Game of the Week: June 1: DET @ MIL

[Commissioner Erick]

Detroit Tigers (32-22) @ Milwaukee Brewers (38-15)


DET: Gregory Reinoso (5-2, 1.99)
MIL: Mike Arnold (4-2, 2.82)


Tigers 5 Key Stats


22: The combined number of home runs by Detroit rookies Demario Pacheco and Roderick Dalton. Pacheco has emerged as a fantastic two-way player, while Dalton has been as good as advertised. The two rookies aren't just starters, but Detroit's three and four hitters.

16: David Heide's save total. Heide has a 1.54 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP and has established himself as one of the best closers in the game.

3: The number of seasons Gregory Reinoso has finished with an ERA of 3.60 or lower. He finished with a 4.39 mark last season in a down year, but is back having a strong this year. He has a 1.99 ERA and 0.88 WHIP. He's allowed just one homer this year.

.331: Daniel Brito's batting average. Brito had a strong 2025 and is having an even better 2026.

48: Detroit's home run total, 13th in the AL. That home run total has Detroit limited to being 10th in runs scored


Brewers 5 Key Stats


25: Hawkeye's strikeout total his last two starts. Hawkeye is red hot, he's 1-0 with a 0.65 ERA and just two walks and six hits over that period. Hawkeye is on pace for another All-Star season.

3: Platinum Stick Awards won in Cuba for Yoelkis Cespedes. Cespedes hit .372 in Colorado Springs, but has just six plate appearances in the PBA.

19: Edwin Diaz' consecutive game streak without a run. Diaz has 15 saves during that period and is 3-0 with 18 saves on the year.

-0.5: Danny Tammaro's WAR. Tammaro has really struggled with a .186 average with five home runs. Tammaro's been dropped to the eight spot in the order. He won't start against the lefty Reinoso today, but is 1-13 as a pinch hitter or sub.

15.0: Milwaukee's Zone Rating, second in the NL. With a great pen and great staff, it's helped make Milwaukee the best run prevention team in baseball.


Questions for the GMs:


For Steve Cox, with Danger Man out for the year, does this change your desire to trade a pitcher?

Your team is way down in home runs. Will you try to acquire a power hitter?

Milwaukee's a tough pitching team, especially with Hawkeye going. Will you try to play more smallball today?

For Luke Grimmelbein, Francis Pena is close to coming off the IL. How will he fit into your team going forward?

You're much better against right-handed starters 31-10 than lefties (7-5). Do you feel that you need another right-handed bat?

You've had a few weeks now. How has your team adjusted to the loss of Mike Perches?


TRIVIA: Which Australian player has the most career home runs in the PBA?

[brewersgm]

Jul 24, 2021 8:15:52 GMT -5 Commissioner Erick said:

Questions for the GMs:

For Luke Grimmelbein, Francis Pena is close to coming off the IL. How will he fit into your team going forward?

You're much better against right-handed starters 31-10 than lefties (7-5). Do you feel that you need another right-handed bat?

You've had a few weeks now. How has your team adjusted to the loss of Mike Perches?

1. Francis is still working on his stamina which has taken a hit post injury. We think he still has a ways to go in his rehab even after coming off the IL. Mitch Cavanagh and David Meeks have done a decent job holding up the back end of the rotation lately so we don't feel like there is a rush to have Francis back on the team. When he does come back he will likely have a role out of the bullpen.

2. A lot of our best hitters are lefties so we can have some trouble with lefty pitchers.  We feel like we have a lot of internal options to experiment with going forward if our issues with lefties persist. Bobby Dalbec has struggled this year vs lefties and he is normally a very reliable righty bat for us. That said it's a small size. As you note Yoelkis Cespedes hasn't gotten many PA and we are working on changing that. Mike Becker can also hit lefties but roster crunch is keeping him in AAA at the moment. If Steve Mulvey can get it going in AAA he's another option as well.

3. We are still 3rd in wOBA in the NL so I think we've adjusted ok. Rodolfo Rivera isn't Mike but he's done an admirable job stepping up in the 2 hole. We've also been especially impressed with Will Dulihanty. His 14 homers lead the team and he has played well in LF in the absence of Mike. Mike's absence has also opened up more AB's for Tim Elmore and all he's done is rake.

[Commissioner Erick]

Brewers 4 - Tigers 2


WP: Michell Miliano (1-0)
LP: E. Ramos (2-1)
SV: E. Diaz (19)


Milwaukee got a strong outing from Mike Arnold as the Brewers defeated the Detroit Tigers, 4-2, at Miller Park. Michell Miliano, now 1-0, picked up the win in relief. He allowed no runs on 1 hit in 2 innings. Edwin Diaz recorded his 19th save for Milwaukee.

Had Bobby Dalbec not delivered a key base hit in the bottom of the seventh, the outcome might have been different. Instead, with two down and the bases loaded, Dalbec hit a 2-run single. That made the score 4-2, in favor of the Brewers.

"It was a solid team effort," said Dalbec after the game.

With the win, Milwaukee pushed its record to 39-15.


Questions for the GMs:


For Steve Cox, you had Edubray Ramos on facing a lefty in Danny Tammaro. Ramos was left in and struck him out. However, Ramos was pulled for lefty Hunter Barco with the righty Bobby Dalbec up and Dalbec hit the game-winning double. What reason was there for that bullpen usage?

Milwaukee is a good pitching club, but your squad had just two extra base hits. Do you feel like you need more juice to compete with elite opponents?

Brice Turang has been moved down in the order this year. He went 1-3 with a walk from the eight-spot today. How has he looked to you down there?

For Luke Grimmelbein, Yoelkis Cespedes went 3-3 with a double. Will he be getting more playing time going forward?

Edwin Diaz had another scoreless inning to pick up his 19th save. He's been arguably the best reliever in PBA history and his contract is up after this year. Have you begun extension talks?

Bobby Dalbec has really scuffled this year. How nice was it for you to see him get the big double to win the game?



TRIVIA: Which player who has played in the Cuban League has the most PBA Home Runs?

[brewersgm]

Jul 26, 2021 10:56:06 GMT -5 Commissioner Erick said:

For Luke Grimmelbein, Yoelkis Cespedes went 3-3 with a double. Will he be getting more playing time going forward?

Edwin Diaz had another scoreless inning to pick up his 19th save. He's been arguably the best reliever in PBA history and his contract is up after this year. Have you begun extension talks?

Bobby Dalbec has really scuffled this year. How nice was it for you to see him get the big double to win the game?

1. Yoelkis will be our starting RF vs lefties going forward and will likely get some starts vs righties as well. Tammaro has started to get it together and Elmore also needs starts, but Yoelkis is earning himself playing time for sure.

2. Ownership is pressuring the front office for an extension but our analytics guys aren't sure that Diaz is worth the 100 million he is demanding. For some reason Diaz wants to be paid a starting pitcher's salary and sees himself as a starter despite being such a great reliever. It's something to monitor but it's likely that Diaz's demands may price him out of a Brewers uniform next season. We have a lot of relief prospects breaking in and coming up who could play into the decision as well.

3. That was great to see. Dalbec has historically been a great hitter vs lefties, this season non-withstanding. We appreciate the manager bot making a smart decision to leave him in against a lefty reliever as well.

[TigersGM]

For Steve Cox, you had Edubray Ramos on facing a lefty in Danny Tammaro. Ramos was left in and struck him out. However, Ramos was pulled for lefty Hunter Barco with the righty Bobby Dalbec up and Dalbec hit the game-winning double. What reason was there for that bullpen usage?

Ans: Absolutely none. Dumbest thing I've ever seen, but its a sim. Nothing I can do but fire the pitchin coach and or bench coach.

Milwaukee is a good pitching club, but your squad had just two extra base hits. Do you feel like you need more juice to compete with elite opponents?

Ans: Just an off day for the bats. I'm more of a station-to-station manager than a homerun gun. Our record speaks for itself.

Brice Turang has been moved down in the order this year. He went 1-3 with a walk from the eight-spot today. How has he looked to you down there?

Ans: I'm pleased with his performance this year. It has sparked his bat, and may not be a permanent move.

[Commissioner Erick]

TRIVIA 1: Aaron correctly guessed Zach Shephard

TRIVIA 2: Daniel correctly guessed Guillermo Aviles