Milwaukee Brewers: How bad is the long ball reliance?

The Milwaukee Brewers were just swept by the Chicago Cubs. Granted, the Cubs have some great pitching, but the Crew’s reliance on the home run ball makes a difference in close game situations.

Against the Cubs

The Milwaukee Brewers scored a mere two runs in the four game series at Wrigley Field. This was the first time in franchise history losing four games in a row even though they gave up 3 or less runs in each.

In eight games against the Cubs, the Milwaukee Brewers have only scored nine runs. In addition, only three of their 37 hits have been home runs.

Their pitching was fantastic, the bats have just gone cold. Giving credit where credit is due, though, the Cubs pitchers pitched incredibly well against the Crew.

Statistics

Of the 234 hits the Milwaukee Brewers have accrued so far in the 2018 season, 32 of them have gone over the fence. They have scored 113 runs, and they have 103 RBIs as a team. Around 50 of their RBIs and their runs scored have come from the home run ball. That’s just about 50 percent of their run production.

They did find a way to manufacture a few more runs Monday night against the Cincinnati Reds, which was good because the pitchers gave up more runs than they did to Chicago. The Reds are not quite as good of a team as the Cubs, though.

What does it all mean?

There is no doubt that the Milwaukee Brewers are reliant on the long ball. When their bats are hot, that isn’t a terrible thing. But, they are going to have to find other ways to manufacture runs, especially against good teams like the Chicago Cubs.

Next: What did Josh Hader do on Monday?

The Milwaukee Brewers were extremely explosive offensively during their eight game win streak. But, when they arrived at Wrigley Field, it hit a stand still. The hope is that as their players regain their health and start to get into a groove, they will be able to find other ways to get runners across the plate.