Not that the Chicago Cubs would root for injuries on opposing teams, but over the past week they have been able to sit back and watch their chances of overtaking first-place Milwaukee in the National League Central rise, as the Brewers have suffered a series of brutal blows to their bullpen depth in less than two weeks.
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Three key Milwaukee relievers who collectively have pitched 145 innings this season with a 2.92 ERA have all gone down with injuries since Aug. 25, two to the injured list.
The latest, Shelby Miller, is set to undergo testing Tuesday after he left Monday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies in the eighth inning with what manager Pat Murphy said was an elbow injury.
Adding a particularly ominous detail, Murphy told reporters that the 34-year-old Miller “felt something pop” in his right elbow, after delivering a pitch to Phillies outfielder Max Kepler.
Murphy added that Miller also “heard something” in his elbow, another detail that sounds grave for the righty reliever’s outlook on the remainder of the season. Miller could be seen bending over and grimacing after the fateful pitch, in an obvious degree of pain.
The Brewers, whose surprising second-half surge has landed them five games ahead of the Cubs atop the NL Central with 23 remaining to play, acquired one-time All-Star Miller at the July 31 trade deadline from the Arizona Diamondbacks, mainly for agreeing to take on the remainder of lefty starter Jordan Montgomery’s $22.5 million salary.
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Montgomery will not pitch this season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, and he enters the free agent market when his contract expires at season’s end.
Miller was on the injured list with an elbow injury when the Brewers traded for him. Though he returned on Aug. 9, less than a month and 11 relief appearances later, the 2009 St. Louis Cardinals first-round draft pick appears to be headed back to the IL.
Between Arizona and Milwaukee, Miller had assembled a 2.74 ERA with 1.6 WAR, striking out 54 in 46 innings.
The Brewers’ bullpen is already missing 28-year-old righty Grant Anderson, who landed on the 15-day IL Aug. 25 due to tendinitis in his right ankle. And just two days later, in perhaps the most severe blow to their bullpen, closer Trevor Megill — with 30 saves in 36 chances — joined him on the IL with a flexor strain, an elbow injury that can often be a precursor to Tommy John surgery.
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If surgery is not required, the average recovery time for a flexor strain in MLB is 70 days, which would effectively rule out Megill for the remainder of both the regular season and postseason.
The Brewers overtook the Cubs for first place in the division on July 20 and have amassed a 26-14 record since then to build their five-game lead. But that record was built largely on the strength of an extraordinary 14-game winning streak from Aug. 1 through Aug. 16.
The Brew Crew have won only seven while losing 10 since the streak ended, and their rapid bullpen attrition will only make their ability to hold off the Cubs over the final month of the season more difficult.
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