Brewers Week In Review: June 27 — July 4

July 4, 2022
|In Brewers
|By Ben Kenney

The Milwaukee Brewers capped off the July 4th weekend with one of those marquee moments you see throughout a long baseball season. The 5-2 walk-off victory against the Chicago Cubs was by no means a season-altering win, though it was one of those moments that will be highlighted when the end-of-season stories and highlights are put together.

At first, it seemed like luck just wasn’t on the Brewers’ side, as Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki got a good bounce off the outfield wall and scooted his way around the bases for a go-ahead inside-the-park home run. But, as they have much of this season, the Brewers found a way to claw back.

A Christian Yelich bases-loaded walk with the team down to its last out in the bottom of the 9th inning helped pushed the game into extras, where a stellar 10th inning from Brad Boxberger gave way for Victor Caratini to send the home fans home happy.

While not technically part of last week’s slate, it was impossible to put this piece together without pointing out the win.

When last week did come to a close, the Brewers officially reached the statistical midpoint of their 2022 season on pace for 92 wins.

The success isn’t a surprise, as they were picked by many to lead the division with the Cardinals as the only real competition. But the “how” has been interesting. Craig Counsell’s team has played extended time without top starters Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff (more on him in a bit), the middle of the lineup has battled nagging injuries all year and Christian Yelich is now the team’s everyday leadoff hitter.

Nevertheless, a 92-win pace is something to celebrate. It is also something that has the chance to increase with better health hopefully on the way.

Here is this week’s edition of Brewers Week In Review:

 

Record: 4-2

Current Standing: 46-35 (1st in NL Central)

 

The Good: Brandon Woodruff is back.

Brewers’ ace Brandon Woodruff made his long-awaited return to the mound last week. To say it went well would be a gross understatement.

Woodruff first toed the rubber Tuesday in Tampa Bay, where his line of 5 innings, 2 hits, 1 ER and 10 strikeouts made everybody quickly forget about his absence. He then backed it up in a big way on Sunday with a 6-inning, 0-run, 8-strikeout performance against the Pirates.

There was some legitimate concern that Woodruff would need some time to return to his usual dominant self. That hesitation can now be swept aside thanks to his 11-inning, 8-hit, 1-run, 18-strikeout week.

 

The Bad: The bottom of the rotation.

The Brewers came away with a semi-disappointing 4-game split in Pittsburgh over the weekend. The two games the team lost were started by Adrian Houser and Aaron Ashby, respectively.

Their combined stat line: 6 innings, 10 hits, 7 runs, 4 home runs, 2 walks. Then to add on to it even further, the team placed Houser in the 15-day IL with a right flexor strain following his start.

The great news from the week is that Woodruff is back and dominant (and Freddy Peralta is ramping up his activity). The bad news is the bottom of the rotation had a rough showing.

 

MVP: 

-Brandon Woodruff (2 starts, 2-0, 11 innings, 8 hits, 1 run, 18 strikeouts, 0.82 ERA)

 

Stat Of The Week:

 

Video(s) Of The Week:

Tweets Of The Week:

 

 

Next Week: vs. CHC, vs. PIT

Brandon Woodruff Brewers Christian Yelich cubs news schedule video walk off