For the Milwaukee Brewers, Tuesday night’s success against the Arizona Diamondbacks was not just a win.
Not only did it provide the fans some excitement, but more than all else, it showed some promise.
On a night that Matt Garza marked his sixth consecutive start giving up three earned runs or more, the Brewers bats still showed up in full force to compensate for his shortcomings. Every starting position player managed a hit including Scooter Gennett, who logged two of the total 11 while adding three runs batted in.
Even though Gennett has been on a tear in the tail end of July, contributing eight RBI in his last seven games, it was the young bats and new faces who added some surprising spark to the lineup.
Jake Elmore, an infielder by trade, made his first start in right field (only his fourth start this season) and added his first two RBI with the team to put the Brewers up 3-2 in the bottom of the first inning.
Keon Broxton, the promising young center fielder, also logged a walk, a hit, and a run after struggling mightily earlier this season to attain much of anything.
Although a few hits and additional RBI in a 9-4 romping normally wouldn’t be much for fans to talk about, in this context, they spell out more than just on-the-surface counting statistics.
For a team that was riding only three traditional outfielders after losing right fielder Domingo Santana to a series of injuries, the conversion of infielders Perez and Elmore mark a promising upturn in the possibilities of their utility players. Considering that Santana recently had a major setback in his rehabilitation, it was all but necessary for the team to make some decisions on how to cover their loss.
With Broxton added in the mix to help cover center field with Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who is still in the process of figuring out how to generate hits on the road, the team now possesses many more options in how to run both their infield and outfield.
Not only do these new positional availabilities provide defensive options, but they also eliminate some limitations on how manager Craig Counsell can start and stack the lineup. With the addition of Andy Wilkins as a first base backup behind Chris Carter, the team now has two options at each hot corner with both third baseman able to convert to right field if need be.
Whether or not these new possibilities provide the team continued success will largely stem from the development of individual players, but if they are able to manage it in any timely fashion, the Brewers will have some interesting options at their fingertips.
Jonathan Powell is the Brewers Staff Writer for Outside Pitch MLB. Follow me on Twitter @JP_OPSN.
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