Game of the Week: March 31: STL @ MIL

[Commissioner Erick]

St. Louis Cardinals (1-2) @ Milwaukee Brewers (2-1)


STL: Francisco F. Rios (0-0)
MIL: Francis Pena (0-0)


The Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals have been the bridesmaids to the Chicago Cubs the last several seasons. Neither team has ever won the NL Central in their history—though in fairness, neither has any other team outside Chicago. Starting in 2021, St. Louis finished second place three-years in a row, until Milwaukee surged to its best season in history last year and a 90-win campaign that resulted in a second-place finish without a playoff berth.

With the Chicago Cubs vulnerable this season, it may be the time for St. Louis or Milwaukee to jump up and take the NL Central crown from Chicago. However, they’ll also have to fend off each other for the prize. The two clubs will face off tonight in the Game of the Week.

St. Louis eased into the season, getting jumped in Cincinnati the first two games, before winning comfortably on Sunday. Their offense was potent in Cincinnati—St. Louis is currently first in most offensive categories, and is second in runs scored. It’s an offense that features a darkhorse MVP candidate in Nick Pratto. Pratto is hitting .500 in the early going, with three walks, no strikeouts, and a home run. He’s joined by Addison Russell, who is batting .385 with a pair of home runs and a pair of walks. Daniel Brito is hitting .545 after a lost 2024, and rookie Josh Weyer has a home run and a double in his first three games.

It’s an offense that can really hit, though it’ll have its work cut out for it against a deep Milwaukee staff. Francis Pena will get the ball for the Brewers in his first start since winning 16 games last year. Pena is a three-pitch pitcher, with a power fastball that can be located anywhere, and a biting curve that is used as an out pitch. Pena struck out nearly a batter an inning last year, and allowed only 21 home runs in 171 innings.

If Milwaukee has a late lead, they’ll give the ball to Edwin Diaz. Shy of a down 2023, Diaz has been one of the game’s best pitchers. He leads baseball in all-time Strikeout Rate and his next save will tie Aroldis Chapman for fourth all-time. Diaz blew away Dominic Smith and Kris Bryant, plus got Xander Bogaerts to ground out on Saturday as he began 2025 with a save. As good as St. Louis’ offense is, if the Brewers lead in the ninth, the Cardinals’ chances of winning may be as good as gone.


Questions for the GMs:


For Steve Cox, you’ve been using Buster Posey as DH in the early going. How has he looked to you?

Josh Donaldson has come off the bench so far. Is that because of his Vesting Option that pays him $18 million next year if he gets 400 Plate Appearances this year?

You recently acquired Nick Thurman. Why did you go after him?

For Luke Grimmelbein, Matt Aceto really slugged the ball after coming over from Toronto last year. What do you see from him in your future?

You have Joe Rowland working as a righty-specialist despite an uninspiring start to his pro career. Why do you have him on your roster?

Mike Becker doesn’t have much power, but he hit over .300 for you as a Brewer. Do you think he can overcome his lack of power to become an above average First Baseman?


TRIVIA: Which Player has scored the most runs in a single-season in PBA history?

[brewersgm]

Jan 14, 2021 23:24:36 GMT -5 Commissioner Erick said:

For Luke Grimmelbein, Matt Aceto really slugged the ball after coming over from Toronto last year. What do you see from him in your future?

You have Joe Rowland working as a righty-specialist despite an uninspiring start to his pro career. Why do you have him on your roster?

Mike Becker doesn’t have much power, but he hit over .300 for you as a Brewer. Do you think he can overcome his lack of power to become an above average First Baseman?

1. Matt Aceto is someone our organization has followed for a long time. He's a local kid from Wisconsin. When I took over the team, we had strong prospects at many positions but not at third base. If Danny Tammaro had been off the board in the 2022 draft, then Matt is who we would have drafted. Theo Epstein told me how much he wished that we had had an extra first round pick to use on Matt. Even though we weren't able to draft him in 2022, we kept our scouts eyes on him. We attempted to trade for him several times with former Blue Jays GMs. When Mike came on board the Blue Jays were looking for pitching at the deadline last year, so finally the Brewers and Blue Jays were able to come together on a deal that filled each of our needs. The deal has definitely paid off for the Jays, as the two pitchers we sent over helped lead them to a WS victory. We are hopeful that one day Matt can do the same for us. We see him as our 3rd baseman of the future and a key power bat in our lineup going forward; and as I've said before we love his ability to play both the infield and the outfield.

2. Shots fired at Joe Rowland.  It's true that Joe hasn't put it together at the major league level yet but he only has 5.2 IP to his name. We believe in giving our drafted players a chance at the Show if they earn it, and Joe has. He was able to pitch successfully last year at Colorado Springs, which is impressive considering that park's elevation. He had a strong spring training and earned a roster spot as our 8th man in the bullpen. That being said, we are likely to shift to a 7 man bullpen in a few weeks. We anticipate the arrival of a few big time guys...

3. Mike Becker definitely has an interesting player profile. Honestly one of his closest comparisons might be his former teammate Luis Urias, at least in terms of how they approach their at bats. Mike obviously is still a young developing player and hasn't put together a career like Urias's. It's true that Mike might not have the most pop in his bat, but he has great plate discipline and his average from last year shows you how good his contact skills can be when he's on his game. We're somewhat of a lefty heavy team and we acquired Mike primarily to platoon with Luis Rivera and give us some balance. In that role, we definitely see him as an above average player, Luis can provide the homers. However, if Mike continues to hit like he did last year then he will definitely earn more opportunities as an everyday guy.

[Commissioner Erick]

Brewers 9 - Cardinals 5


WP: J. Rowland (1-0)
LP: F. Rios (0-1)
SV: E. Diaz (2)


The St. Louis Cardinals got a superb performance from first baseman Nick Pratto. Still, it wasn't enough to beat Milwaukee. The Brewers won the game, 9-5. Pratto was 2 for 2 with a home run and 2 walks, while scoring 2 times and driving in 3. Milwaukee reliever Joe Rowland picked up the win, upping his record to 1-0. Francisco F. Rios absorbed the loss. The loss puts St. Louis at 1-3.

The Brewers ran into trouble with two out in the top of the fourth. St. Louis, with runners on 1st and 3rd, had Daniel Brito at the plate. He could have changed the complexion of the game with a base hit. Instead, he flied out.


Questions for the GMs:


For Steve Cox, why did you have Weyer bat ahead of Pratto today?

Jose Adolis Garcia went 0-3 with a sac fly and may end up needing to play more with Joc Pederson's set back. How did Garcia look to you?

Daniel Brito's offense continues to be fantastic to begin the year. Does he look like one of the best Second Basemen in the game to you?

For Luke Grimmelbein, Frances Pena struggled for you today. With so much young pitching talent in the upper minors, is Pena in trouble for getting sent down?

Luis Rivera continues to explode in the early part of the year. Can he be an All-Star?

Greg Jacks had a pair of hits, stole a base, and now is playing Second Base. How big is Jacks' flexibility to unlocking your team's success?


TRIVIA: Who has the most Pitching WAR in Milwaukee Brewers history?

[Commissioner Erick]

Ben Vincent correctly guessed Lindor as the answer to the trivia question.

[brewersgm]

Jan 17, 2021 14:35:46 GMT -5 Commissioner Erick said:

For Luke Grimmelbein, Frances Pena struggled for you today. With so much young pitching talent in the upper minors, is Pena in trouble for getting sent down?

Luis Rivera continues to explode in the early part of the year. Can he be an All-Star?

Greg Jacks had a pair of hits, stole a base, and now is playing Second Base. How big is Jacks' flexibility to unlocking your team's success?

1. Any pitcher on our team will definitely have to do better than 6.3 BB/9 or he will find himself in the minors. That said it's early and we believe Pena will get it together. So far he's made two starts, this game and a game against the Phillies. Those are two tough lineups for any starter. Pena also has experience pitching full seasons which can't be said for some of the younger pitchers.

2. Luis has done nothing but rake since his 2023 minor league season. That said we obviously don't expect or anticipate his current 244 OPS+ to hold over a full year. Even when he slows down some though, he should hopefully be putting up numbers that keep him in the mix to make the All-Star game.

3. It's very big. Greg is our Swiss-Army knife. Garrett Mitchell grades out as a little bit better of a defender in CF so Greg usually starts at 2B vs righties. But when we face the lefties that are tough for Garrett it's great to have Greg be able to step in and play a plus CF. Greg's ability to play 2B and the OF also allows us to use Noah Campbell at 2B in situations that are favorable to him as well. In late game situations we like shifting Greg into a corner OF spot and Noah in at 2B to create a lockdown closeout defense.

[Commissioner Erick]

Luke correctly guessed Edwin Diaz.