Crew looks to regain confidence after rough offensive stretch

CLEVELAND -- The Brewers don’t need more meetings, they need more hits. More than that, they need more runs. But since the hits and the runs have been so elusive -- particularly during a tough month of May that got even tougher with a second straight shutout loss to the Guardians on Tuesday evening, 2-0, at Progressive Field -- they held another meeting to discuss what can be done.

It was the second such gathering in less than three weeks. That statistic tells you as much about the current state of the Brewers as does their 4-8 record in May, their four shutout losses in that short span or their 28th-ranked slugging percentage (.349) this season.

“We were off to such a great start last year and we never had to worry, you know what I mean?” Brewers manager Pat Murphy told reporters moments before closing the clubhouse doors. “I’m just saying we were off and running … and things felt good. These young guys were believing and it was fun.

“Now, we’re trying to repeat that, and we’ve had some big losses off the team and we’ve had some really adverse things go against us. Whether it’s calls that went against us, whether it’s injuries, we can go on and on. … [Pitching injuries aren't] the issue right now. We’ve got to get the heart of the order producing.”

The Brewers have lost five of their last six games, while scoring more than three runs only once -- they scored four times in Sunday’s sweep-averting victory over the Rays in Tampa. They’ll need another win Wednesday behind rookie starter Logan Henderson (Milwaukee's No. 12 prospect) to avoid being swept in Cleveland.

The problem isn’t the pitching, even with the rotation shredded by injuries and the bullpen without longtime relief ace Devin Williams. The problem is the offense, which knew it would miss shortstop and clubhouse leader Willy Adames along with his team-leading 32 home runs when he left via free agency, but expected to score with speed and small ball, and with steps forward for a young core of hitters gaining experience.

They augmented the staff with two additional hitting coaches from Triple-A Nashville, Al LeBoeuf and Eric Theisen, who have long experience working with developing players. And, of course, they are all led by Murphy, whose roots are in the college ranks, and who is the reigning NL Manager of the Year Award winner.

So far, the pieces have not come together. The Brewers are in the middle of MLB’s pack in runs scored (184) but rank second from the bottom in average exit velocity (88.2), third from the bottom in slugging percentage and fourth from the bottom in OPS (.656). So far in May, they rank last in all three slash line categories at .177/.248/.276. Only the Pirates and White Sox, two last-place teams, have hit fewer home runs (six apiece) this month than Milwaukee's eight.

“When the wind’s blowing real hard, you can’t try to fight it,” Murphy said. “Sometimes, you have to let it play its course. That doesn’t mean we’re not doing everything we can, but you can’t try to outthink yourself and try to be more than what you really are.”

That was a preview of the message he imparted to players who had gathered for a similar discussion on April 24 after dropping three of four games in San Francisco.

“We’re just figuring out how we can come together and play with some of that energy and passion we played with, especially early on, last year,” said first baseman Rhys Hoskins. “It's kind of a slippery slope. We have this great example of how this team can be successful, which is an awesome thing to have coming into any season. But we're also trying to figure out how to do that this year.”

Murphy has cited one word over and over lately: Confidence.

In this case, it’s a current lack thereof, as he sees it.

“I think that confidence, you’re going to see it get recuperated,” said Jackson Chourio, the Brewers’ budding star who accounted for two of the team’s three hits Tuesday, but also made a run-scoring mistake in center field (to Kyle Manzardo) for the third time through the first five games of this trip. “I think we’re a very united group, and the overall feeling we have is we don’t need more than we have in the room.”

“We stumbled a few times last year but always figured out how to get back to being ourselves,” Hoskins said. “I think these conversations we're having tonight are how we can figure out how to come together quicker so these low points don't last as long.”

Murphy insisted that he hasn’t lost hope that these Brewers can’t have success like they did winning the last two NL Central titles and a earning postseason berth in six of the last seven years.

“Guys, look,” the second-year skipper said, “I’m going to make a funny statement. You guys might laugh at me. I like this team, and I don’t think we’re super far away. I think we have some young people who have lost their confidence, and I think that there is a way out. I do.”