Bullpen has struggled to protect lead
Brewers relievers have MLB-high 29 defeats
MINNEAPOLIS – Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell noted Tuesday that his sputtering offense has put a lot of pressure on the bullpen by failing to add runs later in games and leaving too many one-run leads to protect.
But it is also true that the bullpen needs to do a better job of protecting one-run leads. Entering the second game of the series against Minnesota, the Brewers led the majors with 29 relief losses. The Brewers were 15-17 in one-run games, 8-18 in games decided in the last at-bat and 3-9 in extra-inning games, all bad signs for their bullpen.
The latest one-run losses came Sunday in Tampa Bay, 2-1, on a walkoff homer in the ninth off Jacob Barnes, and 5-4 to the Twins on Monday when Oliver Drake balked in the decisive run in the seventh. While more offensive support would have helped, the relief corps’ 1.460 WHIP (27th in the majors) shows they have played in traffic far too much.
“We’ve played a bunch of one-run games,” said Counsell, whose club has been outscored, 118-64, after the seventh inning. “When a game is on the line in the late innings, it’s a high-wire act. Perfection is the only thing that wins you a game. We’ve had a lot of late-inning losses, there’s no question.
“But putting it all on the bullpen, I do think we’ve got to do a better job adding on runs. We’ve done an excellent job scoring early in games but we’ve got to add on runs that give (relievers) a little room for error.”
A huge issue all season has been the number of walks issued by the relievers. The Brewers' bullpen led the majors with 194 entering Tuesday, and Minnesota’s winning two-run rally in the seventh in the series opener began with a leadoff walk by Drake.
“I’ve said this before. We’ve walked too many hitters out of the bullpen,” Counsell said.
General manager David Stearns tried to fortify his bullpen by adding Anthony Swarzak and Jeremy Jeffress via trades, but Counsell said the holdovers are going to be counted on as well.
“These are going to be our guys for the last seven weeks of the season,” Counsell said. “I think (Monday) night we had them in a good spot to succeed . ... It just didn’t work out.”
A big gap: When Bartolo Colon made his major-league debut with Cleveland on April 4, 1997, Brandon Woodruff was 4 years old.
“Isn’t that crazy?” Woodruff said.
Considering the two pitchers are squaring off Wednesday night at Miller Park as the Brewers and Twins take their interleague series to Miller Park, yes, it is a bit crazy. Woodruff, 24, will take the mound for Milwaukee with one career game under his belt. Colon, 44, has pitched in 526 games in the majors, including 517 starts.
“It’s difficult to imagine,” Woodruff said. “I hadn’t even thought about it. That’s awesome.”
Both pitchers are coming off notable games. In his debut Friday night at Tampa Bay, Woodruff pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings to pick up the victory in the Brewers’ 2-0 squeaker over the Rays.
That same night, Colon went the distance against Texas in an 8-4 victory for the Twins. At 44 years, 72 days, he was the oldest pitcher to record a complete game in the majors since Philadelphia’s Jamie Moyer at 47 in 2010.
In the off-season, Colon signed a one-year, $12.5 million deal with Atlanta. He flopped badly for the Braves, going 2-8 with an 8.14 ERA in 13 starts, and was released. Colon signed with the Twins and has made four starts, posting a 1-1 record and 5.18 ERA.
Colon is in his 20th bigleague season and with his 10th team. Way back in 2005, when Woodruff was 12, Colon won the AL Cy Young Award with the Los Angeles Angels. Overall, he is 236-171 with a 4.03 ERA.
“He’s been doing it, and doing it well, for a long time,” Woodruff said. “He has continued to find ways to get it done.”
Hardly knew ye: There have been no tearful reunions with the Brewers and Twins infielder Ehire Adrianza, primarily because he was with Milwaukee for only two days over the off-season. The Brewers claimed Adrianza off waivers from San Francisco on Jan. 31, and two days later designated him for assignment to open a roster spot to claim first baseman Jesús Aguilar from Cleveland.
The Brewers certainly have no regrets in choosing Aguilar over Adrianza, a fellow Venezuelan. Aguilar has been an offensive factor off the bench, batting .273 with 11 home runs, 38 RBI, a .332 OBP and .505 slugging percentage.
“I don’t know him very well,” Aguilar said. “We play (against each other) in winter league. I think this was the way God wanted it to work out. We’re both in the big leagues; I’m thankful for that.”