Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams cashed in his 30th save of the year while slugger Tyrone Taylor continued to build on a strong month of August as the Brewers completed a weekend sweep of the Texas Rangers.
“The Airbender ” only needed three pitches to collect his second save against the Rangers in the last three days.
Devin Williams Earns 30th Save
Williams entered the Sunday afternoons contest with two outs in the 9th after a throwing error allowed Marcus Semien to reach and a walk was issued to his All-Star middle infield partner, Corey Seager.
After two fastballs and an Airbender changeup, he got Nathaniel Lowe to flyout to left field for his 30th save in 33 chances.
“It is like he has played the game for 50-years,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell told MLBbro.com when asked about his All-Star closer.
“He has great situational awareness. He always knows what to do and how to get outs.”
Friday night the Brewers were up by five runs going into the ninth before a Rangers rally cut the lead to 9-6, forcing Counsell to call on Williams to shut the door. It wasn’t Williams’ easiest save.
After giving up a Travis Jankowski double down the left field line, he got Marcus Semien to ground out before a great catch in center field on a deep fly ball retired Seager at the warning track.
Those 30 saves rank Williams in the top five among all Major League pitchers. Both his .139 batting average against and 0.95 WHIP are also among the lowest in baseball.
Tyrone Taylor batted .500 with a triple, two doubles, two RBI and scored four runs in three games against the Texas Rangers this weekend.
Now, his average sits at .342 with a .658 slugging percentage, nine RBI and two home runs during the month of August.
“He (Tyrone Taylor) is finally at full strength,” said Counsell.
“Earlier this year he was not healthy. Since he has shaken off the injuries, I think the trajectory will continue to go up for him.”
Taylor struggled to get off to a good start this season in part to missing all of April and June. During July, he was just 3-for-18 with one homer and zero walks.
The Brewers are 7-3 in their last 10 games and lead the National League Central by three games. Their offense ranks 27th in batting average and 26th in OPS but they find success thanks to one of the best pitching staffs in the Majors. Their .233 batting average against is tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for the lowest in the Majors and their ERA ranks in the top 10.
This week they will host the American League Central-leading Twins who are still missing Byron Buxton for three more games before a weekend set with the Padres.
In the National League, with the exception of the NL East where the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets are battling it out for the division crown, the divisions have leaders in the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers that sit comfortably at the top of the heap. In fact the Dodgers are so far ahead that they are experimenting on who the closer might be for the postseason. An observation that MLBbro.com noticed when David Price was seen late in games a couple of times.
But the wild card situation is a very different story. The NL East would have three participants (division winner and two wild card teams) in the playoffs if the playoffs started at this point and the San Diego Padres would round out the top six teams despite the fact they are nearly 20 games behind the Dodgers in the West. With that scenario in mind, the Milwaukee Brewers find themselves on the outside looking in chasing the final wild card spot.
But if the Brew Crew can nab the sixth seed in the NL playoffs, they would most likely match up against the top seeded Dodgers, a team they have held their own against all season long. Before losing the last two head to head matchups last week, Milwaukee was leading the season series including taking three of the last four games spread out over two series.
That four game stretch was not lost on MLBbro, Andrew McCutchen who knows what level it takes to compete with a title contender like the Dodgers via star telegram.com.
“We played good ball. All four games, we were in those games, competed. I think we did a good job against a really good team. Pretty much one of the better teams, if not the best team right now, in baseball. We showed that we were able to compete with them. To take a split against them is something good, because they probably haven’t been doing that a whole lot.”
Our MLBbro is not at the level that landed him five All-Star appearances, but he is still making huge impacts on a team that needs the professionalism he brings to the clubhouse that stats do not show. Nothing illustrated this fact more than the two series against the best team in the majors in ten days.
In the first series, McCutchen struggled to start the series, but kept his focus enough to hit two homers with three RBI to get the split in the first series. In the Brewers Final Pitch on Bally Sports, the panel gushed on how well our MLBbro is hitting against left handed pitching as of late. Something the Brewers will be needing from the DH spot going forward.
But McCutchen’s power streak did not stop in the Dodgers series. A three game matchup with the Chicago Cubs was sandwiched in between the 10 day period of facing Los Angeles. Despite dropping two of three games against the Cubs, Andrew collected yet another multi-homer game sparking a home run barrage from his teammates as of late.
“It’s not supposed to be for a celebration, it just became that. It really started with (Lorenzo Cain) and Keston (Hiura). It was the two of them. Any time (Cain) would be hitting, he’d lineout or hit a ball hard, everyone always has the same ‘Hey man, way to swing it. Hey way to swing it.’ And as a baseball player in general – no one wants to hear that after you lined out. After you did everything correct and someone’s standing there and catches the ball. You don’t want to hear ‘Way to swing it.’”
“Basically, I was like, ‘You know what would be funny? If we got some like huge hand or something every time we would line out. We’d be like “Hey way to swing it’ “We’re all laughing about it, but you need that in those moments because you’re so mad, especially if you’re struggling.”
Every contending team needs players in their dugouts who will keep things loose, especially in the middle of a playoff chase when the pressure is high. Look for MLBbro, Andrew McCutchen to use his MVP experience to help his team have fun for the rest of the season.
It’s safe to say Andrew McCutchen is a seasoned veteran, now in his 14th MLB season. He also has a new home in Wisconsin, after signing a one-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. Don’t let the age fool you, this 35-year-old can still ball and he’s already showing Brewers fans the team made a good decision in signing him.
In his debut with the Brewers, McCutchen went 2-for-5 and scored a run. The next game he finished 1-for-3 at the plate.
Yesterday, new #Brewers Andrew McCutchen, Hunter Renfroe, and Victor Caratini all recorded hits in their first game with the team.
All three of these players will play crucial roles for Milwaukee this season. pic.twitter.com/e4LsdxaVnd
— Brewers Stats and Updates (@BrewersStat) April 8, 2022
The Brewers will work McCutchen in different areas of the lineup. In his first game he batted clean up and then hit leadoff the second game.
It didn’t take him long to get involved in a situation that involved both teams clearing its benches either.
Benches clear in the Brewers-Cubs game after Andrew McCutchen is hit by a pitch.
In the second game of the series between the Brewers and the Chicago Cubs, Cubs pitcher Keegan Thompson hit McCutchen, and let’s just say McCutchen was not a happy camper after. Also, before McCutchen got hit, three Cubs hitters were hit earlier in the game. Well, when our brother got hit, both teams went out onto the field and had some words.
That’s all that happened but you got the chance to see that McCutchen isn’t about no games. This man is a team player and he’s always willing to leave it all out on the field. When he joined the Brewers, McCutchen knew something good was going to come out of it.
“I knew coming here I was going to be able to help out a lot,” he said in an interview with Bally Sports Wisconsin.
Even though the season just started it’s a good sign to see how McCutchen has been swinging.
No matter where he’s at in the lineup, he finds a way to get the job done at the plate. Throughout his entire career, our MLBbro has been known for his above average hitting and power at the plate. The five-time all-star made a name for himself during his time with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
During his time in Pittsburgh, he was named National League MVP, won a Gold Glove award, and multiple Silver Slugger awards.
Since his time with the Pirates, McCutchen bounced around a few teams before spending a few seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies embraced him with open arms and he was an important piece to the team’s lineup. Last year, in his final season with the Phillies, he finished tied for second on the team in home runs (27) and was second on the team with 80 RBI. Now he’s looking to help the Brewers make another playoff push.
Is he the same player he was when he won the MVP award? No he’s not, but he’s still a high-level player. This man knows how to keep his body in shape and keep himself conditioned to where he can continue to play at the highest level. McCutchen has at least three more seasons in him, maybe more.
This is one player you want to keep an eye on this season – don’t be surprised if he makes some noise with the Brewers.
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