2011 Milwaukee Brewers: Modern Brew Crew

2011 Milwaukee Brewers: Modern Brew Crew

2011 Milwaukee Brewers: Modern Brew Crew

Making the playoffs in 2008 and going as far as the National League Division Series that year, the Milwaukee Brewers aimed to do better in the years to come. However, 2009 and 2010 were down years for the Brewers as they would go 80-82 and 77-85 respectively. 2011 was a turnaround year for Milwaukee as they went 96-66, winning the National League Central division by 6 games over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Brewers went 9-9 against the Cardinals in head-to-head play. The Brewers went 57-24 at home and 39-42 on the road.

The position player with the most remarkable numbers on the Brewers was left fielder Ryan Braun, who batted .332 with 33 home runs and 111 RBI’s off 187 hits, 38 doubles, 6 triples and 33 stolen bases. Center fielder Nyjer Morgan batted .304 with 115 hits, 20 doubles, 6 triples and 13 stolen bases. First baseman Prince Fielder made his curtain call in Milwaukee one to remember as he would leave the Brewers after 2011. Fielder batted .299 with 38 home runs and 120 RBI’s off 170 hits and 36 doubles. Right fielder Corey Hart batted .285 with 26 home runs, 140 hits, 25 doubles, 4 triples and 7 stolen bases. Right fielder Mark Kotsay batted .270 with 63 hits and 13 doubles in 104 games.

Second baseman Rickie Weeks had 20 home runs, 122 hits, 26 doubles and 9 stolen bases. Catcher Jonathan Lucroy had 12 home runs, 114 hits and 16 doubles. Shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt had 13 home runs and 68 RBI’s off 140 hits, 27 doubles and 3 triples. Third baseman Casey McGehee had 13 home runs and 67 RBI’s off 122 hits and 24 doubles.

The pitching staff was effective enough to keep opposing offenses from erupting like volcanoes. Starting pitcher Randy Wolf went 13-10 with 134 strikeouts and a 3.69 ERA. Yovani Gallardo went 17-10 with 207 strikeouts and a 3.52 ERA, recording 1 complete game and 1 shutout. Shawn Marcum went 13-7 with 158 strikeouts and a 3.54 ERA. Zack Greinke went 16-6 with 201 strikeouts and a 3.83 ERA. Chris Narveson went 11-8 with 126 strikeouts.

Closer John Axford was one of the best relief pitchers in all of Major League Baseball in 2011 as he went 2-2 with 46 saves and a slim 1.95 ERA. Relief pitcher Kameron Loe had 1 save and a 3.50 ERA despite going 4-7.  LaTroy Hawkins went 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA. Francisco Rodriguez, also known as “K-Rod”, went a perfect 4-0 with a slim 1.86 ERA. Takashi Saito went 4-2 with a 2.03 ERA. Mike McClendon went 3-0 with a 2.63 ERA.

First up for the Brewers were the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Division Series, and this series would take all 5 games to determine who would advance. In Game 1 on October 1 at Miller Park, the Brewers won 4-1. Yovani Gallardo pitched 8 innings and gave up 4 hits, 1 walk and 1 run, but he managed to record 9 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 4^th inning third baseman Jerry Hairston had a sacrifice fly, Jonathan Lucroy had an RBI single had in the bottom of the 6^th, and then Prince Fielder hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 7^th. Third baseman Ryan Roberts hit a solo home run in the top of the 8^th, but it wasn’t enough for Arizona.

The Brewers then won Game 2 on October 2 by the score of 9-4. In the bottom of the 1^st inning Ryan Braun punched in a 2-run home run. In the top of the 2^nd first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the 3^rd Fielder had an RBI single, and Rickie Weeks followed with an RBI triple. In the top of the 4^th center fielder Chris Young hit a solo home run. Right fielder Justin Upton blasted a 2-run home run. In the bottom of the 6^th Lucroy had an RBI bunt single, Corey Hart had an RBI single, Nyjer Morgan had a 2-run single, and Braun topped things off with an RBI single.

Going to Chase Field for Game 3 on October 4, the Diamondbacks protected their home field by winning 8-1. Josh Collmenter was solid for the Diamondbacks as he pitched 7 innings, giving up 2 hits, 2 walks and 1 run while recording 6 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 1^st inning catcher Miguel Montero had an RBI double, and then Goldschmidt followed with an RBI single. In the top of the 3^rd Hart hit a solo home run, which would be it for Milwaukee. In the bottom of the 3^rd Montero had an RBI single. In the bottom of the 5^th Goldschmidt clobbered a grand slam home run, and Roberts followed with an RBI single.

In Game 4 on October 5 the Brewers again lost to the Diamondbacks 10-6, which tied the series at 2 games apiece. In the top of the 1^st inning Braun had an RBI double. In the bottom of the 1^st Roberts demolished a grand slam home run, and Young would follow with a solo home run. In the top of the 2^nd catcher George Kottaras had an RBI groundout, and in the top of the 3^rd Hairston had an RBI double. In the bottom of the 3^rd pinch hitting outfielder Collin Cogwill had a 2-run single. In the top of the 6^th Hart had a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the 6^th second baseman Aaron Hill hit a solo home run, and in the bottom of the 7^th Young belted a 2-run home run. A 2-run home run belted by center fielder Carlos Gomez in the top of the 8^th wasn’t nearly enough for Milwaukee.

In the deciding Game 5 on October 7 at Miller Park, the Brewers won 3-2 to advance past the Diamondbacks. Yovani Gallardo pitched 6 innings and gave up 6 hits, 2 walks and 1 run while recording 5 strikeouts. In the top of the 3^rd inning Justin Upton hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the 4^th Hairston had a sacrifice fly, and in the bottom of the 6^th Yuniesky Betancourt had an RBI single. In the top of the 9^th shortstop Willie Bloomquist had an RBI bunt single to tie the game at 2-2, In the bottom of the 9^th Nyjer Morgan came through with a walk-off RBI single.

The National League Championship Series was a meeting between two National League Central division rivals, franchises that played for the 1982 World Series championship. Unfortunately for the Brewers in their first ever National League Championship Series appearance, they would fall to the eventual World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 2. The Brewers did make this series an interesting battle for the pennant.

In Game 1 on October 9 at Miller Park, the Brewers won 9-6. In the top of the 1^st inning left fielder Matt Holliday had an RBI single, and in the bottom of the 1^st Ryan Braun smacked a 2-run home run. In the top of the 4^th third baseman David Freese clubbed his own 3-run home run, and then in the bottom of the 5^th Braun had a 2-run ground rule double. In the bottom of the 6^th Betancourt smacked a 2-run home run. In the top of the 7^th first baseman Albert Pujols grounded into a double play to score shortstop Rafael Furcal. In the bottom of the 7^th Jonathan Lucroy had an RBI single.

Before the Cardinals pulled away to the win the last 2 games, the Brewers evened the series at 2 games apiece with a 4-2 victory in Game 4 on October 13 at Busch Stadium III. In the bottom of the 2^nd inning Holliday hit a solo home run, and in the bottom of the 3^rd right fielder Allen Craig hit his own solo home run. In the top of the 4^th Jerry Hairston had an RBI double, and then Betancourt followed with an RBI single. In the top of the 5^th Braun had an RBI single, and then in the top of the 6^th George Kottaras reached on an error to score Rickie Weeks.