MLB- Milwaukee Brewers Off to a Surprising Start
Okay, not only are the Brewers ahead of everyone in the NL West, they have the second-best winning percentage in the NL and are 6.5 games ahead of second-place Houston and 9.5 games ahead of the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. They are a great home team at 17- 7 and a mediocre road club at 11- 10. They don’t lead the league in any category but in pitching they are near the top in just about every important category.
They are fourth in the league in team ERA (3.84), second in saves with 18 and fourth in K’s with 305. Teams are hitting .256 against them, which is middle of the road. But the fact is that in those first three categories, they are first in the NL’s Central Division.
The starters have been strong and the addition of former Cardinal Jeff Suppan to the rotation has been instrumental in the success of this team. In 10 starts, Suppan is 6 and 4 with a 3.49 ERA. Chris Capuano is off to a good start notching a 5- 2 record over 9 games. He has a 3.72 ERA. Ben Sheets is 4-2 over 9 with a 3,86 ERA.
Finally, closer Francisco Cordero has 18 saves. In 19 innings, he’s allowed 5 hits, 1 earned run and no homeruns. He’s got 28 K’s and a 0.47 ERA. He has given up only 7 walks.
Hitting is overall solid with J.J. Hardy knocking in 14 homers while batting .312. Price Fielder, who also has 14 homeruns, is hitting at a .293 clip. Both hitters have 12 doubles. Hardy has knocked in 41 runs and Fielder 35.
In the field, the team is average. Thus far they have 27 errors and a .984 fielding percentage.
Hitting is good, fielding average and pitching some of the best. But will these Brewers eventually go flat? It’s not only a long season it’s an unforgiving one. And even if they do win the Central can Milwaukee stand the test of high-quality teams such as the Mets or Dodgers?
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