The Milwaukee Brewers are still in first place in the National League Central Division after their 11-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night. They currently hold a half game lead over the Craig Counsell-led Chicago Cubs. While the season is still young, the fact that Milwaukee has put together a competitive team despite the limitations of being in Major League Baseball’s smallest market is no longer that big of a surprise.
What has been a surprise is the fact that the Brewers have been able to win ball games despite questionable depth and injuries to their starting rotation. Both Brandon Woodruff and Wade Miley are out for the season with various ailments, though Milwaukee knew they would be without Woodruff before the year even started.
DL Hall and Jakob Junis, who started the season in the starting rotation, are both on the injured list. Freddy Peralta was suspended for his part in the drama between Milwaukee and the Tampa Bay Rays last week.
With rookies like Tobias Myers having to pick up the load, the fact that the Brewers have been able to maintain their lead in the division is impressive. And on Friday, they turned to another rookie, Robert Gasser, to be their 10th starting pitcher of the season.
Milwaukee Brewers Rookie Starting Pitcher Robert Gasser Had an Incredible Major League Debut\
For a a few series, it seemed like the Brewers’ offense had gone stagnant. However, the return of Christian Yelich to the lineup appears to have awoken everyone’s bats as the team has won two out of their three games since his return from the injured list.
This was evident by the team putting up 11 runs against the Cardinals on Friday night. Yelich, Willy Adames, Rhys Hoskins, and Jake Bauers all had multiple hits in the route.
However, the story of the night was Gasser. In his very first appearance in the Major Leagues, he pitched six scoreless innings, allowed just two hits, walked none, and struck out four.
In the process, he also added his name to an exclusive list of Brewers pitchers.
Robert Gasser Is the 5th Pitcher in Milwaukee Brewers History to Throw 6 Scoreless Innings in His Major League Debut
According to Adam McCalvy, who covers the Brewers for MLB.com, and the Bally Sports Wisconsin broadcast, Gasser became just the fifth pitcher in franchise history to toss six scoreless innings in his Major League debut.
The others are:
- Jim Slaton: April 14, 1971- six innings pitched, three hits, three walks, four strikeouts
- Steve Woodard: July 28, 1997- eight innings pitched, one hit, one walk, 12 strikeouts
- Chris Saenz: April 24, 2004: six innings pitched, two hits, three walks, seven strikeouts
- Brandon Woodruff: August 4, 2017: six and a third innings pitched, seven hits, two walks, six strikeouts
*An interesting note: Saenz’s start in 2004 was his only appearance in the Majors. Following the game, the Brewers sent him back down to Double-A (he had been called up to make a spot start). He never reached the Majors again due to injuries and control issues.
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