Milwaukee Brewers: How bad was Oliver Drake?

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Oliver Drake gave up six runs and only recorded three outs on Monday night. What went wrong? Is this the last of Drake in a Brewers uniform? A lot, and possibly.

Brent Suter took the loss for the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, but most of the damage was done against Oliver Drake. The Cincinnati Reds started the sixth inning with a three-run lead. They ended the inning up 9-0. What happened?

Did Drake give up a bunch of homers or walks?

Oddly enough, no. Drake was tagged for two singles, four(!) doubles, and a walk. Reds slugger Adam Duvall started the inning with a double, and ended it with a strikeout. The only walk Drake allowed was an intentional walk to Phil Gosselin.

Drake walked Gosselin to get to Reds starter Luis Castillo. The plan didn’t work. Castillo poked a single into right to drive in another run.

Drake only needed 30 pitches to face 10 batters. 24 were strikes, or sounded like it, so Drake can’t blame his struggles on control.

Did Drake have a bus ticket waiting for him?

No, well, the Milwaukee Brewers haven’t announced any moves…yet. If the Brewers want to bring Brandon Woodruff or Adrian Houser back, Drake is a likely DFA candidate.

Drake is out of options, so the Brewers would risk exposing him to waivers. He could also elect to become a free agent and take his chances somewhere else. He could also accept the assignment and work on his struggles in Triple-A.

Was Drake tipping his pitches?

Great question. It’s impossible for laypersons to know, but it’s a distinct possibility that the Reds picked up on something in Drake’s delivery. However, any time a pitcher gives up that many hard hit balls in an inning, it’s usually not a coincidence.

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If he was tipping, that’s usually correctable. The Milwaukee Brewers coaching staff could simply watch the video, notice the error, and make adjustments. There’s also a chance that Drake needs to go away for a while. The Brewers have options in the upper Minors. If they want to get a look at another guy, or need another starter, Drake should worry.