Brewers’ fans concerned about the starting pitching can breathe a sigh of relief…at least for now.
Seth McClung shined in his debut as a starter Saturday night, pacing the Crew to a 5-2 victory. McClung kept the Nationals scoreless through four before surrendering a pair of runs in the 5th inning.
Corey Hart got things started for the Crew with a 2-run homer in the top of the 4th inning (his 5th of the year); Bill Hall scored on a Rickie Weeks sac fly in the top of the 5th to give the Crew a 3-0 lead before Lastings Milledge hit a solo shot off of McClung in the bottom of the frame. Wil Nieves doubled in Elijah Dukes later on in the 5th…McClung finished the 5th inning and ended the night with the two earned runs, just four hits allowed, while also fanning four.
Jason Kendall added the first insurance run when he doubled in J.J. Hardy in the 7th, Mike Cameron’s 6th homer of the year in the 8th finished the scoring.
So Brewers’ fans can take some comfort in knowing that McClung may be a suitable replacement in the rotation for Carlos Villanueva; with David Riske eligible to come off the DL at the end of the week, Ned Yost and Doug Melvin will have to decide who to send back to Nashville…if Mark DiFelice is to take Dave Bush’s spot in the rotation, the Brewers will have to announce that before then…Bush makes his next start on Tuesday in Milwaukee against the Braves.
Meanwhile, Russell “The Muscle” Branyan replaces Tony Gwynn, Jr. on the 25-man for Sunday, thus solidifying the platoon at third with Hall, who is hitting just .159 against righties; the left-handed hitting Branyan was hitting over .350 with Nashville. Branyan last donned a Brewers’ uniform in 2005 and was a fan favorite due to his monster home run shots…his addition before the homestand will give fans another reason to cheer…if McClung can put together another solid start, some of those players that Ryan Braun talked about might start getting some more of their confidence back.
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