The Brewers messed with the shadows at Miller Park by slightly adjusting the roof in right field before today’s game. The Brewers beat the Pirates today, 8-4, in a game featuring more offense than we’re used to in a day game. But I’m not so sure the two are correlated.
Of course, if the Brewers think it helped and they continue to hit well at home during the day — it’ll be hard to tell, since they only have three of those games left — that’s fine. Psychology is still an important component when you’re up to bat, so if Ryan Braun thinks he’s hitting better because of the extra shade, so be it. I just think facing Charlie Morton and the rest of the Pittsburgh Pirates has more to do with it.
Morton is a bad pitcher. For all the complaining Brewers fans do about Manny Parra, he’s like Manny Parra with even worse results. The first time the Brewers saw Morton this year, they chased him from the game after 1 inning, tagging him for 6 runs (5 earned) on 6 hits and 3 walks. Today, he allowed 8 runs (7 earned) on 9 hits in 3.1 innings. He’s now made 11 starts this year, and has given up less than 5 earned runs only 4 times.
This was his first start back in the majors since May 27, and the numbers indicate he was still extremely hittable in Triple A. In 80 innings for Indianapolis, Morton’s K/9 was an even 6.0, and he also carried a BB/9 of 3.4 and a H/9 of 9.3. His WHIP was 1.412.
It’s possible he’s just having a really, really bad year, as those Triple A numbers are pretty much in line with what he did in 18 Major League starts last year. I just hope the Brewers consider the competition — or lack thereof — before they start patting themselves on the back for “fixing” the Miller Park shadows today.
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