It was going so well for the Brewers the other night. A good lead over the Twins, Devin Williams on the mound, the mood was nice. And then suddenly Carlos Correa happened, Devin Williams blew a save situation, and the impenetrable was penetrated.
It's not a huge crack in the armor of Williams, who's still one of the most dominant relievers in the game, and still has a 2.08 ERA and 10 saves, but it's an end to the consistent run he began the season with. Considering that his predecessor would be prone to drop saves here and there, it was a breath of fresh air for Brewers fans to see Williams be truly unbeatable in the ninth, and then...Correa took him yard. But either way, something was bound to happen eventually, he's only human, and he's just a relatively large piece of a varied, interesting team.
The Brewers, in underperforming vs. some early predictions, have become less disappointing and more of a scrappy, underdog type, which is...odd for a team that's routinely competed to win the NL Central. They still have Christian Yelich, Corbin Burnes, Willy Adames and, well, Devin Williams, but are finding small pieces with odd origins. For instance, Julio Teheran has started 4 games for the Brewers, and has a 1.48 ERA and 16 strikeouts. Teheran is 32 and flamed out of contracts with Detroit and San Diego. Somehow things seem to be working for him now. They also have Colin Rea, former Padres farmhand, starting 10 games for them with a 4.47 ERA, and being surprisingly decent at eating innings as Woodruff, Lauer and Miley recoup. Former Guardians utility infielder Owen Miller has been excellent in a similar role in Milwaukee, hitting .308 with 19 RBIs. And then there's the obvious oddity, Jon Singleton, who flamed right out of big expectations in Houston back in 2014, and is filling a power bat role with the Brewers. He hasn't accomplished a great deal yet, but as we've seen with Eric Thames, it could happen when you least expect it.
With Yelich playing better than he has in a while, Burnes still looking like an ace, and so many versatile hitting performances, the Brewers are still a decent team, but their imperfections are holding them back, hence the Pirates still being in first. If they really capitalized on the great team they'd been given and not lost people like Adames and Peralta to bad stretches, they'd be in first easily, but for now they truly have to fight for it, which, while not ideal, also will hopefully bring out the best in them.
Coming Tonight: Dude wins a World Series in his rookie year, after starting at short on Opening Day. Will it ever get hard for this guy?
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