MILWAUKEE -- On one hand, it was an historic day at Miller Park -- the first doubleheader in the Brewers’ 20 seasons at their domed home.
On the other hand, it was a repeat of too many days so far in 2020: The Crew didn’t hit.
Back in action after both teams opted to sit out Wednesday in the name of social justice, Milwaukee was swept by Cincinnati on Thursday by scores of 6-1 in the first game and 6-0 in the second, when the Brewers were held to one hit -- an infield single by Luis Urías leading off the third inning. Both teams reached the midpoint of this unusual season with identical 13-17 records.
That’s right. Half of the shortened regular season is already in the books.
It does not require advanced statistics to understand why the Brewers are four games under .500; they have not generated nearly enough offense, especially early. Their opponent has scored first in 23 of the first 30 games, including both games Thursday. Even with two-time National League batting champion Christian Yelich healthy again and batting second most nights, Milwaukee has been outscored in the first two innings this season by a 40-6 margin. All together, the Crew is hitting .134 in the first two innings of games while striking out in 33 percent of their plate appearances.
In Thursday’s nightcap, the second inning was particularly fruitless. After the Reds took a 2-0 lead on a pair of RBI singles from Nos. 8 and 9 hitters Kyle Farmer and Tucker Barnhart off Josh Lindblom, Brewers catcher Manny Piña injured his right knee on a pickoff attempt by Reds starter Wade Miley and left the game. Piña, who entered the day tied with Yelich for second on the team in fWAR, left the ballpark on crutches and will undergo further testing on Friday, according to manager Craig Counsell.
Three innings later, Counsell departed as well. He was ejected by home-plate umpire John Bacon for something he uttered from the dugout after the Reds built the lead to 4-0 against Freddy Peralta in the fifth.
In the pair of games, Milwaukee was outscored by Cincinnati by 11 runs (12-1) and had 13 fewer hits (21-8).
“Frustrating day of baseball. It wasn't very much fun,” Lindblom said.
On too many nights, it was that kind of first half.
“If I had to pick a word for the season, I would say inconsistent,” Lindblom said. “I think going forward, these next 30 games, it just needs to be consistent from every standpoint of the game.”
After falling to Sonny Gray in Game 1, Brewers hitters faced a familiar Game 2 foe in Miley, who was off to a poor start this season. Entering the night, he was 0-3 with a 9.72 ERA, but he pitched the first four innings of a one-hit shutout.
The only hit was Urías’ bouncer up the middle to second baseman Freddy Galvis, who bobbled the baseball. It was ruled a hit.
“I really believe it’s going to be better,” Counsell said. “But it needs to happen soon. I think that’s accurate, and we all know that. We’re making it harder on ourselves right now. Making it really hard to win games. Making our pitching be perfect to win games. That’s a pretty big burden for them.”
To get the offense going, Counsell has employed unconventional leadoff hitters, including Avisaíl García in Game 1 on Thursday and Ryan Braun in Game 2. President of baseball operations David Stearns has made it clear that he does not blame hitting coaches Andy Haines and Jacob Cruz, and he says he believes the Brewers are properly prepared to hit when games begin. On Thursday, the Crew released slumping utility man Brock Holt after only 36 plate appearances.
Is it a matter of energy? Like all teams, the Brewers have tried to generate their own energy every day, but a number of hitters have said that there are challenges.
“This, as we look around here, is not what I would call the Major League experience,” said Milwaukee principal owner Mark Attanasio, scanning the seating bowl during Thursday’s telecast and contrasting it to crowded summer nights of past seasons.
Attanasio was years from assuming ownership the last time the Brewers had a day anything like Thursday. In June 2001, a game against the Royals was suspended after the first inning due to an electrical failure at Miller Park, so the final eight innings were completed the next day before the scheduled game. But that was not categorized as a doubleheader.
The Crew will return to a regular schedule on Friday, when the Pirates come to town. The Bucs swept the Brewers in a three-game series last weekend in Pittsburgh.
“We’re not scoring enough,” Counsell said. “We’re not putting pressure on teams early in games. It has continued, and it becomes a really tough formula.”