The Washington Nationals tied two Major League Baseball records against the Milwaukee Brewers today, the D.C. based club mashed five home runs, including four in a row against Michael Blazek in the third inning of an ugly 15-2 romp. This poor result marks Milwaukee’s ninth loss since the All-Star Break during which time they have won only four games, combining that with the surge of their closest rival in the National League Central Standings the Chicago Cubs and the looming trade deadline and the question What’s Happening to the Brewers becomes a hard riddle that the team needs to solve soon if they want to keep trying to contend for a playoff spot. The reason for the urgency is twofold, the Cubs are their next opponent on the schedule which could either see Milwaukee retake their perch on top of the NL Central or see the Cubs steamroll by after having such a poor first half.
The second reason that the Brew Crew needs to figure out their recent hiccups is that the trade deadline where several elite pitchers and batters are expected to be available from teams with poorer win loss records is on July 31st which means that urgency is paramount. On one hand the Brewers could seek to upgrade their pitching staff which has been spotting opponents 5.46 runs a game in the second half at the cost of some of their offensive fire power or they could shrug their shoulders and settle for falling out of contention. The second option is more likely if the Cubs manage to beat them in this weekend’s series which will sting for Brewers fans who have never seen their team win a World Series since the team moved to Milwaukee in 1970. However if they do well against Chicago this weekend, this article like many of the preseason predictions about the Brewers can be tossed aside.
