With the Great Collapse of 2014 still a fresh memory, it may be hard to recall that the Brewers had some bloody terrific wins this year. Below is my list of the top ten. Notably, all of these came before the last week of August, when the Brewers began digging a hole they would not emerge from. Each of these wins signaled the Crew was on their way to their third playoff berth in seven seasons. That didn’t happen, but we didn’t know any better at the time, and these victories were still pretty great in and of themselves. Let’s reminisce…
10. June 25 vs. Nationals: Estrada Beats Strasburg
On paper, this looked like a sure loss for Milwaukee – Marco Estrada, who can’t get through the parking lot without giving up a homerun, versus the first pick in the 2009 MLB draft. Although Strasburg didn’t look great in the first half, few thought Estrada was the guy who would keep the Brewers from being swept by the Nationals. As they say, they don’t play the games on paper.
Video highlight: Scooter Gennett backs Estrada with his first career grand slam.
[mlbvideo id=”34028615″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]9. July 5 vs. Reds: Garza Goes the Distance
During the Brewers’ first extended slump in July, Garza turned in the kind of performance we were all excited to see when his signing was announced at Brewers On Deck. It was the toughest of tough luck losses for Homer Bailey, who gave up one measly run in eight innings. But Garza’s complete game shutout was better.
Video highlight: Garza dominates.
[mlbvideo id=”34323043″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]8. June 8 vs. Pirates: Fan Helps Crew
Yovani Gallardo threw some gutsy pitches to preserve the shutout late. But the most memorable part of this game was the Pittsburgh fan who interfered with a live ball, which led to the Brewers scoring the only run of the game. The Pirates would eventually get red-hot when it mattered, but at this point they were still finding new ways to lose to Milwaukee.
Video highlight: Bad fan. BAD!
[mlbvideo id=”33548743″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]7. May 10 vs. Yankees: Welcome Back CC!
It was great to be able to see CC Sabathia’s first game in Miller Park since he carried the Brewers to the wild card in 2008. It was even better that the Brewers pulled out the win after the Yankees tied it late. Hopefully fans who came to see Jeter one last time weren’t too disappointed he didn’t play that day.
Video highlight: Carlos Gomez homers off the damn club windows.
[mlbvideo id=”32762617″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]6. March 31 vs. Braves: Yo’s Best Opening Day
Gallardo has been the Opening Day starter since 2010, but he hasn’t traditionally done well right out of the gate. 2014 was his best Opening Day performance – six shutout innings against the Atlanta Braves. The mild tailgating weather was also a nice change of pace.
Video highlight: Aramis Ramirez gets the out from his knees.
[mlbvideo id=”31723287″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]5. August 16 vs. Dodgers: Kershaw, Shmershaw (and K-Rod Passes Fingers)
Since the Brewers offense disappeared in the final month of the season, it’s funny to think that they actually beat some great pitchers this year. Clayton Kershaw would be a tough opponent against of lineup of Hall of Famers in their prime, so to get a win against him is something the Brewers can be proud of. As a bonus, K-Rod recorded his 342nd save to move past Rollie Fingers on the all-time list (giving up a homer in the process, natch).
Video highlight: Braun annoys L.A. fans with non-PED-assisted homer.
[mlbvideo id=”35425993″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]4. August 1 vs. Cardinals: Wainwright Goes Down
It feels like the Brewers never beat Wainwright. Sure, there was that one game in 2009 when he was outdueled by Jeff Suppan of all people, but other than that victories over Wainwright are few and far between. For the first time since I can remember, the Brewers actually knocked Wainwright around pretty good. It would have been lovely if they could have parlayed it into a series victory, but I’ll take what I can get against the goddamn Cardinals.
Video highlight: Lucroy clears the bases.
[mlbvideo id=”34998615″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]3. April 19 vs. Pirates: Braun Spoils Grilli’s Day (Twice)
Early in the season, booing Ryan Braun was still hip and trendy and Brewers fans watching at home had to sit back and take it (which was especially tough since we knew it wasn’t exactly unjustified). So for Braun to come into Pittsburgh and hit ninth inning homers two days in a row was brilliant. (I’ll rank the first game higher since Braun’s homer gave the Brewers the lead.) As Elizabeth Taylor said, there is no deodorant like success.
Video highlight: Boo hoo.
[mlbvideo id=”32223327″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]2. May 27 vs. Orioles: Yo Walks Off
The Brewers were out of position players in the 10th inning against the Orioles, so it made perfect sense to walk Mark Reynolds with the bases empty to face pinch hitter Yovani Gallardo. What were the chances a pitcher would be able to get a hit, much less drive in slowpoke Reynolds from first?
Video highlight: Perfect sense.
[mlbvideo id=”33225597″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]1. June 17 vs. Diamondbacks: Poetic Justice
This was a thing of beauty, no? The Brewers had runners at second and third with one out and Braun at the plate. Rather than intentionally walk Braun, the Diamondbacks hit him with a pitch to load the bases, and Arizona fans loved it because Braun’s a cheating cheaty cheater. Then Lucroy stepped up and hit a grand slam on the next pitch. You couldn’t have scripted it better for Brewers fans. Baseball is a great game, but it’s not usually sexy. This time it was. My heart skips a beat thinking about it just now. If this doesn’t put a smile on your face, nothing will.
[mlbvideo id=”33814769″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]As I’ve heard from Cubs fans, there’s always next year. In 2015, I expect to publish this list in late October and it will be made up entirely of playoff games. Hope springs eternal.
(Image: Patrick Breen/azcentral sports)
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