Game Thirteen: Brewers 4, Giants 3

Box Score

The Brewers' 4-3 victory ensured tomorrow will be the first Gravy Day of the season. It's more relaxing to watch a game after the series has been clinched because regardless of the outcome you'll (usually) leave the series with a better record than you entered it with. This means the final game is just gravy and you can simply enjoy watching some baseball. There are about 35 exceptions to this rule I can rattle off the top of my head, but barring a horrific meltdown tomorrow I will not be too upset with a loss (though I'd obviously prefer the sweep). This is because the Brewers won tonight and on that subject, here are my three takeaways from the game:

1) Yuniesky Betancourt: First Baseman of the Future

It's quite possible the Brewers would be on the opposite of a three game win streak without Yuni B. His solo homer in the third and sac fly in the fifth plated two runs, which directly assisted the Brewers' victory. Though I'd prefer not to think about the circumstances that led to Betancourt being the Brewers' best option at first, for the time being I'll sit back and enjoy the relative hot streak. And in case you were wondering, Betancourt was intentionally walked for just the 9th time in his career during the decisive 9th inning.

2) Wire to wire, this was the most impressive victory of the season

Kyle Lohse continues to impress, even when he's giving up three runs on five hits in an inning. The Giants wasted little time spoiling the no-hit bid in the sixth and then proceeded to nickle and dime Lohse to tie the game. Despite this, Lohse was able to limit the damage and come back to pitch a clean frame in the 7th. As Harry Doyle said in Major League 2, it's amazing how a new uniform can change your attitude about a guy. Needless to say, he frustrated me to know end with the Cardinals.

After Lohse left the game became a battle of the bullpens, surprisingly won by the Brewers. Even better, there was no imminent threat of defeat* as Badenhop and Henderson shut down San Francisco in the 8th and 9th. Maybe it's his career 100 ERA+, but Badenhop looks like an average to somewhat above average reliever. If this holds true he'll be a huge asset to a bullpen coming off a terrible 2012 season. I'm also bullish about Henderson as he just seems like a guy that gets people out.

The Giants getting the tying run on second with two outs in the 9th was less than relaxing 

The bottom of the 9th inning was especially encouraging as the winning run was driven across by the bottom of the order, specifically some guy named Blake Lalli. I know nothing about this guy other than he's been in the minors for a while and has 22 ML plate appearances. I can add to that list that he hit a walk-off single, which is pretty cool.

3) Carlos Gomez is very fast

He's also the only player I feel comfortable tagging from third on a shallow fly ball. If you can tolerate occasional mindless base-running errors there are few players in the majors as enjoyable on the bases as Gomez.

Looking ahead...

I have a nagging feeling Gallardo will not have a good start tomorrow. This is both because he's struggled so far in 2013 and was recently arrested for a DUI. Combine those things and it seems like a recipe for a snowman of a start.

On the subject of Gallardo, I'm interested to see what reception he gets from the crowd. Drunk driving is a heinous offense, but the two most important things are the he never makes the mistake again and gets the treatment he needs. Being supportive may actually be beneficial to his condition, so I hope any boos will be kept to a minimum. We'll see what happens.