Brewer Daily News for March 13th: Crew loses big, Hand impressing

Good morning and welcome to the Wednesday edition of Brewer Daily News. Tonight the Milwaukee Brewers will try to rebound after a blowout loss yesterday to the Texas Rangers. In the second bit of news today, right-handed pitcher Donovan Hand has been impressing the Brewers organization.

Mark Rogers got shellacked by the Rangers. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Brewers suffered a 12-3 loss to the Rangers yesterday afternoon. In the loss, Mark Rogers started for the team and didn’t last very long. Rogers only pitched 1.2 innings and gave up six runs (three unearned) on three hits and walked four. Rogers, who is fighting for a starting rotation job, got rocked by the Ranger bats and had a hard time locating the strike zone, only throwing 18 strikes out of 42 pitches.

Tom Gorzelanny came in later for the team and pitched two innings. Unfortunately for Gorzelanny and the team, he did not escape unscathed as he gave up two runs (one unearned) on three hits and struck out one. Travis Webb would pitch the last inning for the Brew Crew and gave up two runs on two hits.

For the team offensively, Sean Halton hit a three-run double in the top of the ninth to put the Brewers on the board.

In a not so negative light, the Brewers have now focused on another pitcher who may make his Major League debut sometime in 2013. Hand, 26, is a right-handed pitcher who has been in the Brewers organization since 2007 and is still looking for his chance at the majors.

So far in Spring Training, Hand has pitched six innings and has only allowed two hits while striking out two. Primarily used as relief in the minors, Hand will more than likely land himself a bullpen role once he makes his debut.

As a minor league pitcher, Hand has a career record of 27-25 with an ERA of 3.60. Recently, Hand has found success in Triple-A Nashville where he’s been since 2011.

"“When we were talking about who to bring up, I heard a lot of good things about [Hand] last year,” manager Ron Roenicke said. “We had talked about whether to bring him up or not. He’s a guy you know is going to throw strikes, he has a nice repertoire of pitches at different velocities, and his fastball is enough to ‘play’ in the big leagues. –via Brewers. com"

Whether or not Hand will make his debut this season remains unknown, but the righty is making a strong case to be a part of the 25-man roster.

The Brewers’ next game is tonight against the Arizona Diamondbacks at 10:10 PM EST / 9:10 PM CST. Yovani Gallardo will make his second start of the spring for the Brewers.