Oh, how things can change in just two or so years.

Today, it’s the complete opposite. The Brewers offense has been sub-par, to say the least, this year. They’re .239 team batting average is the third-worst in the National League, only ahead of the awful offenses of the Pirates and Padres. Braun is still here and producing (but I have to admit he’s had some very bad at-bats lately, despite his success). Offseason pickup Aramis Ramirez finally appears to be heating up. The other consistent power source as of late, surprisingly, is Martin Maldonado (note that he was hitting .198 at Triple-A Nashville prior to his call-up). But, other than that, the offense is as inconsistent as it’s ever been. Corey Hart has produced solid power numbers at times, but it feels like he’s even streakier than in recent years. Weeks has been hitting below the Mendoza line pretty much all year, and it looks like he’s becoming the 2012 version of Adam Dunn.

But the one thing the Brewers can take pride in- at least right now- is the consistency of their starting pitching, especially lately. Coming into today, Brewers starters had a 2.25 ERA in their last nine games. And that ERA probably went down after Michael Fiers’ nice performance in Minnesota today. Unfortunately, though, the Brewers starters’ record in this ten game span is just 4-1. Not to say that’s a bad record or anything, but, thanks to the offense and bullpen, the starters aren’t factoring in near as many decisions as they should. And, the Brewers’ record in this span of great pitching is 6-4. That does include series wins against the Padres and Twins, but the crushing blow was the sweep in Kansas City, despite great outings from Zack Greinke, Randy Wolf, and Shaun Marcum. Wolf and Marcum should have each had wins that series, but the Brewers’ bullpen, paired with some questionable defense, managed to embarrassingly lose those games.

This run of starting pitching will have to return to earth eventually, but, before it ends, the Brewers need to capitalize on it. Their record currently stands at 30-35, fourth in the NL Central. Had the Brewers been able to win those two games they blew in KC, they could be hovering around .500, rather than sitting at the position they’re in. That position is 7.5 games behind the first place Reds, who are on a tear after winning their fifth consecutive game today. So the Brewers are still in shouting distance because of where we are in the season, but now is the time to pick up ground. The starting pitching has responded to this, but the offense and bullpen have yet to get the memo. They’ll need to soon if the Brewers want to make a season of this.

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In a match that featured two prominent, yet struggling, pitchers starting it ended up being the bullpens that needed to carry the day. Gallardo and Liriano did not disappoint, but neither could put the other team away despite good performances.

Whatever offense occurred during the game came in bunches, and in the end it was Milwaukee who delivered the final punch, a two-run homer by Martin Maldonado which was the final nail in the coffin at Target Field for a 5-3 Brewer victory to end a three game losing streak.

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Marco Estrada's arm in the bullpen is valuable. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-US PRESSWIRE

With all the injuries the Brew Crew have faced this season, we still have shown the drive to go on. We sit at 28-32, four games behind first in the NL Central and have two series with the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins, that we should hopefully win. Injuries do not kill a season, but they can hamper it considerably, especially when a few big names on your team are out. Fortunately enough, Marco Estrada looks like he might be the first Brewer to come back. As I discussed in my previous article, we must keep Michael Fiers as a starter and have Marco Estrada help the bullpen settle down. It’s no surprise our bullpen has been unreliable this season and with the idea of breaking even and going higher in the division, that is an issue that must be settled quickly. However, Ron Roenicke believes Marco Estrada benefits the team more as a starter so he is expected to return to the starting rotation when healthy.

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Not in the way they should have, no.

The Brewers finished what could have been an extremely easy homestand- and brought them at least close to .500- with a 5-4 record. By no means is that bad. But, if you consider the caliber of the teams they were playing, it was very mediocre, and could have been a heck of a lot better.

John Axford, Brewers closer, being removed in the ninth to fittingly end the Brewers' homestand.

The Crew started the series on a pretty bad note. They were up against the Pirates, who they have absolutely murdered at Miller Park ever since 2007. But that wasn’t the case this time. The Pirates began the series by hammering Randy Wolf, and from there went on to take two of three from the Brewers. The Brewers then took two of three from the Cubs, which was a decent bounce-back. The Brewers finished off the Padres yesterday, and also took two of three from them. So, when you go back and look at it, it was just the Pirates series that killed the Brewers. 6-3 is a lot more different from 5-4 than you think.

But, the Brewers have been given a blessing. They’re being given a chance to reach the .500 mark for the second straight week, and prove that they are in the race to defend their NL Central crown. Their next two series come against the Royals and Twins, two very beatable teams who live near the bottom of the American League right now. Here’s what the pitching matchups are looking like for the Royals series:

Zack Greinke (7-2, 3.13 ERA) vs. Luis Mendoza (2-3, 5.36 ERA)

Randy Wolf (2-5, 5.45 ERA) vs. Luke Hochevar (3-7, 6.57 ERA)

Shaun Marcum (5-3, 3.50 ERA) vs. ???

Looking at the matchups, this should be a series sweep (but with the Brewers, it’s never a good idea to assume these things). I know Greinke home-road splits this year will tell you that he’s been a lot worse on the road, but it’s actually been two- maybe three- starts that have killed his road ERA. The first one was his second start of the season, when he gave up eight runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Cubs. Then, there was his disaster start in Arizona (seven runs, 2 1/3 innings). But there are two somewhat legitimate excuses for those outings: Greinke has proven he simply can’t pitch at Wrigley Field, and he’s just historically bad against the Diamondbacks. Other than those starts, he’s been fine on the road. Plus, Kauffman Stadium might still feel like home to him-  it’s been a little over a year and a half since his last start with the Royals, the team he started his career with, at Kauffman. Royals outfielder Mitch Maier recently stated that he thinks that the Royals will beat up on Greinke, but I just can’t see it happening. So I think it’ll be a good start for ZG. Mendoza, on the other hand, has bounced back and forth between the Royals’ rotation and bullpen, and is coming back to the rotation to start in place of the injured Felipe Paulino and his 1.67 ERA (thank goodness the Brewers aren’t facing him). Mendoza hasn’t been what the Royals thought he would be this year, and hopefully the Brewers bats can get going against him.

Wolf will start the second game of the series. At first, I was worried about this, like I am for every Wolf start. But, we have to remember that Hochevar is equally as bad as Wolf- if not worse. Hoch has is one of the few starters in the Majors with an ERA higher than Wolf’s, so you’d expect the Brewers to tee off against him.

Marcum will start the last game of the series, and I’m not worried about that at all. Marcum has pitched well all year for the most part, and this start is coming on the road, where he’s especially dominant. He should be pretty familiar with the Royals’ lineup from his time in the AL, and he carved them up during his time with the Blue Jays, with a 3-1 career mark against them, along with a 1.58 ERA. The Royals haven’t officially announced their starter yet, but, judging by the way their rotation works, it should be Vin Mazzaro (2-1, 3.60 ERA). He made himself famous last year by giving up 14 runs in 2 1/3 innings (I think that’s what the final line was), although that may have been one of ex-Brewer manager Ned Yost’s “lessons.” But do I even need to mention that the Brewers will be reuniting with Yost again this series?

Like I said before, this appears to be a sweep-able series. But after this comes the Twins series, who the Brewers already dropped a series to earlier this year at Miller Park. None of the pitching matchups have been announced, but let’s hope the Brewers can take two of three in Minnesota. This would all add up to a 5-1 road trip, which is very wishful thinking. But the Brewers could certainly use it to get back in the race in the NL Central. The Brewers already wasted one opportunity to officially throw themselves back into the pennant race; now they need to use this one correctly.

The rate that Brewers players are flying to the disabled list is incredible. I honestly can’t recall any season for the Brewers- or any Major League team, for that matter- in recent history in which they had this many injuries. And these injuries have all come before we’ve even hit June.

Today, first baseman Travis Ishikawa joined what is becoming a very crowded disabled list. He reportedly has been enduring a left rib-cage strain, and was officially placed on the 15-day DL before today’s game against the Diamondbacks. Ishikawa wasn’t having a great season, but he did put up decent power numbers at times. Overall he had four home runs with 14 RBIs, along with a .250 average, in 32 games. He figured to see a lot of time at first base after Mat Gamel went down for the season with a torn ACL, but wasn’t consistent enough to earn a permanent starting role.

Ishikawa shouldn’t be gone for long. I’m not usually very good at gauging how long an injury will last, but, considering it’s only a strain, he should be able to come back around the time the minimum 15 days ends. It’s not like he tore anything; he had better luck than Chris Narveson (rotator cuff), Gamel (ACL), and Alex Gonzalez (ACL), all of whom had tears involved in their respective injuries. All of their seasons are over.

But I don’t know how much the Brewers can take before they turn into the 2011 Minnesota Twins. If you don’t know the story behind the 2011 Twins, virtually all of their star players got injured. By the end of the season, practically half of their team consisted of Minor League call-ups, most of them forced into action that they weren’t ready for. That resulted in a 63-99 record, and I’m seriously starting to get worried that’s the direction the Brewers are headed.

Travis Ishikawa, Brewers first baseman

Anyway, back to our injuries. Ishikawa was not the only one suffering. He was the first of a group of players that all have at least minor injuries to visit the DL. Kameron Loe was apparently unavailable all weekend and we didn’t know it; Ron Roenicke said after today’s game that he had been battling right elbow discomfort. He was warming up in the sixth inning during today’s game, but was pulled back and Jose Veras began to throw (he would go on to lose the game). Then, George Kottaras’ hamstring cramped while he was running home in the sixth inning. He went back out to catch the next inning, but eventually left in favor of Jonathan Lucroy. Lastly, Aramis Ramirez missed another start due to a bruised left elbow he got after being hit by a pitch on Friday. Also, Carlos Gomez still isn’t at 100 percent since returning from the DL, but his case is much less serious than the others.

Needless to say, this nightmare needs to stop now. It feels like the Brewers have been losing two to three players a day over the past week. And, although that sounds exaggerated, it’s actually held true. The Brewers’ bench was already depleted enough before the injuries, but look at it now. Any more injuries, and, like I said before, we might as well be the 2011 Twins.

Zack Greinke (13) and Jonathan Lucroy (20) came through big today. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-US PRESSWIRE

Just what we needed, a good ol’ trashing of some team’s pitching staff. After dropping the series to the Twins, today’s potential sweep of the Brew Crew turned into anything but that. Jonathan Lucroy had a huge day at the plate, hitting two home runs (one being a grand slam) and contributing to the trashing with 7 RBIs. Yet again, Zack Greinke showed us another quality which gave him his 5th win of the season. This win, while a small victory, was one that had to happen. Nobody thought we’d lose a series to the Twins in Milwaukee. We still sit well below .500 and losing series like these are crucial because now the schedule becomes tougher with us facing the top teams of the NL West, while mainly on the road too. Sure, we’ll take this game as it is, but things won’t always be there for the taking. That said, let’s look at today’s game.

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The Brewers' season will turn around, guaranteed or your money back! Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

We bring you yet again our weekly podcast at Reviewing the Brew, Brew Crew Online. As always, Colin and I discuss everything and all things Brewers with a touch of our opinions on other MLB issues. This week’s discussion deals with the following:

-Our picks of the week (Brewers’ player, pitcher and hitter)

-The two game series against the Astros

-Norichika Aoki and Travis Ishikawa

-Small market teams losing good players

-Inter league play this weekend

-The Minnesota Twins

-Zack Greinke (again)

Until next week, thanks again for listening!

But, amongst all of these problems, there have been a few bright spots. Zack Greinke is one of them. There were also questions about him coming into 2012, following a strange 2011 for him. He went 16-6- the best winning percentage of his career, and tied for his high in wins- with a 3.83 ERA. If you consider his ERA at the All-Star break of ’11 was 5.66, that’s incredible; you don’t see many guys bring down their ERA nearly two whole runs in three to four months that late in the season. Greinke also led the Majors in K/9, and, despite missing the first month of the season, notched 201 strikeouts in just 171 2/3 innings. But, his issues were that he wasn’t pitching deep into games, never reaching the eight inning mark in any of his starts (in fact, he did that for the first time in a Brewers uniform in his last start). Greinke was also giving more home runs than usual, serving up 19 long balls. (That isn’t actually very much, but if you look at his career trends it’s a bit higher than usual).

So far this season, though, Greinke seems to have put all of that behind him. After his start against the Mets today, he’s 4-1 with a 2.88 ERA, and is probably the most consistent starter in the Brewers’ rotation (though you could argue Shaun Marcum has been pretty consistent as well). All of the problems from last year appear to be gone- in fact, those problems he had have turned into strengths. He’s accumulated 50 innings in his eight starts so far, which averages to roughly 6 1/3 innings per start. Also, in those 50 innings, he’s given up just one home run, which is incredible.

Zack Greinke, Brewers starter

Greinke has had one start this year that you could call a disaster. It was his second start of the season, coming against the Cubs. He was solid the first two innings, but everything fell apart in the third and fourth, and wound up giving up eight runs- all earned- in just 3 1/3 innings. Since it was his second start and his first start had been great, I thought it was going to be another year of inconsistency, but it doesn’t appear to be that way now. Since that one bad start, Greinke has had one other sub-par start in which he gave up four runs (three earned) in 5 1/3 innings against the Giants, one of the worst offenses in baseball. That start had me worried, but then I realized that Greinke hasn’t given up more than three earned runs in any of his other starts. So, if he can keep this pace up, he’ll be in for a very nice year. That’s exactly what he needs, considering this is a contract year for him.

I know Greinke’s next start is against the Twins, but I think this is going to be a good test for him. The Twins are just 9-25 on the season, by far the worst record in baseball. But, they’ve historically given Greinke trouble; I believe his ERA against them is somewhere around 6.00. If he does well in that start and can overcome his struggles against the Twins, we’ll know he’s in for a good season.