ANAHEIM -- Ryan Braun has had a ball watching the young Brewers, whether they are at their aggressive best or, as manager Pat Murphy often puts it, they look like a team “under construction.”
With Braun in the house for Monday’s 5-3 loss to the Angels at Angel Stadium, the Brewers too often resembled the latter.
“We didn’t play a complete ballgame on any side of the ball,” Murphy said. “Defense, pitching, offense. We had opportunities again and didn’t come through. That’s disappointing.”
MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 Brewers prospect, 22-year-old Carlos Rodriguez, surrendered too much two-out damage and didn’t make it through five innings for the second time in as many Major League starts. The defense didn’t help him, including one misplay in the right-field corner that wasn’t ruled an error, and another convergence at first base that was.
The Brewers did get home runs from two California natives who grew up within a half-hour’s drive from Angel Stadium -- a two-run shot from Huntington Beach’s Jake Bauers in the second inning and a solo homer from Corona’s Brice Turang in the fifth. But Turang’s homer came moments after Blake Perkins was picked off first base on a deft move by Angels spot starter Zach Plesac -- the nephew of all-time Brewers saves leader Dan Plesac. Other than the homers, it was another night on which Milwaukee’s offense was missing the clutch hit.
The most maddening example of that came in the seventh, when the Brewers put runners at second and third with nobody out against Plesac’s replacement, Luis García. But Gary Sánchez, Perkins and Turang all struck out to end the threat.
That’s been a problem lately. The Brewers went into the finale of their previous road trip with the fourth-best average with runners in scoring position (.288) in the Majors, but they are 8-for-73 in the eight games since, including Monday’s 0-for-9.
“We’re gonna come through again in those spots. You can mark it down,” Murphy said.
Murphy expressed similar faith in Rodriguez, though it is unclear whether the right-hander’s next start will be with the Brewers or back at Triple-A Nashville, since veteran righty Jakob Junis is due back from shoulder and head injuries later this week. In his first two MLB starts, Rodriguez has surrendered six earned runs on 12 hits in 8 1/3 innings, with seven strikeouts and three walks.
Bauers’ home run spotted Rodriguez a 2-0 lead, but it slipped away amid a three-run Angels rally in the third that included a Luis Guillorme RBI triple -- which initially was ruled a double and an error charged to right fielder Sal Frelick as the baseball rattled around the right-field corner -- and an error charged to Bauers on a soft bouncer up the first-base line.
The latter play should have produced an out, but as Rodriguez and second baseman Turang both converged on first base, neither got all the way to the bag to receive Bauers’ quick flip. As a result, when Taylor Ward followed with what could have been an inning-ending flyout, it was instead a sacrifice fly that gave the Angels the lead.
“Without getting into too much detail, it was just miscommunication,” Bauers said. “It’s a tough play to defend, but that’s pretty much the worst-case scenario.”
Said Rodriguez: “Coming into the start, I felt a lot more confident. I made the adjustments I wanted to make. Just bad luck, I guess.”
Still, the Brewers’ good nights have so far exceeded their setbacks, and Braun has been watching. He’ll visit Milwaukee next month to become the 23rd member of the American Family Field Walk of Fame, which is the franchise’s highest honor shy of number retirement. A ceremony is set for Sunday, July 28.
“I’m a fan just like everybody else who’s watching,” Braun said on the Bally Sports Wisconsin telecast. “Just a fun, young, exciting group of players that you can dream on having a contention window for the next five to seven years, right? For any of us that have done it, you recognize how challenging it is on a year-to-year basis. …
“It’s fun to watch. I thoroughly enjoyed being part of a young core that we all came up together, and I think for all of these guys it feels like it’s helped to ease their transition, knowing that there are so many guys that they can relate to, who are going through some of the same things.”