Brewers lose final game of season in typical fashion for 2012, Braun wins home run title

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MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Brewers ended their season last night with a 7-6 home loss to San Diego. Milwaukee blew a 6-0 lead after three innings, as the Padres scored in each of the next four frames.

Travis Ishikawa drove in four runs for the Brewers, who fell short of sweeping their final series of the year. Manager Ron Roenicke used six relievers instead of Yovani Gallardo, who was saved for the final game in case the Brewers were still in the playoff hunt by then. Roenicke said Gallardo was fine – but he had another big workload this year. And with nothing at stake for the Brewers in the finale, the skipper thought he should protect Gallardo’s arm for the future. Josh Stinson started and went four innings, giving up a run on three hits with a pair of walks. Jim Henderson took the loss, and finished at 1-3. Tommy Layne got the win in relief for San Diego, and improved to 2-0. Chris Denorfia and Cameron Maybin homered for the Padres, which ended on a positive note by breaking a three-game losing streak.

Milwaukee ended its season at 83-79, third in the National League Central division. And they went 29-13 since August 19th in a playoff run that fell just short. Braun said it was a disappointment not to make the post-season – but with all the new players, finishing above .500 was quote “definitely an accomplishment.”

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Ryan Braun became the first Brewer to win the National League home run title since Prince Fielder in 2007. Braun had 41 round-trippers this year, four more than second-place Giancarlo Stanton of Miami. Chase Headley won the league RBI title over second-place Braun last night, 115-to-112. Headley had a run-scoring double and a run-scoring triple in his final game, while Braun had a single but did not drive in anyone. Braun also led the NL with 108 runs scored. He finished third in batting average at .319. Buster Posey of San Francisco won the batting title at .336. The Milwaukee pitchers failed to get the eight strikeouts they needed last night to set a new Major League record for season punch-outs. The Brewers had six K’s – and they became only the second Major League team to surpass 14-hundred for the year, finishing with 14-hundred-two. The 2003 Chicago Cubs own the record. Milwaukee did become the first team since 1996 to lead the National League in both homers with 202, and stolen bases with 158. Colorado was the last to achieve it 16 years ago. Miguel Cabrera of Detroit became baseball’s first Triple Crown winner since 1967. He led the American League with a .330 batting average, 44 homers, and 139 RBI’s. Cabrera became only the 14th big leaguer to accomplish the feat. Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski was the last to do it in 1967.

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