MILWAUKEE — After splitting the first two games of their road series against the Rockies, the Brewers are continuing their road trip in Colorado Wednesday night.
The Brewers are in first place in the National League Central Division, six games ahead of second-place St. Louis.
I talked with former Brewers pitcher Jerry Augustine for Spectrum News 1. Here is some of that conversation:
Dennis: Jerry, I want to ask you about Jackson Chourio. He is really coming on as of late.
Jerry: Yeah, he really has. And I think it all dates back to where he had a little problem with fielding a couple of baseballs. And I tell you what, he was kind of down and out and he had the veterans come in and speak to him, but I think they put him in a position for success. And after he got through that, he started being more aggressive. He started going out there with being calm at the plate, slowing that game down. Like, could young players have to do.
Dennis: Five grand slams in eight days? I've never seen anything like that.
Jerry: I sit there and I go, how is that done? But, you know, I always say home runs are mistakes. You hit home runs with mistakes. But I'll tell you one thing, this ball club does is they go up and they understand what they have to do. They go up there and look for locations of pitches. And if you make a mistake, you follow it. The pitcher's done, you make a mistake, they're going to hurt you. And that's exactly what they've done. They've gotten balls in the middle part of the plate, or inside part of plate where they can handle real well. They put good swings up. They drive the ball out of the ballpark.
Dennis: You're used to stupid questions from me, so this will not catch you off guard. Besides the obvious, I I know every team is different home and away, but why is there such a split? Why are teams much better at home than on the road?
Jerry: Well, I think the comfort level, I think when you look at Milwaukee, one thing that I look at, this ballclub is a culture. And it started way back when Craig Counsell, actually Doug Melvin started building this culture, getting a team that plays well in your home. And I think that's what the Brewers have done. I think David Stearns did a nice job. I think Matt Arnold's changed the whole game where he came in and said, 'You know what, I'm going to take youth, I'm going to take speed. The game is changing. I'm going to change towards the game' and that's what they've done. And so, they get home. You get our great crowds we have here in Milwaukee, and in Wisconsin. You play, you feel comfortable, you relax, you slow the game down and you play hard 27 outs each and every day.
Dennis: So, last weekend at American Family Field, in my view, the Cubs needed a sweep and they didn't win the series. Are they now sellers?
Jerry: Well, I think it's going to be interesting. You look at where they are in the loss column, they're not playing well. I just think that we've talked about this division. It's a really kind of a division that is kind of up for grabs, I think, when you think about it. But the Brewers are in a position where they've placed them so real well. It still comes down to pitching. This (Brewers) bullpen is one of the top four in Major League Baseball. They're throwing the ball very well. And not only are they six deep or seven deep, they've got minor league guys that can come up and give them a break. They say they're overused. Well, if a guy gets overused, what do they do? They shut them down, get them a break, bring somebody else in.