Kyle Harrison’s start against the Pirates on Thursday was rough enough on the surface: four earned runs in 1 2/3 innings after the Milwaukee Brewers put him back in the rotation. But buried inside the mess was one thing the Brewers could actually hang onto - his fastball showed life again.
That matters because Harrison has been sliding hard since Aug. 31, when he was tagged for nine runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Chicago Cubs. He followed that with another four-run outing in 3 2/3 innings on Sep. 6, then gave up four more runs without recording an out of the bullpen on Sep.
- Against Pittsburgh, the damage continued, but the radar gun offered a better read than the box score.
Harrison averaged 95.3 miles per hour with his fastball and reached 96.8 MPH. That was a clear step up from Aug. 31, when he averaged 93.4 MPH and maxed out at 95.6 MPH, and from Sep. 6, when he sat at 94.0 MPH and topped out at 95.2 MPH. The numbers Thursday were much closer to what he showed earlier in the season.
One example stands out: on May 20, Harrison threw seven shutout innings against the Chicago Cubs and allowed only two hits. In that outing, his fastball averaged 95.5 MPH and got up to 97.6 MPH. Thursday wasn’t identical, but it was a lot closer to that version of him than the one the Brewers have seen lately.
Of course, velocity only tells part of the story. Harrison was all over the place against the Pirates, throwing 50 pitches and landing just 29 for strikes.
Against big league hitters, that kind of command gets exposed fast. The stuff was there on Thursday; the control wasn’t.
There isn’t much season left for Harrison to straighten things out, but the Brewers are still hoping for at least one more chance to get him back on track before the regular season ends. Thursday didn’t qualify as a clean rebound.
It also wasn’t as bleak as the previous three outings. When Harrison is right, he has shown he can be one of the best pitchers in the National League.
The challenge now is getting the command to catch up with the velocity.
In Other News...
Christian Yelich Keeps Giving Brewers Fans Another Reason To Love Him
Christian Yelich keeps finding ways to matter to the Brewers beyond what he does in the batters box. This week, he was named Milwaukees nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award for the second time in four seasons, a recognition that goes to players whose work in the community reflects the legacy of Clemente and his lifelong commitment to service.
Yelichs resume off the field has only deepened his standing with fans in Milwaukee, where he has backed military veterans, youth baseball and programs focused on childrens health and education. For a player already central to the Brewers identity, it is another reminder that his influence around the organization stretches well beyond the lineup card. [Read more 🡒]
Pat Murphy Sends A Clear Message With Brewers Lineup Choice
The Brewers are back in action this afternoon for the second game of their series against the Orioles, and Pat Murphys lineup gives a pretty clear read on where his priorities are in the middle of a long season. With left-hander Robert Gasser on the mound for Milwaukee and Trevor Rogers set to start for Baltimore, the Brewers are leaning into a different look than the one fans might expect, with several regulars getting the day off.
It is the kind of move that can say plenty without anyone needing to explain it, especially with first pitch set for 3:05 p.m. and the game available on Brewers.TV, WTMJ 620 and the Brewers Radio Network. For a club trying to balance the grind of the schedule with the demands of staying fresh, Murphys lineup choice suggests there is a bigger picture in mind, even if the immediate question is how the Brewers will piece together this one. [Read more 🡒]
Christian Yelich Is At The Center Of A Huge Brewers Debate
Christian Yelich has been at the heart of the Brewers rise for nearly a decade now, ever since Milwaukee landed him from Miami in a four-player trade on Jan. 25, 2018. The move changed the shape of the franchise almost immediately. Yelich became one of the teams defining players, won the National League MVP award in 2018, and helped lead Milwaukee to the playoffs eight times in nine seasons, giving the Brewers a steady centerpiece through a long stretch of contention.
Even with all that production, the conversation around Yelich is no longer just about what he has done in the past. Injuries have interrupted parts of his run, and that has made his place in the Brewers present and future a more complicated debate than it once seemed. For a team that has leaned on him so heavily, the question is how much more he can still provide, and how Milwaukee chooses to weigh the star power, the durability concerns and everything he has already meant to the organization. [Read more 🡒]