The Brew Haus - Parra Shines as Crew Takes Another

He may be a darkhorse pick for NL Rookie of the Year, but Manny Parra showed why he's still a candidate in his first start of the season.

Parra took a no-hitter into the sixth against the San Francisco Giants and rode an effective but not great offense for his first win of the season in a 5-4 Brewers victory.

Braun hit his first homer of the year on Saturday.

Parra pitched out of jam after jam as the Brewers committed two errors, but finally got into trouble in the sixth with the Brewers already leading 3-0. Eugenio Velez led off the sixth with a triple and scored on a passed ball by Mike Rivera. Randy Winn followed with double and later scored on an RBI single by Ray Durham. David Riske relieved Parra for the next batter and got a double play on the next batter.

The Brewers tacked on two more runs on solo homers by Ryan Braun and Gabe Kapler and Eric Gagne pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the season -- no, that's not a joke.

The performance by Parra was magnificent. He did not miss a beat after recovering from a broken hand suffered on a bunt attempt last season. Remember, this was a guy who pitched a perfect game in his Triple-A debut in 2007, so he's no stranger to clutch performances like this.

The one thing that worked against Parra was the Brewer defense -- allow me to nod in KD's direction here -- which was charged with two errors, both in the same inning. That inning happened to be the fifth, the inning right before Parra's momentary meltdown. Had the defense converted the outs, Parra could've easily taken the no-no into the seventh or even further.

The Brewers again looked relentless on offense. Though they did not score that many runs, they got the job done by continuing to add insurance runs on after they already had the lead and prevented a Giants' comeback.

After yesterday's 0-for-5 day, it was encouraging to see Braun get his first homer of the year.

Ben Sheets will face the ace formerly known as Barry Zito tomorrow as the Crew goes for the sweep.

Miscellaneous Notes:

• Rickie Weeks' streak of consecutive games with a run ended at 17.
  
• Yovani Gallardo pitched four innings in his first rehab start, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out five. Ned Yost is now eyeing the April 18th series against Cincinnati for his return.
  
• Kapler's home run was his first since July 4, 2006.
  
• Mike Rivera got his first start at catcher and went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Corey Kempf covers the Milwaukee Brewers beat for ArmchairGM. His other articles can be found here.

KelsdadAll-Star

585 days ago

Score 3

Mike Rivera's a friend of mine. Guy has been getting the short end of the stick his whole career, always in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ned Yost was a career backup catcher in his playing days and understands the importance of a veteran presence behind the plate. I hope Mike gets a full season and shows what he can do, he's a good hitter and a good defensive catcher and has learned first base as well. I really, really like Manny Parra. I saw him in spring training and he throws hard, has a good breaker and a decent change. All he needs is experience against ML hitters. I can't remember the last time the Brewers had a lefty starter who could hit 95 on the gun.

Permalink | Reply

CoreyisarealboyMajor Leaguer

585 days ago

Score 2

KD, I couldn't agree with you more about everything you said there. I've liked Rivera since he was brought in from the Angels a few years back. I always thought he could've always been a better option than Damian Miller but Miller was a hometown boy with veteran experience. I'm really really glad he got the opportunity. As for Parra, he should've been in the bigs three years ago had a handful of injuries held him back. He seems to have put those nagging injuries behind him and he really seems poised to become an excellent staffer in the Brewers organization. He's got the stuff, make no mistake. With less experience in the bigs than Dave Bush and Carlos Villanueva, he very well could be further along than them developmentally, which is scary considering he's the fifth starter. I said in the season preview he'll probably give you a 3.50 ERA with more than enough strikeouts and if his first start is any indication (3.36 with seven SOs in 5.1 innings) he's right on track. I wish I would've picked him up in fantasy to be honest. I don't think Robin Yount could remember the last time the Brewers had a lefty starter who could hit 95, as I'm almost positive Teddy Higuera didn't hit 95 either.

Permalink

AKittellVarsity

583 days ago

Score 0

I'm a big Parra and Villanueva fan. Villanueva may have more experience than Parra in the bigs, but he's only 24 and is far from his complete physical development. The biggest part of Parra and Villanueva's game, though, is their mental maturity. They just don't melt down out there. I've watched quite a few games and even when they're getting shelled, the next pitch is on the black. It's fun to watch. It would be a real surprise if somehow Yost and Co. realized these two guys are much much better than Dave Bush and deserve to stay up when Gallardo comes back in a week or two. Bush would be one of the highest paid AAAers out there, but at least he pitches like one.

Permalink | Reply