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If your stat line reads four home runs in four games to start the season, that’s good, right? Well, it doesn’t if that stat line is pitcher John Axford’s stats after his first four appearances in the 2013 season.

Axford has lost his closer role after surrendering four home runs and losing two games of the four he pitched in so far this season. Similar to the bump in the road he experienced last season, we’ll see if Axford can regain his stuff and become the effective closer that he was in 2011.

Last season Axford gave up 10 home runs, making him the 20th Brewers pitcher who did not start a game to give up 10 or more home runs in a season (note: the Brewers record for most home runs allowed by a pitcher who did not start a game in a season is 16 by Luis Vizcaino in 2003. Eric Plunk in 1999 and Doug Jones in 1998 each surrendered 15 in a season).

Looking at Axford’s numbers got me thinking about home runs given up by pitchers. We all know that Barry Bonds has the most career home runs with 762. But do we know who holds the career mark for most career home runs given up by a pitcher?

Jamie Moyer tops that list with 522. He is one of only two pitchers who has given up 500 or more career HR’s. The other? Robin Roberts, who allowed 505 four-baggers.

Here’s a look at the pitchers who gave up 400 or more homers in their career.

Pitcher, Home Runs allowed

Jamie Moyer, 522
Robin Roberts, 505
Fergie Jenkins, 484
Phil Niekro, 482
Don Sutton, 472
Frank Tanana, 448
Warren Spahn, 434
Bert Blyleven, 430
Tim Wakefield, 418
Steve Carlton, 414
Randy Johnson, 411
David Wells, 407

Mark Buehrle leads the active pitchers with 302 home runs surrendered. Bartolo Colon follows with 296.

Getting back to the Brewers, Jim Slaton holds the franchise record with 192 home runs allowed. He is followed by Bill Wegman (187), Mike Caldwell (161), Ben Sheets (160) and Moose Haas (151). Braden Looper holds the team single-season mark; he surrendered 39 HR in 2009.

While it highly unlikely Axford with jump into the Brewers’ career list in home runs allowed (he has given up 19 in his career), he is making his way up the ladder on the list of most career HR allowed by a Brewers pitcher with no starts. As I stated before, Axford has given up 19 home runs. That places his 10th on the list of most HRs allowed by a pitcher with no starts. Vizcaino holds the team mark with 34.

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In the 2012 MLB season, 27 different players hit 30 or more home runs. Only one team, the Los Angeles Angels, had three players appear on that list: Mark Trumbo (32), Albert Pujols (30) and Mike Trout (30). It was the first time since 2000 that three Angels players topped the 30-HR mark in a season.

Seven of the 30 MLB franchises have never had three (or more) players hit 30 or more HRs in a season. The seven: Baltimore, Kansas City, New York Mets, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Tampa Bay and Washington. Of the remaining 23 teams, here’s a look at the last season in which each team had a trio of 30-HR hitters in the same season. The list begins with the team with the longest drought, the San Francisco Giants, who have not had three (or more) players hit 30-plus homers in a season since 1966.

Last year with three players with 30-plus HRs, Team(s)
1966: San Francisco
1977: Boston
1982: Milwaukee
1987: Minnesota
1992: Detroit
1997: Seattle
1999: Arizona, Cleveland, Los Angeles Dodgers
2000: Houston, Toronto
2001: Oakland
2003: Atlanta
2004: Chicago Cubs, Colorado, St. Louis
2005: New York Yankees
2007: Cincinnati
2008: Chicago White Sox, Miami
2009: Philadelphia
2011: Texas
2012: Los Angeles Angels

The St. Louis Cardinals’ last season upped their current streak of having at least one player with 30 HRs in a season to 17 consecutive years when Carlos Beltran hit 32 homers in 2012. That is the longest current streak in the majors. The Phils‘ Jimmy Rollins led Philly with 23 HRs last season, the first time since 2000 that the team didn’t have a player with 30-plus HRs.

Following is a look at the teams with the current longest streaks of having at least one player with 30-plus home runs.

17 years: St. Louis
13: New York Yankees
8: Milwaukee
6: Miami
5: Detroit, Texas
4: Arizona, Toronto, Washington

At the other end of the list are the Kansas City Royals. They have not had a player hit 30 HRs since 2000, the longest drought in the MLB. Following are the teams that have not had a 30-HR hitter since 2009 (and beyond): Kansas City (2000, Jermaine Dye); San Francisco (2004, Barry Bonds); Houston (2007, Carlos Lee); Cleveland (2008, Grady Sizemore); Seattle (2009, Russell Branyan).

Two teams last year just missed out on joining the Angels with three players with 30-plus HRs: The Brewers had two players (Ryan Braun, 41; Corey Hart, 30) reach those numbers, but fell short of three when Aramis Ramirez collected 27. The Pittsburgh Pirates had Andrew McCutchen, 31 and Pedro Alvarez, 30, but fell short as Garrett Jones had 27 homers.

If we drop the criteria down to 25 home runs last season, the Chicago White Sox had five players in that category, making them one of only 10 teams ever to achieve that mark in a season.

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Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay has been one of the majors’ best pitchers in the past decade. Unfortunately, his 2012 season mirrored the Phils‘ ’12 campaign as the team dropped from 102 wins in 2011 to 81 last year. Halladay struggled with an 11-8 record and an ERA of 4.49 (his 11 wins were the fewest since he had eight in 2004; his ERA was the second worst of his career).

The 2012 season was only the second time in Halladay’s career where he did not have a complete game (he did not have a complete game in 2000 with Toronto). This broke Halladay’s streak of 11 straight seasons where he had at least one complete game. It was also rare considering that Halladay had been the league-leader in complete games for five consecutive years (two with Philadelphia and three with Toronto).

Halladay leads the majors with most complete games in this century with 64 (he has 66 in his 15-year career). Following is a look at the pitchers who have had the most complete games since 2000. (A = active pitcher)

Complete Games, Pitchers
64: Roy Halladay (a)
39: Livan Hernandez (a)
35: CC Sabathia (a)
32: Randy Johnson
28: Mark Buehrle (a)
27: Chris Carpenter (a)
26: Cliff Lee (a); Curt Schilling
25: Javier Vazquez (a); Mark Mulder
24: Bartolo Colon (a); Tim Hudson (a)
23: Felix Hernandez (a); Sidney Ponson
22: A.J. Burnett (a)
20: Justin Verlander (a); Roy Oswalt (a)

Halladay is one of seven pitchers who has had at least one complete game in 10 of the 13 seasons since 2000. Leading the way is Tim Hudson, who has had a complete game in 12 of the 13 seasons this century. He is followed by Sabathia, Halladay, Buehrle and Livan Hernandez, each with 11 seasons, and Burnett and Vazquez with 10.

As mentioned above, Halladay’s streak of 11 seasons with at least one complete game was broken last season. Sabathia is now the pitcher with the longest current streak of seasons with at least one complete game with 11.

He is followed by Matt Cain (eight straight seasons with one-plus complete game); Bronson Arroyo, Verlander and Felix Hernandez (each with seven straight); Cole Hamels (six); and Jake Peavy, Ricky Nolasco, Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana and Dan Haren (each with five straight).

Here’s a couple more stats on complete games:

* Halladay is the active leader in complete games with 66. Sabathia is a distant second on the active list with 35.

* Even though Halladay ranks first on the active list, his 66 career complete games is only good enough for a tie for 644th place on the all-time list.

* You don’t have to be a rocket scientist (or even a baseball expert) to know that the complete game is slowing becoming a rare feat in today’s game. Last season there were only 128 complete games. By comparison, 20 years ago (in 1992) there were 419 complete games. Go back another 20 years to 1972 and there were 1,009 complete games that season.

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With his next home run, Ryan Braun will become the sixth player in Milwaukee Brewers history to hit 200-plus HRs as a Brewer. The current 200-HR club for the franchise: Robin Yount (251), Prince Fielder (230), Geoff Jenkins (212), Gorman Thomas (208) and Cecil Cooper (201).

If you add in Braun’s 119 career stolen bases with the club, he will become only the second player in Brewers history to have 200 home runs and 100 stolen bases with the franchise. Yount is currently the only member of that group with his 251 home runs and 271 steals.

Could there be any other current players who might be joining Yount (and Braun) in the near future on the 200-100 list?

There are two possibilities: Corey Hart has 151 home runs and 83 stolen bases with the Brewers, and second baseman Rickie Weeks has the 100-100 tag on his resume with 126 homers and 112 steals. Longevity, staying healthy and staying with the team will determine whether or not they join Yount and eventually Braun in the Brewers 200-100 club.

The following are the franchises that have players who collected 200-plus HRs and 100-plus stolen bases with the franchise.

Baltimore Orioles: Brady Anderson

Boston Red Sox: Carl Yastrzemski

Detroit Tigers: Lou Whitaker, Al Kaline

Kansas City Royals: George Brett

Milwaukee Brewers: Robin Yount

Minnesota Twins: Kirby Puckett

New York Yankees: Bernie Williams, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez, Mickey Mantle, Derek Jeter, Lou Gehrig

Oakland Athletics: Reggie Jackson, Jose Canseco

Seattle Mariners: Ken Griffey, Jr.

Atlanta Braves: Dale Murphy, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Hank Aaron

Chicago Cubs: Sammy Sosa, Ryne Sandberg

Cincinnati Reds: Frank Robinson, Eric Davis

Colorado Rockies: Larry Walker, Dante Bichette

Houston Astros: Jimmy Wynn, Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell

New York Mets: David Wright, Daryl Strawberry

Philadelphia Phillies: Mike Schmidt

San Francisco Giants: Willie Mays, Barry Bonds

St. Louis Cardinals: Ray Lankford

Washington Nationals: Vladimir Guerrero, Andre Dawson

If we move the criteria to 200-plus home runs and 200-plus stolen bases, there are only 13 players in MLB history that have reached those numbers with a franchise. The members of the 200-200 club with a franchise are:

Player, Team, Home Runs/Stolen Bases

Brady Anderson, Baltimore, 209/307

George Brett, Kansas City, 317/201

Robin Yount, Milwaukee, 251/271

Derek Jeter, N.Y. Yankees, 254/348

Hank Aaron, Atlanta, 733/240

Ryne Sandberg, Chicago Cubs, 282/344

Eric Davis, Cincinnati, 203/270

Craig Biggio, Houston, 291/414

Jeff Bagwell, Houston, 449/202

Willie Mays, San Francisco, 646/336

Barry Bonds, San Francisco, 586/263

Ray Lankford, St. Louis, 228/250

Andre Dawson, Washington, 225/253

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Ryan Braun had a pair of home runs in the Brewers‘ 10-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates last night.

It was Braun’s 16th career multi-HR game and the fourth this season. The Brewers are 4-0 this season in games during which Braun hits two or more home runs, and they have won the last seven games in which Braun has had multiple home runs. It is also the third multiple-home-run game for Braun in his last 21 games.

For those of you wondering if Braun’s 16 multi-HR games is a team record, the answer is no. Braun’s 16 ranks him third in team history behind Prince Fielder with 22 and Gorman Thomas with 19 multi-HR games.

Following is a look at Brewers players who have hit two or more home runs in five or more games with the Brewers.

22: Prince Fielder

19: Gorman Thomas

16: Ryan Braun

14: Robin Yount, Cecil Cooper, Greg Vaughn, Jeromy Burnitz

13: Corey Hart

12: Rob Deer, Richie Sexson

11: Dave Nilsson

10: Geoff Jenkins, Ben Oglivie

9: Don Money

7: George Scott

6: John Jaha, Johnny Briggs

5: Paul Molitor, Rickie Weeks, Sixto Lezcano

The Brewers have won 12 and lost four in the 16 games in which Braun has hit multiple home runs. Of those players who have five or more multi-HR games as a Brewer, following is a look at the team record in the games in which those players hit two or more homers.

Lezcano: 5-0, 1.000

Fielder: 19-3, .864

Scott: 6-1, .857

Briggs: 5-1, .833

Nilsson: 9-2, .818

Jenkins: 8-2, .800

Molitor: 4-1, .800

Cooper: 11-3, .786

Burnitz: 11-3, .786

Braun: 12-4, .750

Deer: 9-3, .750

Sexson: 9-3, .750

Oglivie: 7-3, .700

Thomas: 13-6, .684

Money: 5-4, .556

Vaughn: 7-7, .500

Jaha: 3-3, .500

Hart: 6-7, .462

Yount: 6-8, .429

Weeks: 1-4, .200

Braun’s four multi-HR games in 2012 puts him within reach of the team record for most multiple-home-run games in a season. Brewers Hall of Famer Robin Yount holds that record with seven in 1982. In fact, Yount had 14 career multi-HR games, with half of them coming in the ’82 season.

Here’s a look at the players who hit two or more home runs in five or more games in a season for the Brewers.

7: Robin Yount, 1982

6: Gorman Thomas, 1982; Richie Sexson, 2001

5: Prince Fielder, 2007; Prince Fielder, 2009; Jeromy Burnitz, 2001

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If history has anything to say about the chances of the Brewers making the playoffs this year, there is a slim to none chance it is going to happen. In the two recent years that the Brewers did make the playoffs (2008 and 2011) both teams were above .500 at the All-Star break.

The Brewers are currently 34-42, eight games under .500. They have nine more games on the schedule until the All-Star break and could run off a streak of nine straight wins to get above .500 before the break. But even then, the chances of a playoff run are not looking good…again, based on history.

Since 1995, the Brewers have been at least one game above .500 at the All-Star break in six seasons and at .500 in one other season. They have been at least one game under .500 in the other ten seasons. Here are the six seasons when they were above .500 at the All-Star break and how they finished that season.

Year, games above .500 at the break, end of season

2007: +10 (finished in second place, did not make playoffs)

2008: +9 (finished in second place, made playoffs as the Wild Card)

2011: +6 (finished in first place, made playoffs)

2004: +4 (finished in sixth place, did not make playoffs)

2009: +2 (finished in third place, did not make playoffs)

1998: +1 (finished in fifth place, did not make playoffs)

In the 10 seasons where the Brewers were under .500 at the All-Star break, the team finished third four times, finished in fourth place three times, finished fifth on one occasion and was sixth at the end of the year twice.

If we look at all of Major League Baseball since 2000, we discover that of the 96 teams that made the playoffs in the last 12 years, only two teams made the playoffs in a season where they were under .500 at the All-Star break. The two: the Dodgers in 2008, who were three games under .500, and the 2003 Twins, who were five games under .500 that year.

There were six other playoff teams since 2000 that were at .500 at the All-Star break. That means that 88 of the 96 playoff teams (91.7 percent) were above .500 at the All-Star break. Taking it a step further, 56 of those 96 playoff teams (58.3 percent) were at least 10 games above .500 at the break.

Here’s a quick look at the teams since 2000 that were either at or below .500 at the All-Star break yet made the playoffs that year.

Team, year, All-Star break

Minnesota, 2003: Five games under .500

L.A. Dodgers, 2008: Three games under .500

N.Y. Yankees, 2007: At .500

Colorado, 2007: At .500

Philadelphia, 2007: At .500

Houston, 2004: At .500

Chicago Cubs, 2003: At .500

St. Louis, 2001: At .500

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Last night, Zack Greinke got the win in the Brewers’ 1-0 extra-inning win over the Chicago White Sox by tossing nine innings of three-hit ball.

Greinke improved his record to 8-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.81 for the season. With the All-Star Game a little over two weeks away, there is a distinct possibility that Greinke will represent the Brewers at this year’s game.

Brewers pitchers have actually had a great deal of success at the All-Star Game in the franchise’s 43-year history. Twenty-three Brewers pitchers have been selected to an All-Star team since 1969 with 16 of them getting a chance to pitch in the game. Brewers hurlers have a combined 0-1 record (Rollie Fingers took the loss in the 1981 contest), but they have a 1.50 ERA with 14 hits allowed and nine strikeouts in 18 innings of work.

Here’s a look at my 10 greatest pitching performances by Brewers pitchers in the All-Star Game.

10. Ben Sheets, 2007 (1.0 IP, 2 H): Sheets came on in relief during the third inning with the N.L. holding a 1-0 lead. He gave up two-out hits to Ichiro Suzuki and Derek Jeter, but retired David Ortiz to end the inning. He was credited with a hold in the game.

9. Danny Kolb, 2004 (1.0 IP, 1 H): Relieved N.L. starter Roger Clemens in the second inning after the A.L. had scored six runs in the first. Kolb retired three of the four batters he faced, giving up only a single to Ivan Rodriguez.

8. Trevor Hoffman, 2009 (1.0 IP, 1 H): Entered the game in the sixth inning with the score tied 3-3. He gave up a one-out single to Josh Hamilton, but then got Michael Young to ground into a double play to end the inning.

7. Ben Sheets, 2004 (1.0 IP, 1 K): This was the first time that two Brewers pitchers had pitched in the same All-Star Game (see Kolb above). Sheets came into the game with the N.L. down 9-4. He had a one-two-three inning.

6. Derrick Turnbow, 2006 (1.0 IP, 1 H): Turnbow entered the game with the N.L. holding a 2-1 lead. After giving up a leadoff single to Paul Konerko, Turnbow got Troy Glaus to hit into a double play. He then retired Michael Young to end the inning. He was credited with a hold in the game.

5. Ben Sheets, 2008 (2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 K): The only time a Brewers pitcher was the starter of an All-Star Game. Sheets left the game with the score tied at 0-0. He gave up a one-out single to Jeter in the first inning, but retired Hamilton and Rodriguez to end the first. He had two walks and two strikeouts in the second inning.

4. Bob Wickman, 2000 (1.0 IP, 1 K): With the N.L. losing 3-2, Wickman had a one-two-three inning in the eighth, striking out Tony Batista sandwiched around retiring Fred McGriff and Edgar Martinez.

3. Dan Plesac, 1987 (1.0 IP, 1 K): Pitching for the A.L., Plesac entered the game in the eighth inning with the score tied 0-0. Plesac had a one-two-three inning, striking out Hubie Brooks to end the inning.

2. Teddy Higuera, 1986 (3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K): The first pitcher out of the A.L. bullpen, Higuera entered the game in the fourth inning with the A.L. ahead 2-0. He had one-two-three innings in the fourth and the sixth, and got out of a one-out, two-on jam in the fifth by retiring Dale Murphy and Hubie Brooks. He left the game with the A.L. leading 2-0.

1. Lary Sorensen, 1978 (3.0 IP, 1 H): With the score tied 3-3, Sorensen gave up a leadoff single to Larry Bowa to start the fourth inning. He then retired nine straight, sitting down Reggie Smith, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, George Foster, Greg Luzinski, Steve Garvey, Ted Simmons, Dave Winfield and Bowa. He left the game with the score still tied at 3-3.

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Fans of the Milwaukee Brewers have watched many of their favorite players on the All-Star Game stage since the team came to Milwaukee in 1970. Players like Cecil Cooper, Paul Molitor, Robin Yount and Ryan Braun have made multiple appearances in the midseason classic over the past 40-plus years.

But there have also been a handful of players who have worn the Brewers uniform who had short careers in Milwaukee; for some, their stay in the Brew City was only one season. But in that season, they represented the Brewers in the All-Star Game.

Following is a look at the 10 players who represented the Brewers in the All-Star Game, yet played in Milwaukee for only three seasons or less.

Tommy Harper, Infielder, 1970 All-Star: Harper came to Milwaukee in 1970 as a member of the Seattle Pilots. He played for the Brewers two seasons before he was traded to Boston after the 1971 season. He played 454 games as a Pilot/Brewer, hitting .264 with 54 home runs.

Marty Pattin, Pitcher, 1971 All-Star: Another member of the Seattle Pilot contingent. Won 14 games in each of two seasons in Milwaukee. Pitched in 106 games as Pilot/Brewer compiling a 35-38 record with a 3.82 ERA. Was part of the trade that sent Harper to the Red Sox.

Ellie Rodriguez, Catcher, 1972 All-Star: Came to the Brewers in a 1971 trade with the Kansas City Royals. Hit .255 in 325 games (three seasons) with the team. Hit .285 in his ’72 all-star season. Traded to the California Angels after the 1973 campaign.

Hank Aaron, Designated Hitter, 1975 All-Star: Made 11 All-Star Game appearances as a Milwaukee Brave. Spent the last two years of his career as a Brewer, serving primarily as DH. Hit 22 home runs as a Brewer, retiring after the 1976 season.

Jim Sundberg, Catcher, 1984 All-Star: Spent only one season with the Brewers, coming to the team in a trade with the Texas Rangers. Made the ’84 All-Star team in his only season with Milwaukee. Hit .261 with seven HRs and 43 RBIs. Was traded after the ’84 season to the Royals.

Dave Parker, Designated Hitter, 1990 All-Star: Another one-year stop player with the Brewers. Parker, a mainstay of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1970s, was signed as a free agent by the Brewers. He hit .289 with 21 homers and 92 RBIs in his only season with the club. Was traded to the Angels prior to the start of the 1991 season for Dante Bichette.

Danny Kolb, Relief Pitcher, 2004 All-Star: One of the many short-term relievers that had success with the Brewers. Pitched in 154 games with the team in three seasons. He had 61 saves and a 3.31 ERA with the team. Had 39 saves in his all-star season. Had two stints with the Brewers—2003-04, and 2006.

Carlos Lee, Outfielder, 2005, 2006 All-Star: Played 264 games with the Brewers in two seasons, making the NL All-Star team as a Brewer both years. Had 60 home runs as a Brewer. Was traded to Texas shortly after the 2006 All-Star Game.

Francisco Cordero, Relief Pitcher, 2007 All-Star: Had 60 saves in two seasons with the Brewers, including 44 in 2007. Left the Brewers after the 2007 season to sign as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds.

Trevor Hoffman, Relief Pitcher, 2009 All-Star: Played two years with the Brewers, and then retired after the 2010 season. Signed as a free agent by the club prior to the ’09 season. Had 47 saves with the team, including 37 in 2009.

While the above players may have only had short careers in Milwaukee, here’s a look at the players who have the most All-Star Game appearances in a Brewers uniform.

All-Star Game appearances (as a Brewer)

5: Cecil Cooper, Paul Molitor

4: Ryan Braun, Don Money, Ben Sheets

3: Prince Fielder, Ben Oglivie, Dan Plesac, Robin Yount

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In the first inning of today’s New York Mets-San Diego Padres game, Vinny Rottino hit his first career major league home run, a solo shot off Clayton Richard. In doing so, Rottino, who was born in Racine, Wisconsin, became the 87th Wisconsin-born major league player to hit a home run in the majors.

Rottino spent parts of three seasons with the parent Brewers club in 2006, ’07 and ’08 after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He made his MLB debut on September 1, 2006 with the Brewers. In his three “cups of coffee” with the Brewers MLB team, he had five hits in 24 at-bats.

Last year he had an eight-game stint with the Florida Marlins. This is his second call-up with the Mets this season.

Hall of Famer Al Simmons leads all Wisconsin-born players in home runs. Simmons had 307 career four-baggers playing for seven teams in a 20-year MLB career.

Here’s a look at the players born in Wisconsin who have hit the most home runs in the majors.

Home Runs, Player (last year in majors)

307 Al Simmons (1944)

213 Andy Pafko (1959)

163 Ken Keltner (1950)

135 Eric Hinske (active)

123 Joe Randa (2006)

117 Chet Laabs (1947)

116 Rich Reichardt (1974)

90 Mark Grudzielanek (2010)

87 Harvey Kuenn (1966)

87 Damian Miller (2007)

84 Fred Luderus (1920)

80 Joe Hauser (1929)

74 Ed Konetchy (1921)

63 Scott Servais (2001)

61 Fred Merkle (1926)

Note: Rottino is one of four Wisconsin-born players currently playing in the majors. Jason Berken is a pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles; Eric Hinske is a utility player with the Atlanta Braves; and, Jordan Zimmerman is a pitcher with the Washington Nationals.

Source: www.baseball-reference.com

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This weekend many of us will be celebrating Memorial Day and the contributions of the countless men and women who served our country and fought for our freedom.

Brewers fans also have something else to celebrate this weekend. Today, May 26, 2012, is the fifth anniversary of Ryan Braun‘s first career home run. On May 26, 2007, Braun hit a solo HR off Padres pitcher Justin Germano in the third inning in San Diego.

In honor of the fifth anniversary of Braun’s first round-tripper, here are a few stats regarding the 174 homers Braun has hit up to this point in what many Brewers fans hope will be a long career with the club.

* Braun was hitting second in the order when he hit his first career home run. It is the only time that he has hit a HR while batting second in the order. He has hit 163 from the third spot, nine from the clean-up spot and one from the eighth spot in the order.

* Braun has hit most of his home runs in the first three innings (72). He has 62 four-baggers in innings four through six, and 40 HRs from the seventh inning on.

* Braun has hit 101 home runs when he has seen three or fewer pitches. He has 73 home runs when he has seen four or more pitches in an at-bat.

* Braun has hit the most home runs (64) when the Brewers are behind in the game. He has hit 62 when the Brewers are ahead and has hit 48 when the game is tied.

* He has 92 HRs at Miller Park and 82 in away games.

* When it comes to strikes in the count, Braun’s home run stroke has been most successful with one strike. He has 68 homers with one strike in the count, 57 home runs with two strikes in the count and 49 four-baggers when there are no strikes in the count. When it comes to balls in the count, Braun has hit more HRs when there are no balls in the count (59). He has 48 home runs with one ball in the count, 47 home runs with two balls in the count and 20 long balls with three balls in the count.

* Braun has 64 home runs with no outs in the inning, 56 home runs with one out in the inning and 54 home runs with two outs in the inning.

* Braun has hit the most home runs in July (35). Other monthly HR counts: March (1), April (29), May (27), June (26), August (26), September (28), October (2).

* Braun’s 173rd home run was on May 21 when he hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning against the Giants to tie the score at 3-3. It was the 12th time in his career that he has hit a home run in the seventh inning or later to tie the score or put the Brewers ahead in the game.

* Of the 15 National League teams, Braun has hit the fewest home runs against the New York Mets (2). He has hit the most HRs against the Houston Astros (24).

Research source: baseball-reference.com

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