Gamel, Gonzalez Slug In Brewers Win

 Photo: AP

The Brewers picked up their 13th Cactus League win today, beating the Padres 10-7 in Peoria, AZ. The game was televised on FS Wisconsin, even if it wasn’t much to watch: The game was a very typical spring training contest, featuring a lot of errors and long innings, and not very much actual excitement. However, there were some interesting individual performances today, so we have a full slate of notes:

— Chris Narveson started, going five innings and running into some trouble in his last couple frames. Narveson allowed seven runs (three earned) on seven hits, one homer, and two walks while striking out three. Narveson wasn’t very sharp today, but he wasn’t helped at all by his defense, which dropped two fly balls behind him.

— Mat Gamel continued to make the case that he really is in the best shape of his life, hitting two homeruns in three at-bats. His first homerun was a truly impressive blast, a 360 foot drive over the left field fence that went for a grand slam in the third inning. Gamel’s previous problems were never the result of a lack of power, but everything he has done this Spring has given fans reason to feel good about him being the everyday first baseman. 

— Alex Gonzalez had a single and a homerun in two at-bats, continuing to hit well while continuing to wow fans with actual defensive plays at shortstop. Carlos Gomez also added a homerun and a double.

— Manny Parra pitched two scoreless innings, though he allowed two of Chris Narveson’s runs in the sixth. Parra allowed one hit while walking none and striking out three. Parra threw quite a few cutters today while sitting in the low 90s with his four-seamer.

— John Axford closed the game out with a scoreless ninth inning, striking out two and allowing one hit. The minor-leaguers Axford faced didn’t make for particularly stiff competition, but his stuff was impressive: Axford threw nine strikes on ten pitches, and his fastball sat at 94-96 on the TV gun, with the Pitch F/X cameras listing him as high as 98.

The Brewers go up against the Giants tomorrow, with Yovani Gallardo facing Tim Lincecum. After that, the Brewers have three games left before Opening Day.