Brewers replace John Axford as closer with Francisco Rodriguez

After John Axford blew his sixth save of the season Monday night, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said the team will use Francisco Rodriguez to finish games.

By C. Trent Rosecrans

Jul 17, 2012 at 11:38 am ET • 1 min read

John Axford blew his sixth save of the season Monday night. (US Presswire)

When the Brewers acquired Francisco Rodriguez at the All-Star break last year, there was some talk about whether he would set-up John Axford or replace him as the closer. A year later, K-Rod will finally get his chance to close for Milwaukee.

Axford blew his sixth save of the season on Monday night and manager Ron Roenicke was asked if he was considering a change in closers, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Roenicke said, "We talk about it all the time. We talked about it just now and we will again tomorrow."

And talk they did, because Tuesday Roenicke told reporters that Axford is out, "for now," and that it's K-Rod's turn as the closer (MLB.com).

Axford converted 46 of his 48 save opportunities last season and 43 in a row to finish the season. He extended that streak to 49 before blowing his first save in May. Starting with that blown save on May 11, Axford has appeared in 28 games and put up a 5.27 ERA and 1.427 WHIP. Overall this season, he's 2-6 with a 5.35 ERA and a 1.568 WHIP to go along with his 16 saves.

Rodriguez, the former Angels and Mets closer, is 2-4 with a 3.67 ERA and 1.416 WHIP in 45 appearances as a set-up man. He has one save this season.

A total of 16 of the Brewers' 47 losses this season have come in the other team's final at-bat, including Monday night when the Cardinals scored three runs off of Axford in the ninth inning. He allowed three hits and two walks in the 3-2 loss to the Cardinals. He had one man on and two outs with a two-run lead before giving up an infield single to Rafael Furcal and then walked Skip Schumaker to load the bases for Matt Holliday. With two strikes, Holliday hit a two-run single to tie the game and Allen Craig followed with an RBI single, ending Axford's night -- and his run as the Brewers' closer.