Recent Milwaukee Brewers' acquisition Eduardo Escobar is in a hitting slump

When the Brewers traded for veteran switch-hitter Eduardo Escobar on July 28, the hope was that adding one more productive bat to the group would prevent the kind of team slump they have experienced over the past week.

Problem was, Escobar was among the worst slumpers during that period.  

Entering the series finale against the Cardinals, Escobar was in a 3-for-31 skid with one homer and two RBI during the 2-6 team slump that kept the magic number for clinching the NL Central from being reached.

Beyond that, Escobar also has made some costly errors at third base, including one that led to a four-run outburst in the second inning Wednesday night during a 10-2 whipping by St. Louis. 

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“He hasn’t swung the bat well on the home stand,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He had a good game against the Cubs at the plate but he’s made some mistakes, had a couple games when he hasn’t swung the bat well. As a team, we haven’t swung the bat well. 

“We’re going to count on him. Nothing’s going to change there.” 

Escobar, who made his 11th start Thursday at first base after never playing there previously, did swing the bat well in the weeks immediately after the trade. He was batting .293 over his first 30 games with five homers and 16 RBI before falling into his current drought.  

Escobar had plenty of company in Slump City, however. Christian Yelich was 3-for-29 (.103), Omar Narváez 4-for-21 (.190), Jace Peterson 3-for-25 (.120) and Kolten Wong 6-for-30 (.182). The most productive players over that stretch were Luis Urías (7 for 25, six RBI) and García (4 for 13, two home runs).