Today’s sportstat: Is the Brewers’ magic number 4?

By JERRY TAPP

Is scoring four runs or more in a game the key to Brewers success?

This past weekend the Brewers won games by the score of 4-3 (Saturday) and 3-2 (Sunday). These victories represent the best of the success the Brewers have had in 2019. Let me explain…

The Brewers’ 18-inning 4-3 win over the Mets on Saturday gave the Brew Crew a 17-7 record (.708 winning percentage) in games this season when they scored four or more runs in a game.

Brewers manager Craig Counsell team’s 3-2 win on Sunday gave the club a very modest 3-9 record (.250 winning percentage) in games when they scored three or fewer runs in a game, but it upped their record to 13-1 (.929 winning percentage) this season when they held opponents to three or fewer runs in a contest.

Here’s a quick look at the Brewers records in 2019 games when they scored four or more runs, three or fewer runs, and when they allowed their opponents to score four or more runs in a game, and when they held the opposition to three or fewer runs in a game.

Brewers score four or more runs in a game (2019): 17-7 .708

Brewers score three or fewer runs in a game (2019): 3-9 .250

Brewers allow opponents four or more runs in a game (2019): 7-15 .318
Brewers allow opponents three or fewer runs in a game (2019): 13-1 .929

The above win-loss records are surprisingly close to what the Brewers records have been in games over the last three seasons. Following are the records in each of the above four categories from 2016-18, or the last three seasons.

Brewers score four or more runs in a game (2016-18): 198-75 .726

Brewers score three or fewer runs in a game (2016-18): 56-157 .263

Brewers allow opponents four or more runs in a game (2016-18): 86-182 .321
Brewers allow opponents three or fewer runs in a game (2016-18): 169-50 .772

As that famous baseball philosopher Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh once remarked, “baseball is a simple game … you throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball.” For the Brewers, that simple statement could be translated to, “score four or more runs in a game and hold your opponents to three runs or less, you’ll win.”

Quite simple, isn’t it?

Follow Jerry on Twitter @StatsonTapp