Brewer Daily News for July 4th: Braun progressing, Brewers beat Nats

Good morning everyone and welcome to the Thursday edition of Brewer Daily News. Yesterday, Milwaukee Brewers’ left fielder Ryan Braun was making some more progress during his stint on the disabled list that may have him back soon. Secondly, the Brewers (34-49) continued their winning streak by beating the Washington Nationals (42-42) last night.

The Brewers are hoping that Ryan Braun’s progressing will seem him back to the line-up soon. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday, Braun was able to swing a bat once again, which has been some huge progress as his right thumb has caused him pain since March. With Braun’s progress, the Brewers are hoping that the slugger may be able to come back sooner than expected.

"“I think with the progress he made the last couple days, I think it’s a possibility,” manager Ron Roenicke said. “I don’t want to put any times on this. But it’s a possibility.” – via Brewers.com"

Currently Braun is slated to return after the All-Star break, but it remains to be seen if he could possibly be back earlier. This season, Braun is hitting .304/.380/.509 with nine home runs, 36 RBIs, four stolen bases and has scored 30 runs.

Last night the Brewers beat the Nationals 4-1. Kyle Lohse started for Milwaukee and was absolutely dominant, picking up his fourth win of the season. Lohse pitched eight innings while allowing one run (a solo home run to Anthony Rendon) on four hits, one walk and struck out seven. Francisco Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth and picked up his seventh save of 2013.

Ross Detwiler took the hill for the Nats and did well, but was tagged with his seventh loss this season. Detwiler lasted six innings and allowed four runs (two earned) on eight hits, one walk and struck out three. Craig Stammen and Fernando Abad pitched a combined three innings of scoreless relief.

The game was tied 0-0 until the fifth inning when Norichika Aoki hit a single that scored Sean Halton and Logan Schafer. In the sixth, Schafer hit a triple that scored Aramis Ramirez and Jonathan Lucroy. Aoki was 3-for-5 while Lucroy and Schafer both went 2-for-4 at the plate.

This morning, the Brewers will play in the final game of this four game series against the Nationals at 11:05 a.m. ET / 10:05 a.m. CT. The projected starters are Donovan Hand (0-1, 2.63 ERA) for Milwaukee and Taylor Jordan (0-1, 2.08 ERA) for Washington.