7-2-21 – By Gary Morgan @garymo2007 on Twitter
JT Brubaker has been a bright spot on a team without many this season but tonight his approach wasn’t up to the task.
See JT is going to throw you strikes, all counts, all situations and all batters. If you wait him out and try to work a count before you blink you’re down 0-2 and in trouble. Be aggressive with him, and you’re going to get a pitch to hit. Tonight, that’s exactly what happened, a team that doesn’t typically enjoy waiting around, met their dream opponent.
Now as Brubaker evolves, he’ll learn how to utilize his stuff to sense this approach against him and take advantage of his control to exploit it. If he knows they’re swinging quick, he can start a slider on the plate and finish off the plate. If they’re the patient type then he’ll have to attack.
It’s a dance that all starting pitchers go through as they learn how to go from talented young pitcher to MLB starter. The further they get from remembering riding busses the better they get. Be excited about this kid, tonight was a hiccup, he’ll have more, it’s all part of learning, and the best part is he won’t be learning it when this team needs him to be what he’s becoming.
All that flowery positive stuff aside, this was batting practice early as the Brewers jumped on JT early for three solo shots and a two run blast before he finished his 6 innings of work tonight.
The Bucs got a small ball style run early on and then Reynolds hit his 15th blast of the season. Man, I really hope someone bails so he can get to Colorado.
That was really it. The Brewers added another couple runs off Kyle Crick but it hardly mattered. The sticks are just dormant right now.
The Series picks back up tomorrow at 4:05 as the Brewers send Eric Lauer to the mound to face what is now listed as TBD. Could it be Kranick for someone hitting the IL? A bullpen game?
News & Notes
- After sitting 3 games in a row Gregory Polanco pinch hit and walked tonight. Chances are this means he’ll avoid the IL, but with the All Star Break it could be nothing worth noting as they wouldn’t care about the retro status.
- On a team struggling to hit the baseball, when one of the non regulars starts swinging the bat, he needs to not sit. So when Polanco is healthy again, I don’t want to see Ben Gamel sit.
- After the 8th inning, Jacob Stallings was hot. He laid into Kyle Crick in the dugout, walked away from a visibly shaken Crick, got a drink and proceeded to pound the bench. Couple things here, first, never ever think these guys don’t care, no matter how bad the team is, and second, this isn’t the first catcher I’ve seen lace into a healthy chunk of Kyle’s ass out there. Something he does is frustrating as hell, and it could be as simple as the stress of knowing even Crick doesn’t know where that slider is going. Sounded after the game like Shelton was frustrated with Crick’s inability to contain the running game. Maybe that was Jake’s issue too.
- Don’t look now but Kevin Newman has been making better contact as of late, hitting more balls in the air. If he can just wind up a .250 hitter man, he’s not a bad player, even if bench is eventually his landing spot. The glove sure plays.
- This is the 10th straight victory for the Brewers
- Bryan Reynolds hit his 15th homerun tonight. He is unquestionably the best player on this baseball team right now. Never saw this kind of power potential. He’s on pace for 30. Doesn’t mean he’ll get there, but man, that’s not just some nice player, that’s a beast.
Inside The Bucs Basement 