runs on 10 hits in five plus innings while Roy Myers for the Cardinals lasted just three frames after issuing seven walks but Flash Miller's home run was the blow that knocked him out of the ball game. The bullpens were both solid with ours giving up nothing. Final here 6-5.

Game 33:
This game was scoreless until the 4th when Dylan Bell hit a deep single off the wall in left field but the Cardinals struck back very quickly with two of there own runs in the top half of the fifth inning. Even though he allowed those runs, Austin Wright was able to avoid allowing any other runners to cross the plate in his outing. He was terrific as he went 7.1 total before the bullpen blew it in the eighth. However, the Cardinals bullpen also had some issues recording outs in this game because we hit home runs in both the eighth and ninth innings to force extra innings. In the extra frame, it was Troy Drennan who got to play hero when he deposited a ball into the visitor's bullpen resulting in our first walk-off of the young season. Final 6-4 after playing ten innings.



Game 34:
The final score will look similar but the story of this game was very different. We pounced on the Cardinal pitching to begin this game as we scored in each of the first four innings. The major highlight was Michael McCoy hitting two home runs in a game for the first time all season. McCoy's power potential is to hit around 25-30 home runs but he'll need more games like this one to make it there. Our bullpen starred in this one again with Sidney Knight, Bryce Black and D.J. Ryan all registering scoreless appearances. Final 7-5.



Series Recap:
In three close games, we sweep the woeful St. Louis Cardinals. This series sweep helps us vault into second in the NL Central early in the season. In this series, the home run ball was the difference. We had five different players hit home runs at home, including the much needed two homer performance by Michael McCoy!

What's Next?
We head to south beach to take on the Miami Marlins. Miami is currently 19-15 which is a good enough record to hold sole possession of first place in the NL East. The Marlins have great defense and pitching thanks to their middle of the diamond duo, Junior Gonzalez and Travis Berry, both exceeding their lofty expectations.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Re: Bacon's Forever Franchise

Game 35: @ Miami Marlins
In our lone trip to South Florida this season, we begin the series with a win. In the second inning, Alexander Goodwin, back from the minors, hit a dinger in his first at bat then we added on even more in the sixth thanks to dingers from rookies Mark Chiavacci and Nellie Orvella - with Nellie's being a three run shot to rudely greet Karl Davis into the game for Miami. Finally, our bullpen was again dominant as four arms combined to hold the Marlins scoreless in the late innings as we cruise to a 7-3 win to begin the trip.

Game 36:
B.J. Butler was our star in this game. He continues his quality start streak to begin the year and today's was his best yet. Butler threw six scoreless frames while only allowing two hits but walked four. We had enough offense as well thanks to Alexander Goodwin's four hits which included an RBI single in the first inning then Miami gifted us a second run in the third because of a throwing error from Marlins first baseman, Derrick Shaw. He made up for that error when he went deep in the eighth inning but that wasn't enough. 2-1 final in Miami as we at least earn a split.

Game 37:
Nick Paxton waited until over a month into the season before recording his first RBI but he came through in this one. He broke open the scoring in the second with his two-out double then brought in two more in the fourth inning. Then in our fifth inning, Mark Chiavacci showed his power stroke yet again to take a five run lead. On the pitching side, Shawn Malone was a ground ball machine. He induced two double plays, forcing lots of weak contact and didn't allow a runner to second base until the sixth inning. Travis Berry hit a homer in the eighth to trim the lead but we would hold on. Final 8-3.

Game 38:
I threw Nick Paxton back in the lineup for the finale and he quickly made that look like a great decision because of his second inning home run. Paxton hadn't been getting a lot of activity on the season but these two games could be the start of his turnaround. Austin Wright did not have a good time in South Beach. He gave up two home runs (both with runners on) before the fourth ended which meant he would allow seven total runs in this appearance. The bullpen didn't do much better as, even though it was a close in the middle innings, they could not keep it that way. We did score some more in the later innings but so did the Marlins so we couldn't keep up. Final 10-9.

Series Recap:
Our quick trip to Miami was a good one as we took three out of four in a series win. The entire month of May has been good to us so far and the great performances from players like Nick Paxton or Mark Chiavacci just show how much depth we have as an organization.

What's Next?
We host the Arizona Diamondbacks next. Even though they're known as the worst team in BFR, Arizona is actually in fouth in the NL West. They have been carried by their great bullpen performances and some good hitting by a surprise in Raul Ruiz.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Re: Bacon's Forever Franchise

Game 39: v. Arizona Diamondbacks
Back at home but The Nick Paxton Show continued. He drove in three of our five first inning runs and we added on when Michael McCoy hit an absolute nuke in the second inning. Jacob Quantrill was great for us until the fifth inning when he stuck around long enough to allow eight runs to score for the surging D'Backs. Then we made our way back but couldn't complete the comeback since Eric Lynn shut us down. Final 9-8.

Game 40:
Devon Sampson did everything he could in this one until he reached the fourth inning. Sampson's struggles continued as he allowed two home runs in that inning. We began our comeback in the eighth but the D'Backs bullpen shut it down. We lost here 7-3.

Game 41:
On Mother's Day, B.J. Butler had another good start in the finale versus the Diamondbacks. He threw six innings and only gave up a run thanks to a solo home run from Raul Ruiz. On our hitting end, we scored one in the third thanks to an RBI triple hit by Kenny Story then the game remained tied until the sixth when Alexander Goodwin hit a two-run homer. We would only hold the lead until the eighth inning when Bobby Weingarten collected two two-out runs batted in for Arizona to take the lead but we would take it right back in the bottom of the eighth because Goodwin hit another home run. We take the finale 5-4.




Series Recap:
Arizona came in to take two out of three in this quick weekend series. They scored 9, 7 and then 4 so the key for us has to be to keep the blowup starts to a minimum. In both losses, our starters gave up 6 or more and completed less than six full innings.

What's Next?
We head south about 90 minutes to play at Wrigley Field for the first time this season. The Cubs currently lead the NL Central with a 27-14 record early in the season. These Cubs are being powered by the big bats of Frankie Fernandez and Oscar Rodriguez so far.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Re: Bacon's Forever Franchise

Game 42: @ Chicago Cubs
At a green ivy filled Wrigley Field, we took a quick 2-0 lead thanks to a misplayed ball in right field by Jack North but the Cubs wouldn't stay down for long. They scored their first run in the fourth because Frankie Fernandez wanted to deposit a ball into the bleachers. Then Oscar Rodriguez did the same thing in the sixth with a runner on before adding one more in the eighth. We put up a fight against the Cubbie closer but they were able to hang on to a 4-3 win for Chicago.




Game 43:
Austin Wright did what he could to hold down the Cubs offense but they still found a way resulting in three flukey runs by Chicago. While Cubs starter, Tanner Wood pitched even more like an ace. Wood had twelve strikeouts and only made one mistake when he allowed a meatball across the plate to Derrek Hills who promptly took him deep to center field. Then our offense stayed quiet until Nellie Orvella fed the bleacher creatures with a home run of his own, this one with two runners on base. Then in the eighth, Mark Chiavacci joined the club by socking a three run home run too. 8-3.

Game 44:
The finale in Chicago was a slugfest as on a Wednesday afternoon, the Brewers and Cubs went back and forth in a mock home run derby. All of Jake Fish, Mark Chiavacci, Michael McCoy and Troy Drennan went deep with Fish hitting the bleachers twice and Drennan hitting a dramatic go-ahead three-run home run when we were down to our last out in the ninth inning. We beat Chicago in the battle of the bats, 10-8.

Series Recap:
The wind was blowing out all week in the Windy City as the two teams combined for 36 runs on twelve home runs in this midweek series. We need our starting pitching to buckle down because I know the offense will not continue.

What's Next?
We continue our road trip as we head to Cincinnati, Ohio. The Reds are 23-20 and sitting in third place in the NL Central. They currently sit in 7th in the MLB in home runs with 61 and already have two hitters who have hit 10+, Kasey Lumpkin and Jairo Sanchez.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Re: Bacon's Forever Franchise

Game 45: @ Cincinnati Reds
Great American Ballpark showed why it's a hitter's paradise in this game as we pounced on the Reds quickly with four runs on three home runs in the first inning off their starter Quinn Brignac. He would end up only pitching into the fifth as he allowed six total runs before he turned it over to the bullpen who would also allow numerous runs across. On our pitching end, Devon Sampson was good enough, allowing just two Reds to score, but the star of this game was Ricardo Mejia who, in mop-up duty, recorded nine outs out of the bullpen en route to a three inning save. He is not the best pitcher on the squad as his ERA sits at 6.54. Final here 9-3



Game 46:
Derrek Hills came up in the third with two outs and bases juiced then proceeded to bring all the runners home with a deep triple. Hills usually doesn't have the speed for a triple but a bad route from Reds centerfielder, Max Taylor, made this a stand-up three bagger. On the pitching side, B.J. Butler didn't allow a baserunner until Taylor and Jairo Sanchez went back to back in the fifth. Then the gofer ball bit Butler again in the sixth when Evan Brenner launched one into the stands. Butler came back out for the seventh just to give up a fourth run before he was pulled. We couldn't come back to score anymore so the final here is a 4-3 loss.

Game 47:
Nellie Orvella's hot stick in Cincy continued today when he laced an RBI double in the third inning and Michael McCoy's power surge over the month of May continued too! Lastly, Shawn Malone's recent success also continued as he went five scoreless before leaving a couple of inherited runners on in the sixth. Sidney Knight then proceeded to blow the lead and then the Reds would add on late and we would too but it wasn't enough. 10-5 loss again in Cincinnati

Game 48:
We lost a slugfest in the finale at Great American Smallpark. The Reds hit five home runs, including one by Michael Watkins who was making his MLB debut and we were able to slug eight of our own but we were unable to produce enough baserunners to really make those solo home runs matter. In the end, we couldn't come up with a late, clutch hit as Tyrone Hicks was able to shut us down in the ninth, final 13-12.




Series Recap:
In a four game set versus a division rival, we are unable to capitalize on two one-run losses which could have helped us flip the series results. Our bullpen couldn't keep up with the Reds offense, even though our offense frequently could. We just gotta do better next time!

What's Next?
We host the New York Yankees as we begin a nine game homestand at Miller Park. The Yanks are second in the AL East and have been carried by BFR legend Vince Cartwright who is both their ace starting pitcher and excellent designated hitter.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Re: Bacon's Forever Franchise

Game 49: v. New York Yankees
Back at home but the story was again the long ball. The Yankees were up two runs late thanks to homers from Colby Relaford and Sergio Oliveros but we would rally in the eighth after dingers from Troy Drennan and Alexander Goodwin, with Goody's being a three-run bomb. In the ninth, our shaky bullpen featured Jordan Hendricks before D.J. Ryan came on to finish off the Bombers. We won this one, 8-6.

Game 50:
In our second matchup hosting the Yankees, B.J. Butler was brilliant. He threw 5.2 innings before departing with the bases loaded and didn't allow a run to score. Derrek Hills did what he neeeded to do to give us the lead by launching a two run homer in the fifth inning and added on two more with a single in the seventh. This game would have ended as a shutout but Ricardo Mejia allowed a two-out solo home run by Chad Looper. Brewers are winners 4-1

Game 51:
Getaway day in Milwaukee resulted in a pitcher's duel today. We bumped up Austin Wright in the rotation since there was an off day built in this week. That decision paid off as him and Ernesto Rodriguez both went at least six before yielding to the bullpen during a tied 2-2 game. However, our bullpen, notably, Kendall Thompson, wasn't able to keep up with the scoreless performance by the Yanks. They win 4-2.

Series Recap:
We played three close games again this series, and took two of three in the process. The Yankees hit a bunch of home runs and we were mostly able to keep up but this stars for this midweek's series was our pitching.

What's Next?
We welcome the Cubs back to the Good Land. Chicago is coming off taking two of three in Pittsburgh and are just 10-9 so far in the month of May but it's been enough for them to hold the lead in the NL Central.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Re: Bacon's Forever Franchise

Game 52: v. Chicago Cubs
Shawn Malone was brilliant against the Cubs. He only had one major mistake before leaving an inherited runner on for the bullpen resulting in three total runs on his ledger. That all didn't matter since the offense made this a laugher. We had four home runs and 13 total runs but all the production was from three bats, Nellie Orvella, Oswaldo Segovia and Mark Chiavacci all collected three or more runs batted in. Final 13-4.

Game 53:
Devon Sampson couldn't match Malone's performance as he made a lot more than just one mistake, most notably, allowing a grand slam to Reggie Kellogg and two home runs from Oscar Rodriguez so Sampson couldn't finish four before allowing SEVEN earned runs in this performance. This all occurred before we tallied our first hit since Tanner Wood was dominant for the Cubbies but this wasn't the same story for their bullpen. We began to make a comeback but the Cubs also added on. We made this one look close but lose 10-8.

Game 54:
The Cubs' extra base hit power continued in game three. They scored three in the first inning thanks to three extra base hits, highlighted by back-to-back triples then scored a fourth run in the second because of a solo homer but we would also take advantage of our chances with the bats. We would put up six runs against the Cub starter, Jamal Tatum, which forced a quick exit for the young right hander. B.J. Butler, on our side was good enough and then the bullpen didn't allow any earned runs as we pull another dub and take the series, 7-6.

Series Recap:
After fifty four games, which is exactly one third into the MLB season, we still trail the Cubs in the NL Central but this series helped us pick up some ground. Chicago seems to be a force thanks to lots of extra base potential from the middle of their lineup which matches up well against our season-long poor starting pitching performances but we prevailed in this three game set.

What's Next?
We host the San Francisco Giants at Miller Park next. The Giants are an established, veteran ballclub with power up and down the lineup and great, but aging starting pitching. They are supposed to be a powerhouse on BFR but actually are sitting in last place in a competitive NL West.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Re: Bacon's Forever Franchise

Game 55: vs. San Francisco Giants
The Giants were hitless until the fifth inning as we were able to cruise yet again to a win against a struggling team. Austin Wright becomes our first pitcher to record double-digit strikeouts this season when he struck out ten hitters and we did everything with the bats as well but Nellie Orvella was the biggest star in this game socking two home runs and driving in five total. Dubs 8-2.




Game 56:
We bumped Shawn Malone up in the rotation to make this start and that decision paid off as he went 6.1 innings scoreless. Malone ended up walking both of the last two batters he faced but Sidney Knight induced a double play to hold our 1-0 lead after Malone left. We added one more in the bottom of that seventh and we needed it since Bryce Black would allow a solo home run to Peter Wynn Jr. to open the scoring for San Fran and we would end up getting that run back anyways. Our closer, D.J. Ryan came on in the ninth and slammed the door shut so we are able to finish off a 4-1 win and clinch a series dub.

Game 57:
A great effort by B.J. Butler matched what Giants ace, Tadahito Takatsu, did in this one. They both went six innings and gave up just one two-run home run. Carmelo Ramirez made his MLB debut in this game. He rercorded two hits and his first stolen bases in this game. We turned it over to our bullpen and that's when chaos ensued as the Giants scored four runs in the seventh inning to spoil Butler's good outing. The Giants weren't done as they added three more runs in the ninth, which made it too hard for us to come back. Final 9-2.

Series Recap:
Our pitching did better in this series as we end the home stand 6-3. The struggling Giants struggled until they had their ace on the mound and played a near perfect game in the finale. Our young surprise, Mark Chiavacci, has hit a wall and hit it hard in this series. He went 1-10 with just one run batted in and two strikeouts. He's been our regular DH since being recalled but might get his playing time cut now since Alexander Goodwin has been good with the stick.

What's Next?
We go back to Florida but this time to St. Petersburg to play the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays are 28-31 which places them in fourth in a competitive AL East division. They are coming off dropping two of three to the Blue Jays at home. The Rays will give Dewey Nomura and then their ace, P.J. Kid, the ball in the two games of this quick interleague series.

Baseball is Better!

[bacon96]

Re: Bacon's Forever Franchise

Game 58: @ Tampa Bay Rays
Some poor defense got us off to a rough start, especially because of a throwing error by catcher, Dylan Bell, in the first inning and a dropped fly ball by the sure handed, Oswaldo Segovia, in the third put us in a quick 2-0 hole. We would prevail in the fifth inning when we scored three which included a deep home run by Jake Fish. We kept the momentum with another home run in the eighth which gave us a two run lead at that point. The bullpen would allow one on an Ed Cole single but D.J. Ryan held on for a 4-3 win in game 1.

Game 59:
No errors in this game but our defense still let Austin Wright down and in a duel of the aces, we had to have everything go our way to keep it close. P.J. Kid was very good for the Rays where he didn't allow a run until the fifth and in that fifth, it was Troy Drennan with a two-run bomb. The pitch count would be what pulls Kid from the game as he was well over 100 just after that fifth. Pete Moss took Wright deep in the sixth and that was the end of the line for our ace. The Rays added on more against our 'pen and we lost 8-3.

Series Recap:
We split our quick two gamer in Tampa. Our defense showed its flaws in both games but ultimately it was not the difference and we unfortunately end the month with a series split after winning the last three series before. Our record for the month was a stellar 17-11.

What's Next?
We open the month of June in the Nation's Capital then travel to Boston. The Nationals are 25-33 which is good enough for 4th place in a mediocre NL East. The Nats ended the month winning a series in Philadelphia, the only NL East team behind them in the standings. Washington has a few power hitters...in fact, their top three home run hitters all have more than our home run leaders. They are T.J. Mercer, Bo Sorenson and Howard Thompkins. Get ready for a power display in this series!

Baseball is Better!