NEW YORK ¨C The Brewers¡¯ rotation is thin because left-hander Jose Quintana needs more time to build up after signing on March 5, while Tobias Myers, Aaron Ashby and DL Hall landed on the injured list during Spring Training. That¡¯s without mentioning that Brandon Woodruff and Robert Gasser were already on the IL because they were rehabbing from surgery.
With left-hander Nestor Cortes getting roughed up on Saturday and lasting two-plus innings, and with a bullpen game planned during the home opener at American Family Field on Monday, the Brewers needed length from right-hander Aaron Civale on Sunday afternoon. But Civale went three innings and exited with a left hamstring injury as Milwaukee fell to the Yankees, 12-3, at Yankee Stadium.
It was so bad for the Crew, they used first baseman Jake Bauers as a reliever for the second consecutive game.
For the first time since 2015, the Brewers have started the season 0-3. New York outscored Milwaukee, 36-14, while the Brewers became the first team since 1901 to allow at least 15 homers in its first three games of a season.
¡°As you come into the series with the pitching as decimated [as it is] ¨C eight of our top 13 [pitchers] are not here, and two of your starters don¡¯t get deep into the game ¨C you are going to be really thin,¡± Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
¡°¡ I don¡¯t know if you guys watched, but if you did, the Yankees are good and they kicked our [butt]. ¡ Credit goes to the Yankees. They were great.¡±
While Murphy is concerned about his pitching staff, he has a gut feeling that the Brewers will turn it around.
¡°I trust this team and I trust people in the room,¡± Murphy said. ¡°They are strong enough to get through this time. We knew it would be tough with all those injuries. I trust that we will be able to get through it.¡±
Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich, for one, declined to blame the three-game sweep on the Yankees¡¯ use of the Torpedo model bats, where the barrel rests in a non-traditional location, closer to the hitter¡¯s hands.
¡°I think us players will try anything,¡± Yelich said. ¡°I don¡¯t think the kind of bat you use has an impact on the outcome of the series.
¡°I don¡¯t think we played anywhere close to good enough to win any of those games the last three days. I don¡¯t think the bats had any factor on the series. As players, you are open to try anything. If you like it, keep doing it. If you don¡¯t like it, stay with what you are used to.¡±
For the first time in the three-game series, the Brewers had a lead, and that occurred in the first inning when Sal Frelick singled to right field off starter Marcus Stroman, scoring Brice Turang.
But Civale had problems once he stepped on the mound. The first four hitters he faced had three-ball counts, and two of them ended up scoring on a home run by Aaron Judge, his fourth in the series.
In fact, it was the homer that did Civale in. Ben Rice added to the lead with a solo home run an inning later, while Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-run shot in the third.
Civale ended up leaving the game after throwing 68 pitches (44 strikes) because of a hamstring injury he suffered in the third.
¡°We are being smart about it and getting some more information in the next few days,¡± Civale said. ¡°We¡¯ll take care of it as best as we can, and we¡¯ll go from there.¡±
The season is three games old, and the Brewers are not in a panic. Civale reminded reporters that there are 159 games left in the season.
¡°We play 162. We¡¯re three games in,¡± Civale said. ¡°It¡¯s our first trip across the country. We are all professionals here. We¡¯ve all been through three-game losing streaks before. It¡¯s not ideal on how you want to start the season, but it¡¯s not going to hinder anything moving forward.¡±