2014 Milwaukee Brewers

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2014 Milwaukee Brewers / Franchise: Milwaukee Brewers / BR Team Page[edit]

Record: 82-80, Finished 3rd in NL Central Division (2014 NL)

Managed by Ron Roenicke

Coaches: Mike Guerrero, Garth Iorg, Rick Kranitz, Jerry Narron, Johnny Narron, Ed Sedar, John Shelby and Lee Tunnell

Ballpark: Miller Park

History, Comments, Contributions[edit]

The 2014 Milwaukee Brewers started the season well. Buoyed by the return of OF Ryan Braun after a 65-game suspension at the end of the 2013 season, they reeled off an undefeated road trip in early April, going 6-0 in visiting the Boston Red Sox, the defending World Series champions, and the Philadelphia Phillies from April 4-10. At that early point, they were at 7-2, atop the NL Central and tied with the Washington Nationals for the best record in the major leagues. Braun had a three-homer game on April 8th, tying a team record with 7 RBI. They the swept a three-game home series against the Pittsburgh Pirates to make it 9 wins a row, matching their best streak of 2013, which was also accomplished in April. Their 10-2 start was their best since starting the year 13-0 in 1987. The streak ended when the Brewers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-0, on April 14th.

When the Brewers defeated the Colorado Rockies, 7-4, on June 26th, they improved their record to 49-32 after 81 games - the halfway point of the season. It was the most wins for a Brewer team after 81 games, as they had managed 47 wins in both 1979 and 2007. They also had the most wins in the majors at that point and were leading the NL Central by 6 1/2 games. They hit a rough patch immediately afterwards, however, losing 13 of 16 games and falling into a tie with the Cardinals just after the All-Star break. The Pirates and Cincinnati Reds both also took advantage of the Brewers' struggles, moving within striking distance. However, the Brewers did not fold and rebuilt a slight lead on top of the division. On August 15-17th, they pulled off an impressive three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the NL West leaders, at Dodger Stadium, demonstrating they could beat other contenders on the road. The heroes of that sweep were All-Star C Jonathan Lucroy, who collected 5 RBI in the third game while his hitting his major league-leading 40th double, and Wily Peralta, who had emerged as a second top-rank starer behind Yovani Gallardo and recorded his 15th win, tied for most in the majors at that point.

The Brewers went into a tailspin in late August however, as a six-game losing streak took them out of first place in the NL Central. The 6th loss was a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Chicago Cubs on September 1st that combined with the Cardinals' 5-4 win over the Pirates took them out of the first place for the first time since April 4th. It was just the start of nightmare, however, as the Brewers lost 11 of 12 games to fall well back of the red hot Cards, but also be passed by the Pirates in the wild card standings. The only positive news during that painful stretch came on September 8th, when Yovani Gallardo passed Ben Sheets as the team's all-time strikeout leader with 1,207.

Awards and Honors[edit]