NEW YORK _ So, what's wrong with vanilla ice cream?
You can put all the sprinkles and chocolate topping you want on it but just plain vanilla is underrated. And never more so than when applied to the consistency of a player's baseball season.
Referring to how consistent Travis Shaw has been for the Brewers over the first half, manager Craig Counsell said Saturday the soft-spoken third baseman has had a "vanilla-good season." And that was meant in the most complimentary of ways, no offense to Neapolitan ice cream.
Shaw went out Sunday and put an exclamation mark on that banner first half, belting a three-run home run in the first inning and driving in four runs to lead the Brewers to a 5-3 victory that included several tense situations in the late innings.
By winning six of their last seven games and nine of 11, the first-place Brewers reached the All-Star break with a 50-41 record and a 5 { _ game lead in the NL Central, their biggest margin of the season.
But it certainly was no walk in Central Park in taking the series from the Yankees. Closer Corey Knebel, who surrendered a game-winning three-run homer by Clint Frazier on Saturday in the bottom of the ninth, had to battle control issues again to record a four-out save, striking out the final three hitters.
It was only fitting that Shaw had one more big performance before the break because he was the Brewers' most valuable player in the first half, showing up every day and making contributions. When told that Counsell compared his showing to vanilla, Shaw smiled.
"It's my favorite ice cream," said Shaw, who hit the break with 19 homers and 65 RBIs. "That's a good compliment for me. That's what I've been striving for this whole year. That's my temperament. I have a vanilla personality. I try not to ride the roller coaster.
"I wanted to be the guy that's been the constant this year. That was my goal, going in. Last year (with Boston) was too much of (ups and downs). This year, I've stuck more to a straight line. I've got a couple more months left and I want to keep doing that. Then, I'd be extremely pleased."
Even with an early 4-0 lead, the game was a battle for the Brewers and starter Jimmy Nelson, who played in traffic nearly every inning. The Yankees made it a one-run game with three runs in the fourth, capped by a two-run homer from Saturday hero Clint Frazier.
Shaw bumped it to a two-run lead with a RBI single in the fifth, foiled the Yankees' strategy of bringing in lefty Chasen Shreve to face him.
But it continued to be a struggle for the Brewers as they went to their bullpen in the sixth. The Yankees brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings but were not able to push a run across.
