Recap: Brewers 5, Reds 1

Win Expectancy
He had to wait through a lengthy rain delay and only a few hundred were left in the park to see it, but Manny Parra got his first win since returning from AAA Nashville on Saturday night.  Parra put together his second consecutive refreshingly good start, pitching 6 innings and only allowing 1 earned run while striking out 6 and walking 3.  Todd Coffey and Mark DiFelice closed out the game for the Brewers, who regained the game in the standings they lost to St. Louis the night before.

The Brewers jumped out to an early lead thanks to a 4-run 4th inning sparked by Craig Counsell’s (yes, Craig Counsell’s) solo home run.  All 9 Brewers hit in the 4th, which included run-scoring ABs from Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, and Frank Catalanotto.  J.J. Hardy added a solo home run in the 9th inning to cap off a strong night for the Brewers after entering the game with multiple concerns.

Ryan Braun was unable to play after being hit with a Bronson Arroyo pitch last night.  Braun said that his thumb was still too sore to swing a bat, and his status for tomorrow’s game is still unknown.  With Dave Bush being unable to rejoin the rotation after the series in Cincinnati, the Brewers have reportedly started to seriously consider jumping into the Roy Halladay sweepstakes.  Considering one rotation spot is already in limbo, the Brewers desperately needed another strong showing from Parra in order to calm some nerves.

That’s exactly what they got, and Parra has looked more comfortable in his past two starts than he has at any point in his big league career.  With Yovani Gallardo facing off against Johnny Cueto tomorrow, the Brewers have a chance to take the series.  As always with Gallardo, though, the question is if the offense can score enough runs to win.  While Gallardo hasn’t been sharp in his past couple starts, he’s pitched much better than his 7 losses would indicate.   Both Gallardo and Cueto will be making their first starts of the second half, getting a few extra days of rest.  In their last meeting against Cueto, the Brewers were only able to score 3 runs on 3 hits, but it was good enough for a 3-2 win.