ATLANTA — The Milwaukee Brewers made a call to the bullpen.
Too bad no one was warming up.
On a night when two coaches were attending graduations, the Brewers messed up a pitching change, gave up three runs in the seventh inning, and lost to the Atlanta Braves 5-4 on Thursday.
"I feel bad about everything," said manager Ron Roenicke, who took the blame for the botched communications in the Milwaukee dugout and bullpen. "It's going to be hard on me."
Ryan Doumit's pinch-hit single brought home the tying and go-ahead run after the Brewers summoned relief pitcher Will Smith, who was just sitting around in the bullpen with his jacket on.
After a lengthy delay while the umpires sorted things out, Smith was allowed to throw only the customary eight warm-up pitches on the mound before facing Doumit.
It wasn't really a surprise when Doumit ripped a single to left past the drawn-in infield, bringing home the tying and go-ahead runs.
"I certainly think that had something to do with it," Roenicke said.
Pitching coach Rick Kranitz and bullpen coach Lee Tunnell were both excused from the game.
Rick Tomlin, normally the minor league pitching coordinator, filled in for Kranitz but apparently didn't realize that the manager wanted Smith warming up.
After Roenicke went out to tell the umpires of a double switch, he stunningly learned that no one was throwing in the bullpen, which is shielded from his view in the left-field corner. Not that it's usually an issue; there are monitors in both dugouts that show what's going on in the home and visiting bullpens.
"Miscommunication," Roenicke said. "There's a certain way we do things, and when Kranitz isn't here, I didn't go back and tell Rick Tomlin who to get up and bring in. It's my fault."