Game of the Week: April 17: PHI @ MIL

[Commissioner Erick]

Philadelphia Phillies (8-8) @ Milwaukee Brewers (11-4)


PHI: Michael Bates (3-0, 3.44)
MIL: Holden Christian (0-0, 7.20)


Phillies 5 Key Stats


33: Philadelphia Home Runs: That number tops the National League. Four players already have at least six home runs: Seth Beer, Luis Morales, Isaiah High, and Bobby Siegel.

3-0: Michael Bates’ record: The former Cardinals starter and Royals swingman has thrived in the Philadelphia rotation, with 17 strikeouts in 18.1 innings, and a 0.98 WHIP. Bates will look to tie Tim Kierstead’s league-leading win total with a victory today.

5: Errors committed by Philadelphia: The Phillies are tied for tops in the league in not hurting themselves in the field. Their defensive efficiency isn’t great, but when a ball is hit to their fielders, they catch it.

21: Bobby Sigel’s age: Siegel has developed explosively and looks like one of the league’s best players, despite being only 21. Philadelphia selected him late in the 2024 draft, but believed in the talent, handing out a $6.2 million signing bonus to nab the 33rd overall pick. Siegel’s hit throughout the minors and is now the Phillies’ next big slugger.

.179: Mickey Moniak’s average: Moniak is still shaking off the effects of missing most of last year. The speed is there, with three steals in three attempts, but Moniak has struck out 15 times already and still looks rusty.


Brewers 5 Key Stats


1: Hit this year by Matt Aceto: It was a home run, but Aceto is batting .031 and has just a single run driven in. It’s a concerning slump for the former All-Star.

5: Positions for Milwaukee with negative Zone Ratings: Long a stellar defensive unit, Milwaukee has suffered a bit in that regard thus far. Zach Prajzner has been the biggest culprit with a -1.6 Zone Rating in the early going.

2: Wins over the Phillies Milwaukee has thus far: The Brewers got Bobby Siegel to hit into a ninth-inning double play with two on and one out to win a game on April 6, then on April 8, 4.1 scoreless from the bullpen put the Phillies to sleep. The Phillies won 8-2 in the finale to salvage a game.

2024: The last time the Brewers lost a series to Philadelphia: The Brewers are 5-0-1 in that span, with a record of 18-6 against Philadelphia in the span.

.682: Danny Tammaro’s OPS: After a lost year last year, the Brewers have given Tammaro a shot to be a key part of their 2028 club, but he’s not responding. He’s batting just .222 with one home run and 12 strikeouts. He’s walking and his defense has been good, but Will Dulihanty is waiting in Triple-A.


Questions for the GMs:


For Matt Grubs, your offense is firing on all cylinders. After a few off years, do you think you can make a run in 2028?

You’ve struggled mightily against Milwaukee going back to 2024. What’s the key to picking up the win against the Brewers today?

Jordan Butler and Michael Kopech are nicked up. Will we see them today?

For Luke Grimmelbein, Nick Rollins and Zach Prajzner are dealing with a few small injuries. Will they be in the lineup today?

Rollins appears to consistently be nicked up with minor dings. Does that affect your roster building at all?

Tammaro is off to a rough start, but Will Dulihanty is having a tough go in Triple-A the last week. How long of a leash does Tammaro have?


TRIVIA: Who is the most recent Brewer to hit 3 home runs in a game?

[brewersgm]

May 29, 2022 19:22:27 GMT -5 Commissioner Erick said:

Questions for the GMs:

For Luke Grimmelbein, Nick Rollins and Zach Prajzner are dealing with a few small injuries. Will they be in the lineup today?

Rollins appears to consistently be nicked up with minor dings. Does that affect your roster building at all?

Tammaro is off to a rough start, but Will Dulihanty is having a tough go in Triple-A the last week. How long of a leash does Tammaro have?

1. Neither will be in the lineup today. Matt Aceto will get the start at 3rd. Noah Campbell will get the start at SS. Prajzner will also head to the IL to make space for Will Dulihanty on the roster. Oblique injuries, even minor, are no joke.

2. Nick Rollins is always nicked up. It does. It's part of why we carry an extra hitter on our roster. We instruct our bench coach to rest Nick if he gets any injury. It's not ideal but with our depth and Nick's talent it seems to be worth it for now. That said it's not encouraging when a guy is 25 and looks like he should get a knee replacement already.

3. Will is back on the active roster and the two will be splitting starts for the time being. It's an open competition. Still too early to say who wins it, but both of them will get a chance to start some in the near future. It's nice to have a LH power bat off the bench regardless of who is in RF.

[Grubs - Philly]

Your offense is firing on all cylinders. After a few off years, do you think you can make a run in 2028?

We're not expecting to make the playoffs this year.

You’ve struggled mightily against Milwaukee going back to 2024. What’s the key to picking up the win against the Brewers today?

We need 6 innings of solid work from Bates, maybe more. Our bullpen had a rough week and could use a good starting performance.

Jordan Butler and Michael Kopech are nicked up. Will we see them today?

It's doubtful. I'll have another look at Kopech, but he could benefit from some mental rest, too.

[Commissioner Erick]

Brewers 6 - Phillies 5


WP: H. Yamada (1-0)
LP: M. Bates (3-1)
SV: J. Young (1)


Milwaukee Brewers starter Holden Christian was in a groove as he led his team to a win over the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-5. Hideki Yamada picked up the win in relief for Milwaukee, while Michael Bates took the loss. Earning his 1st save for Milwaukee was Josh Young.

The Brewers got a big at-bat from first baseman Luis Rivera. For the game, Rivera went 1-4 with a home run, while adding 2 RBI and scoring once. In the bottom of the sixth, with a runner on 2nd, he stroked a 2-run home run. His 5th home run of the season gave Milwaukee a 5-4 lead.

"I just tried to attack the bottom of the zone," Christian said.

Milwaukee, now 12-4, has played well in the early going.


Questions for the GMs:


For Matt Grubs, Michael Kopech pitched and did not pitch well. Do you agree with how your manager bot handled his usage?

Michael Bates had been strong in his prior starts, but struggled today. What went wrong for Bates?

Mike Siani went down early with an injury. How did that affect your day?

For Luke Grimmelbein, how big was it to see Danny Tammaro homer after his early struggles?

Matt Aceto went 0-4, and is now hitting .029. How long until you go with another option?

Noah Campbell went 0-2 to drop his average to .088, but he also walked twice. What did you think of his performance?


TRIVIA: Which player has the most RBIs since the start of 2025?

[brewersgm]

Jun 2, 2022 18:46:13 GMT -5 Commissioner Erick said:

Questions for the GMs:

For Luke Grimmelbein, how big was it to see Danny Tammaro homer after his early struggles?

Matt Aceto went 0-4, and is now hitting .029. How long until you go with another option?

Noah Campbell went 0-2 to drop his average to .088, but he also walked twice. What did you think of his performance?

1. It was nice to see. Danny has started slow but he's already looking better than last year.

2. We've sent Matt to AAA to try and get his swing right. Something is just not right with him, and he has options. He's always been a streaky player but this is extreme, even for him. We feel we have the depth to weather his absence for a bit.

3. Any game Noah gets on base twice is a good game for him. He's not in there for his bat. He played a great game out there. His average should go up with more playing time. He's not a great hitter but he's better than .088.

[Commissioner Erick]

Trivia 2: Daniel correctly guessed Patrick Leonard

[Commissioner Erick]

Trivia 1: Luke correctly guessed Rodolfo Rivera

[Grubs - Philly]

Michael Kopech pitched and did not pitch well. Do you agree with how your manager bot handled his usage?

I'm disappointed. Masucci seemed the clear play in this situation. He was sharp and has the stamina to another inning or more. Kopech has yet to find an extended string of success this year. After Calvin Greenfield made some hard contact for a deep double, he was rattled and had a hard time settling down. I've changed Kopech from stopper to closer, where he's had some good runs. We get in trouble running him out in non-save situations. 

Michael Bates had been strong in his prior starts, but struggled today. What went wrong for Bates?

Batesy wasn't super sharp early, but was battling okay. The third inning turned it for him, I think. He had Rodolfo Rivera 1-2 before four foul balls and then a double. When Siani hurt himself trying limit damage and gun down Rivera after Jacks' single, we fell behind. He pitched well in the fourth and fifth, but he'd been competing hard and after Perches crushed a 108 mph double, our manager bot should have brought in Agboola. Instead, it kept Bates in and Luis Rivera finished the job.

Mike Siani went down early with an injury. How did that affect your day?

The guys love having Siani out there and it was a blow to everyone to see him hurt. Jorge Becerra did well filling in. It was a rough week, as Morales and Beer and finally Becerra himself got dinged up. We're back to nearly full strength now and it's been nice to see Alex Agurre exercising his eagle eye at the major league level. We'll have a tough call to make, as we don't want to carry six outfielders and all our backups are playing well.