Pirates 2, Brewers 6
Player of the Game: Lyle Overbay
Record: 5-3
Chris Capuano has never
really been pretty, but he usually keeps the Crew in the game. With Bill Hall in the lineup, the Crew
obviously struggled to score runs. Add
to that Branyan struggling and the pitcher’s lineup spot, and you’ve got a
quick 0-10 right there. Luckily, the
first six spots in the lineup stepped it up today. There are two players that I need to mention, as they have very
quietly contributed a ton to the cause this season. Fist, Brady Clark got on base another three times today. This time, there wasn’t going to be any
stupid stolen bases, or, I should say, caught stealings. Brady is now batting .333 to go along with
many walks and HBP. He’s even hit for a
little power. Let’s see if this can
keep up all season. If it does, the
Crew should be a .500 team. The second
guy that’s sort of gone under the radar is Damian Miller. Miller has been superb as a catcher. His defense has been solid and he’s hitting
a robust .400 with walks and a bit of pop himself. With two more hits today, Miller has established himself as a
very solid 7th hitter in the lineup. The Crew hasn’t had 7 solid hitters in a lineup in quite some
time. Just think of the runs we could
score with Obermueller’s bat in there, too!
Speaking of Obermueller,
he did a fantastic job in the pen today.
I may be buying into this Obermueller in the bullpen stuff. He was ridiculously better the first time
through the lineup last year than the second or third time through. He is still raw, has had success in this
role, and certainly can hit. It’d be
really nice if he turned out to work well in the pen. Give him a few chances in the bullpen, but please Lord keep him
out of the rotation.
De la Rosa picked up his
second win this year, and he has still not surrendered a run. If you haven’t
seen him pitch yet, get ready to be in awe of his raw stuff. Isn’t this team fun to watch this year?
The Crew gets a day off
now before taking on the Cards for a weekend series here. This will be the real test of how the team
can hold up for the next few months.
Scott Rolen is due for a serious breakout…yikes!