Brewers 4, Rockies 3
W: Marcum (8-3) L: Cook (0-5) SV: Axford (25)
If the Milwaukee Brewers want to have success for the rest of the season and make it into the playoffs, they must win more games on the road. Today was another step in the right direction.
Shaun Marcum pitched a great game and made an outstanding defensive play for his eighth victory of the year. He surrendered two earned runs on four hits in five innings. He would have been able to pitch deeper into the game if it was not for a strained neck injury that forced him to exit early. In the sixth inning, Jason Giambi crushed the first pitch he saw from Marcum out of the park for a solo home run. The next batter, Troy Tulowitzki, only saw one thrown attempt as Marcum's injury forced him out of the game.
Casey McGehee was the offensive player of the game as he went 2-3 with two RBIs. In the second inning his sacrifice fly to center field scored Rickie Weeks to put the Brewers on top first. After George Kottaras doubled in Prince Fielder to regain the lead in the fifth inning, McGehee hit a sharp single to give Milwaukee a two run lead.
Ryan Braun's continued leg injury gave way for another Mark Kotsay start. In the top of the sixth inning, the red hot Brewer bench player singled home Corey Hart for the eventual game winner. It is disappointing that Braun is not able to remain in the lineup, but it is comforting to know that the Brewers have great bench players to fill in for him. Braun did bat in the ninth inning to showcase the seriousness of the injury to his manager, while also alleviating any stress Milwaukee fans may have over whether or not he is going to be put on the disabled list.
The bullpen deserves the majority of the credit for the win this afternoon. LaTroy Hawkins, Takashi Saito, Francisco Rodriguez, and John Axford all pitched outstanding innings to garner a Brewer victory.
Rodriguez proved for the second game in a row how valuable of an asset he will be for this team from now until the end of the season. As much as K-Rod might want to be a closer, he has done an excellent job as the setup man. After giving up a leadoff double to Giambi, Rodriguez struck out Tulowitzki, got a ground out, walked Todd Helton, and struck out Eliezer Alfonzo to end the inning. It was incredible how he kept his cool and downed the heart of the Rockies lineup with the game on the line.
John Axford came in to close out the ninth. Jonathan Herrera reached base after a fielding error by Josh Wilson, who had a good game despite the mistake. Ty Wigginton doubled down the right field line to score the speedy Herrera with ease. With the game tying run on second and the go ahead at the plate, it was go time for the Ax-Man. Axford got the next batter to ground out to McGehee, who looked off Wigginton before he recorded the out at first. Mark Ellis was called out on strikes and Giambi turned a full count into a two out walk. With the go ahead run now on first, Axford went right after Tulowitzki, throwing as hard as 98 miles per hour. With a 0-2 count, Tulowitzki chased a 97 mile per hour ball out of the strike zone for Axford's 25th save of the season and 22nd in a row.
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