Series Recap: Brewers at Cubs

If you had told me Monday morning that the Brewers would take two of three from the Cubs, I’d have been ecstatic. I can’t help be a little disappointed though after Thursday’s game. Sure the Crew won the series, but I can’t help feel like there was an opportunity missed at Wrigley Field.
The Brewers were 9-17 in road series last season, so to win the first road series of the year is big and to do it against the Cubbies is just the icing on the cake. The Brewers are a notoriously terrible road team. If they can just play .500 ball on the road they should be right in the thick of a playoff berth.
Okay, let’s take a look back at the series against the Cubs:
The Good
Ben Sheets and Jeff Suppan both had quality starts, something that is desperately needed this year from the rotation. Suppan won his game but Sheets took a no decision. Salomon Torres, Guillermo Mota and David Riske all made their regular season debuts with the Brewers and none of them gave up a run. Along with Derrick Turnbow and Seth McClung, the five pitched eight innings and had eight strikeouts.
Jason Kendall got off to a great start offensively. He batted .400 for the series with two doubles, two walks and a stolen base. Tony Gwynn seems to taking the most of his opportunity while Mike Cameron is suspended. He hit .571 in two starts, stole a base and scored two runs.
The Bad
Dave Bush continued his struggles in Chicago. He fell to 1-6 at Wrigley Field with his loss on Thursday. He couldn’t work out of the sixth inning and walked a career high five batters and gave up six runs to give him an ERA of 10.13.
Bill Hall went 2-12 with six strikeouts. So much for Hall improving his plate discipline. JJ Hardy went 1-13 and may still be suffering the after effects of the virus he had in Arizona. Teenage girls of Milwaukee are having a hard time dealing with the early slump. Prince Fielder and his vegan ways had no extra base hits and only two RBIs. I sure hope he has a steak before the game on Friday.
The Ugly
Eric Gagne made an auspicious debut with the Crew on Monday. After the offense scored three runs in the top of the ninth, Gagne proceeded to blow his first save opportunity. Kosuke Fukudome hit a 3-run home run to tie the game. Luckily, Gagne composed himself and was able to get out of the ninth and ended up picking up the win. Gagne is set to earn $10 million this season and the fans of Milwaukee won’t accept too many more blow ups like that before turning on him.
Summary
Sweeps are nice but winning series is what’s most important. Any confidence gained on the road can only be a good thing. The Brewers now head home for a six game homestand before going on the road for nine games against the Mets, Cardinals and Reds.