Baseball, just like life, can hit you fast.
A week ago, the Milwaukee Milkmen were tied for 1st in the North Division. After a week which saw them go 1-5 against playoff contenders like the Cleburne Railroaders and the Kansas City Monarchs, the quest for a repeat championship has become complicated.
The top Dogs of the North are 14-2 in their last 16 games 🌭
Meanwhile, the South's @kc_monarchs reign supreme 👑
Your updated American Association standings with less than 2 weeks to go 👀#WePlayToWin pic.twitter.com/4mZ3iHWN3D
— American Association (@AA_Baseball) August 23, 2021
The Milkmen now sit three games behind the Chicago Dogs and a half game back for Fargo-Moorhead for home field in the play-in game. Though the Milkmen have been struggling, it has not helped that both the Dogs and RedHawks are both in the midst of a winning streaks themselves.
Hitting & pitching souring in the month of August
The Milkmen sit with a record of 51-35 with a run differential of +46. On paper, they still sport a solid well-rounded team.
Unfortunately, since the beginning of August the offense has not been able to produce as many runs as it did in beginning of the season. Milwaukee is in the bottom half of the league total runs scored.
Over the last seven games, Adam Brett Walker continues to perform well for the team holding a line .286/.375/.714 with three homeruns. Christian Correa and Christ Conley have also carried some of the load combining for three homeruns and five runs batted in. After that, while players are getting on base, runners are not coming in. First basemen David Washington, in particular, is having a tough go of it as he .188 on base percentage in the last week.
As far as the pitching, though it still ranks as the best in the league, anyone not named Myles Smith and David Holmberg has been struggling as of late. Nate Hadley, who has been fantastic at the back end of the bullpen, and Ryan Zimmerman have gotten hit hard in their last couple of outings.
Still time to turns things around
Myles Smith goes the DISTANCE in Cleburne 🏁
115 Pitches | CG | 3 H | 1 ER | 9 K's | W
That's win 1️⃣3️⃣ on the year for @smith21wesson
Pitcher of the Year favorite❔#WePlayToWin | @MKEMilkmen pic.twitter.com/Fmt8rbVPaZ
— American Association (@AA_Baseball) August 20, 2021
While we have not seen the brand of Milkmen baseball for a little while, there is still time to flip the script and get into the postseason on a high note. Thanks to the recent decision by the American Association to add an additional playoff spot to each division, Milwaukee just needs to finish in the top three in the North.
As their overall team numbers suggest, this team still good enough to make into the postseason and win it all! They just have to get in. With pitcher of the year contender Myles Smith and 2020’s player of the year Adam Walker to lead the team, the hope is the rest of the squad can respond.
It will all come down to how Milwaukee plays out the last couple of weeks. 14 games remain with the next seven being at Franklin Field. The Milkmen first host the Winnipeg Goldeyes for a four game series, who are also trying to snag the final playoff spot. After that, they welcome the Kane County Cougars for the last weekend homestand.
The final seven games will all be on the road against playoff hopeful the Lincoln Saltdogs and four games against the last place Gary Southshore Railcats.
If you are in the Milwaukee area, be sure to catch a game and cheer on the Moo-Crew live before this upcoming Sunday!
To end on high note
The team may be struggling, but the organization is still solid and knows how to take care of their fans. Just ask our man Jake Sirianni!
Shout out to @BoVineMKE and everyone else involved with the @MKEMilkmen organization. They heard my son wasn’t feeling well and wanted to help him feel a little better. Thank you so much for making his day. pic.twitter.com/4DpPJxaO1D
— Jake Sirianni (@Jcsirianni) August 23, 2021
Way to go, Bo.
Numbers and Statistics courtesy of Pointsteak.com & the American Association.
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