Milwaukee Brewers: How impressive was Junior Guerra?

Twelve hours following a heartbreaking extra-innings loss the Milwaukee Brewers looked to rebound and take the series finale.

Junior Guerra provided the spark for the Milwaukee Brewers as he went 5 1/3 innings strong. He allowed four hits and an earned run. Guerra had two walks and struck out four.

Recently called up from AAA Colorado Springs, Guerra made a case that he belongs in the rotation going forward.

Wainwright solid

Longtime Cardinal Adam Wainwright held the Milwaukee Brewers to three earned runs over seven solid innings of work. Wainwright added four strikeouts.

He pitched well enough to keep his team in the contest, but the Cardinals offense was stifled by the Brewers pitching the majority of the game.

Pérez sets the tone

With Christian Yelich on the DL and Lorenzo Cain on the bench with a quad injury, Hernán Pérez got the start in center field.

Pérez, who entered Wednesday’s contest batting a horrendous .170 OPS, got the Milwaukee Brewers going with a solo shot in the second inning.

Thames continues strong start

While it may be impossible for Eric Thames to replicate his 2017 April, he’s doing his best to do just that.

The Milwaukee Brewers first baseman is off to a robust start with four home runs and a .997 OPS so far. Thames hit his fourth home run in his last five games and went 2-for-4 to lead Brewers hitters.

Thames got it done on the defensive end when he snagged a liner from Greg Garcia in the bottom of the third that robbed him of a hit.

Braun looking for answers at plate

Beside two clutch home runs that have ended in Brewers wins, Ryan Braun has had a dreadful start to the season.

He entered Wednesday batting .184 with a .607 OPS. Braun started in left field on Wednesday, but he couldn’t produce, and went 0-for-4.

The question has to be asked: how much longer can manager Craig Counsell continue to place Braun in the three spot in the batting order?

Braun is off to arguably the worst start of his career and looks for consistency in the upcoming series vs the New York Mets.

Hader, Albers navigate ninth

Josh Hader has been a popular candidate among fans to become the team’s closer after Corey Knebel‘s injury.

He had a chance to nail down a two-inning save on Wednesday after finishing a 1,2,3 eighth inning.

Tommy Pham had other plans.

Pham took Hader deep on a play that required review. Pham’s shot hit the railing which resulted in a solo home run and cut the Brewers lead to just one.

Hader was kept in the contest to face lefty Matt Carpenter, who he struck out. Counsell opted to go with Matt Albers for the remainder of the inning.

Marcell Ozuna worked a single and Jose Martinez hit a single into right field to put the tying run on second base.

Memories of blown saves from the young season entered Brewers’ fans minds as Albers tried to prevent a reboot of yesterday’s contest.

Albers got Kolten Wong to foul out and struck out Dexter Fowler to end the game.

Looking Ahead

The Brewers are off Thursday before they face the red-hot New York Mets at Citi Field for a three-game series.

Next: Ideas To Improve The Defense

This series presents a challenge for the Brewers. They’ll have to face off against a squad that is a playoff contender without several key players

Friday April 13th: Zach Davies vs Steven Matz

Saturday April 14th: Chase Anderson vs Matt Harvey

Sunday April 15th: Jhoulys Chacín vs Noah Syndergaard