NewsHart showing welcomed patience early
Milwaukee (11-10) vs. Arizona (9-12), 7:05 p.m. CT
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com
04/29/09 5:15 PM ET
MILWAUKEE -- Corey Hart figured that he did something this week he'd never done before. "Three walks in a game?" Hart said Tuesday night, after reaching safely in all five of his plate appearances, including a career-high three walks. "I don't think I even did that in the Minor Leagues." Actually, he did it twice. The most recent occurrence deserves an asterisk because it was stretched over two days. Hart walked three times while going 2-for-8 -- yep, that's 11 plate appearances -- in Triple-A Nashville's 24-inning loss to New Orleans on May 5-6, 2006. His only other three-walk game was Aug. 16, 2001, when Hart played for rookie-level Ogden in the Pioneer League. Hart's trio of walks were among a season-high nine worked by Brewers hitters on Tuesday, and even with just one more in Wednesday's win over the Pirates, they are way ahead of last year's pace with 87 through 21 games this season. In the same span last year, Milwaukee had worked 60 walks. Brewers hitters will try to keep their patient approach with the start of a four-game series against the D-backs. Jeff Suppan is slated to start Thursday's series opener at Miller Park against hard-throwing Arizona righty Max Scherzer, who has walked eight batters in his three starts. Hart went 1-for-4 in Wednesday's series finale against Pittsburgh without a walk, but he is one of the poster boys for the team's more patient approach. He has walked 12 times in 84 plate appearances this season, a remarkable jump in pace from his 27 walks all of last season in 657 plate appearances. It's been doubly important since Hart moved from the five-hole, where he was a run-producer last season, to the two-hole, where he is more of a table-setter for Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. (Hart did hit fifth on Wednesday, but only because center fielder Mike Cameron was given a day off.) "I told him in Spring Training, 'It's OK to walk,'" Brewers manager Ken Macha said of Hart. "Maybe that's clicked in a little bit." At the same time, Hart is actually ahead of his home run pace from last season, with three this month versus only one last April. He finished last season with 20 homers and hit 24 in 2007, but Macha doesn't think those power numbers will suffer if Hart stays away from his formerly super-aggressive approach. "You become a better hitter when you make the pitcher throw the ball in the strike zone," Macha said. "It's not a difficult sell. ... Barry Bonds walked 200 times one year and still hit 50 home runs!" The precise figures were 232 and 45, in 2004. But Macha's point stands. "If they know you're going to swing at the ball out of the strike zone, they're going to throw it out of the strike zone," Macha said. "I know I've been standing in the dugout yelling, 'Get a good ball to hit,' 400 times. I look back at Jason Giambi. Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs while walking [162] times." Hart has also been helped by a red-hot Braun hitting behind him. The Brewers star went 0-for-4 Wednesday with three strikeouts, but he has still hit safely in seven of his past nine games. With Braun swinging a hot bat behind him, Hart hasn't noticed much of a change in the way pitchers are working him. It's no secret that he's a fastball hitter, so pitchers continue to feed Hart a diet of breaking balls. The difference this season is that he's laying off those "chase" pitches out of the strike zone. "Ryan is just ridiculous right now," Hart said. "I feel like if I'm on base, he's driving me in." Pitching matchupMIL: RHP Jeff Suppan (1-2, 7.32 ERA)
Suppan lasted six innings in his last outing on Saturday at Houston and did not figure in the decision. He allowed only four hits, but two of those were home runs by Carlos Lee and Michael Bourn. One of the four runs the Astros scored was unearned and Suppan left for a pinch-hitter with the game tied at 4. Seeking his second successive win, he struck out four, walked three and threw 98 pitches. Suppan has a 3-3 record and a 4.43 ERA for his career in eight games against Arizona. ARI: RHP Max Scherzer (0-2, 4.91 ERA)
Scherzer cruised through the first four innings of his last start against the Giants, but ran into a buzzsaw in the fifth. The right-hander allowed four runs in the inning and ended up on the short end of a 5-3 decision. Scherzer is still looking for his first Major League win after 19 big league games, 10 of which have been starts. Scherzer began the year on the disabled list after receiving a cortisone shot in his right shoulder in January. He has yet to pitch past the fifth inning this year in large part because his pitch count tends to rise early in his starts. Tidbits
Macha gave Cameron a day off on Wednesday and told the veteran center fielder to sleep in. The skipper spared Cameron a noon CT game after a long night game as a move to keep the 36-year-old's legs fresh. Cameron is off to an excellent start and has hit safely in 11 of his past 14 games. ... The Brewers swept their three-game series against the Diamondbacks last year at Miller Park and have won their home series against Arizona in each of the past five seasons. The last time the D-backs took a series in Milwaukee was 2003, when they won two of three games. ... Hart has hit safely in 10 of his past 12 games and has five doubles in his past five games. ... Former Pirates player Chris Duffy notched his first Brewers hit with a double in the fifth inning. He was hitless in his first eight at-bats in Milwaukee. ... The Brewers improved to 60-52 in 1-0 games on Wednesday, and they have won four of their past five one-run games. They have won seven of eight overall to push over .500 for the first time this season. Tickets
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• Friday: Brewers (Manny Parra, 0-4, 6.52) vs. Diamondbacks (Jon Garland, 2-1, 5.47), 7:05 p.m. CT
• Saturday: Brewers (Braden Looper, 2-0, 2.45) vs. Diamondbacks (Dan Haren, 2-3, 1.54), 6:05 p.m. CT
• Sunday: Brewers (Dave Bush, 1-0, 4.50) vs. Diamondbacks (Yusmeiro Petit, 0-2, 8.62), 1:05 p.m. CT
Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
