The Brewers come home briefly for a 3-game series against the reigning WPK champs Charlotte.
And they probably wish they could stay awhile as the return to Centennial Stadium seems to have awakened their bats, in particular.
In game 1 they jump out to an early 3 run lead in the 1st inning and never look back. Erik Sloan went 7 1/3rd innings, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits and giving up 2 HR's, but he gets the win to improve to 2-3 with a 3.57 ERA. Cesar Grajeda (.167/.245/.229) finally hits his 1st HR in a Brewers uniform- the 3-run shot that gave the Brewers that 1st inning lead. The suddenly red-hot Chad Brown (.291/.299/.360) went 3 for 5 in the lead-off slot. Kevin Curtis (.316/.371/.509), who is off to a tremendous start at the plate, went 2 for 2 with 2 runs scored and 2 walks.
Things only got better in the second game, as the Brewers banged out 19 hits in route to an easy 11-4 victory. Chad Brown (.330/.337/.407) led the way with a 5 for 5 game, hitting 4 singles and his 4th double of the season, while also collecting his 4th stolen base. Young Matt Helm pitched a strong 7 innings, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits, while striking out 7 and walking only 1. Helm improves to 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA. Cesar Grajeda (.189/.259/.302) had probably his best game as a Brewer, going 2 for 5 with 3 RBI and hitting his 2nd HR of the season. Pat Rondeau (.432/.463/.514), having an incredible year at the plate in admittedly still a small sample size, was 4 for 5 and hit his 3rd double of the season. Andrew Kennedy (.318/.333/.459) was 3 for 5 and hit 2 doubles to give him 7 on the season. Mike Foster (.244/.284/.317), who has been in a slump for awhile, hit his 1st HR of the season. All in all, a good day at the park for the home club.
But wait, there's more. Game three topped the first two and then some.
First, young hurler Eric Johnson, in just his 5th big league start, hurled a complete game shutout. Johnson allowed 8 hits, but 3 of those were with 2 outs in the 9th inning, when he was perhaps tiring a bit. Still, he bent, but he did not break. With the ever dangerous power hitter Jamison Bash at the plate and the bases loaded, Johnson reached down and came up with one last effective pitch, getting Bash to fly out meekly to right field on the first pitch he saw. Johnson is now 2-0 with an ERA of 1.13.
Secondly, he didn't really need to be so tremendous, as the offense provided him with ample support. As in 13 runs on 20 hits. Among the many hitting heroes in this game, Jonathan Koch (.321/.341/.423) stands out for his 4 for 5, 4 runs scored, 1 stolen base (3), 1 HR (his 1st of the season) performance. Backup catcher Spencer Wilson (.227/.261/.455) also hit his 1st HR of the season in a 2 for 5 game. The recently called up Greg Tietz (.500/.500/.500), in his first big league start, went 3 for 5 with an RBI. Pat Rondeau (.442/.468/.558), who just cannot be stopped right now, went 3 for 6 with 3 RBI and hit his first triple of the season. I could go on and on as no Brewer starter went without at least 1 hit in the game, but I will finish by saying that this includes the starting pitcher Eric Johnson, who was 2 for 4 at the plate with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI, and hit his 1st double of the season.
Some series are like that. When it seems like nothing can go wrong for your team. It's a fun time to be out at the ballpark. Even if in the back of your mind you know it can't stay this easy for long. You just try to enjoy it while it lasts.