Milwaukee Brewers: Offense continuing second half struggles

The Milwaukee Brewers have not been the same team in the second half as they were in the first half. The electric offense that exploded in the first half, has been dormant for the last two months, but why?

The Brewers just got swept in a three game series against the last place Cincinnati Reds. The offense is the side to blame. The Milwaukee Brewers came in hot to one of the best hitters parks in baseball. They faced one of the worst pitching staffs in the league. The team should have scored more than a maximum of four runs in a game.

No, the pitching staff wasn’t great, but can you really blame a unit that has been carrying the team for a long time now? The offense needs to take the pressure off the pitching staff in order for the Milwaukee Brewers to win consistently.

The Brewers averaged 4.96 runs per game in the first half of the season, posting one of the highest marks in the league. However, in the second half, they’re only averaging 3.61 runs per game. They have been held to two runs or less in 21 of those games.

With the poor run support, the pitching staff has done a great job to step up and carry the load, but they can’t do that forever. The wear and tear has started to get to guys like Matt Garza and Jacob Barnes. This stretch should make the team appreciate guys like Jimmy Nelson and Zach Davies even more. They have both consistently pitched well throughout the second half.

Can the Brewers make the playoffs with an iffy offense?

The most likely playoff scenario for the Brewers at this point is the Wild Card. If that happens they get one shot to either make go to the post season. No matter how good the pitching performance is in that game, the offense would have to step up and produce in order to move on. The current lineup is too unreliable to depend on that.

If the offense can get back on track, the pitching can relax and not worry about giving up runs. Working on the inside of the plate as a pitcher is huge, especially for guys like Jimmy Nelson who throw hard and try to beat you with velocity and break.

If the Brewers want to make a run to the playoffs, they need to start looking at the offense, and making adjustments. They can’t expect guys to break out of “slumps” anymore. There are only a couple weeks left of the season. If they’re not out of it by now, it’s time to make a change.

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This will be the key to the Brewers getting into the playoffs or not. It all starts on Friday when the Milwaukee Brewers start a three game series with the division-leading Chicago Cubs. While the offense needs to step it up, the pitching staff can’t give up now. The Brewers will face impressive lineups down the stretch, and they’ll need all the help they can get.