Recap on Tap: Brewers 8, Mets 0

Isn’t it nice when everything just comes together?

That was the case Tuesday night at Citi Field for the Milwaukee Brewers. The crew split a quick two game series with the quietly competent Mets by using a little bit of everything in an 8-0 shutout that was filled with great performances on both sides of the ball.

The game seemed squarely in the hands of the Brewers from the outset, with Ramirez and Lucroy scoring in the second inning, and Zack Greinke working his pitches to perfection with five of his seven strikeouts coming in the first three innings. He struck out the side in the third primarily using his curve ball low and away – a true thing of beauty.

Though the pitching was solid and the there was plenty of contribution from the Brewer bats, we have to give a solid toast to first baseman Travis Ishikawa who hit two home runs in the victory, one in the top of the fifth to right-center, and a towering shot in the top of the sixth that would plate Ramirez and Lucroy to put the Brewers up 7-0, which would prove far more than Milwaukee needed to secure the victory. In the next inning Rickie Weeks would resurrect a dismal night at the plate with his fourth home run of the year to put the final score on the game.

Zack Greinke would go seven innings on the day, and gave no mercy to the Mets hitters. He gave up only five hits, and only two Mets hitters would reach second base for the whole game. David Wright would have made three, but he was caught stealing by Lucroy to end the 4th after Luke Duda struck out swinging. It either showed more defensive maturation from Lucroy, or just a really desperate mistake from Wright and New York in an attempt to get something moving on the bases. Greinke would expand his scoreless inning streak to 15, with no walks and 18 batters fanned in that span, improving his record to 4-1.

For the Mets, things went from bad to worse with their pitchers as the game went on. Mets pitcher DJ Carrasco plunked Ryan Braun – an unfortunately familiar sight for Brewers fans lately, to say the least for Brauny – and Carrasco got run from the game. His objection to his ejection caused a slight delay, but nothing dramatic would ensue. Ramon Ramirez would come on for the Mets and strike out five Milwaukee hitters over the next two and two thirds, but it was too little too late for home team by that point.

The Brewers win on Tuesday night brought the team to 16-20 on the season, and within five games of the division lead. The Brew Crew is 4-6 in their last ten games. When you look at the Major League season, there are definite turning points you can see as the games move on. While it’s obviously too early to say if this is one of those times, the energy and attitude that defined their championship run last year was on full display. The Brewers are currently en route to Houston to take on the Astros for another two-game set before heading back to Milwaukee.

By the Numbers

WP: Greinke (4-1) 7 IP,  5 H, o ER, 0 BB, 7 K

LP: Gee (2-3) 5.1 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

HR: Ishikawa (2)

MIL LOB: 6

NYM LOB: 3

Attendance: 22,268

Total Time: 2:42