|
The 2014 Milwaukee Brewers have a little bit of everything propelling them to the top of the NL Central division. They have had good starting pitching, good relief pitching and good offense. They have had contributions from seasoned veterans and young additions. The Brewers have been consistent throughout the early part of this season and have avoided long losing streaks. Their fast April start was followed by an average May (which has been a difficult month for the franchise in the past). Milwaukee enjoys a 5 game lead in the Central over St. Louis who has not been able to catch up after the hot start by the boys in Beer Town.
The Mets are 46-61 all-time against the Brewers, but Milwaukee is 19-10 over the past 29 games between the squads. Milwaukee won 4 of 7 vs. the Mets in 2013.
Tuesday, June 10, 7:10 PM EDT
Marco Estrada (RHP) vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka (RHP)
Estrada: 5-2, 4.19 ERA, 1.205 WHIP
Estrada is the starter that the Mets will face this series that is most easily gotten to. He has a 6.06 ERA in his past four starts. He leads the majors in home runs allowed and only has one start this season where he did not give up a long ball. Unfortunately, this does not play into the Mets’ strengths. He threw a gem against the Mets in the last game of the 2013 season…but the Mets ended up squeaking out a victory against the Brewer bullpen.
Wednesday, June 11, 7:10 PM EDT
Wily Peralta (RHP) vs. Jacob deGrom (RHP)
Peralta: 5-5, 3.03 ERA, 1.265 WHIP
Peralta is a home grown talent in Milwaukee who is having a great start to his second full season of MLB work. He has fallen back to earth a bit in his last two outings against the Cubs and Twins, but is still a formidable young righty. He dominated the Mets in his only other start against them in September of 2012 going 8 innings while allowing just 2 hits.
Thursday, June 12, 7:10 PM EDT
Kyle Lohse (RHP) vs. Jon Niese (LHP)
Lohse: 7-2, 3.27 ERA, 1.057 WHIP
Lohse continues to be a workhorse in his second year in Milwaukee. He laid an egg against Pittsburgh on Friday allowing 8 runs in 5 innings, but in his previous start he threw a complete game shutout against the Cubs. My prediction is that this pitching matchup should be the best of the series.
Offense:
Catcher - Jonathan Lucroy - .335/.398/.500/.898, 28 R, 4 HR, 27 RBI, 3 SB
Lucroy can really do it all. He gets on base and hits balls into the gaps AND he’s a catcher. A fan favorite in Milwaukee, he should be an All-Star this season. He’s hitting .450 on the Brewers’ current road trip and had 2 HRs in 26 at bats against the Mets in 2013.
First Base - Lyle Overbay (L) - .218/.305/.306/.611, 13 R, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 1 SB and Mark Reynolds - .210/.292/.441/.733, 24 R, 13 HR, 28 RBI, 3 SB
First base has been manned by both Overbay and Reynolds this season. Reynolds has the power…but little else (which has been a knock on him his whole career). Overbay has been seeing the bulk of the action at first against right handers. Reynolds has played some third and outfield for Milwaukee this season as well.
Second Base - Scooter Gennett (L) - .283/.323/.418/.742, 19 R, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 3 SB
Gennett hasn’t quite picked up where his limited 2013 left off, but he is still having a very decent first full season. He is batting .327 in his last 15 games and led the NL in hitting from August 5th through the end of the 2013 season (.358). He was 4 for 15 against the Mets last season with 2 RBI.
Shortstop - Jean Segura - .256/.286/.329/.615, 33 R, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 12 SB
Jean Segura has fallen off a bit since his All Star appearance in 2013, but he can still provide a spark and has made some very nice plays at short lately. He has been batting leadoff lately and has been scoring runs for the Brew Crew in the first inning. He was only 2 for 17 against the Mets in 2013.
Third Base - Aramis Ramirez - .257/.312/.400/.712, 13 R, 6 HR, 26 RBI, 1 SB
Ramirez spent some time on the DL from mid-May until last week, but continues to show some power when he has been on the field. Between Ramirez and Reynolds, the Brewers certainly have had home run production at third. Ramirez only had six at bats against New York in 2013 with 1 hit.
Left Field - Khris Davis - .262/.304/.491/.795, 38 R, 10 HR, 27 RBI, 1 SB
Davis is the rookie that caused Ryan Braun to move to right this season so that left field would be open. Davis has had a decent 2014, but has really started to get hot over the past few weeks (.369, 6 HR, 15 RBI in past 18 games). In an outfield that has two other All-Star players, Davis is a great addition. Davis was 3 for 7 with a HR against the Mets in 2013.
Center Field - Carlos Gomez - .307/.376/.554/.930, 42 R, 12 HR, 35 RBI, 11 SB
The ex-Mets continues to shine in Milwaukee. Gomez has hit for average, power and has speed and Gold Glove defensive skills to go along with his bat. He has settled into the cleanup spot for Milwaukee over the past few weeks. In 2013, he was 9 for 23 with a HR vs. New York.
Right Field - Ryan Braun - .304/.338/.538/.876, 30 R, 9 HR, 33 RBI, 5 SB
Ryan Braun has picked up where he left off after his 65 game PED suspension in 2013, though he has been fighting nagging injuries all season. He is hitting .339 in his past 15 games. Braun ranks third on the all-time Brewer home run list with 220 trailing only Prince Fielder (230) and Robin Yount (251). He did not face the Mets in 2013
Bullpen:
The Brewers’ bullpen has been strong this season. They have gotten great efforts from Smith, Duke, Wooten and ex-Met closer Frankie Rodriguez. Tyler Thornberg was sent down over the weekend and was replaced by Mike Fiers. Only lefty Wei-Chung Wang has had a really tough time in the pen for Milwaukee.
Francisco Rodriguez - 30 Games, 2.08 ERA, 19 Saves, 30.1 IP, 3 HR, 8 BB, 34 K, 0.89 WHIP, 1/0 Inheirited/Scored
Will Smith (L) - 32 Games, 0.94 ERA, 1 Saves, 28.2 IP, 0 HR, 13 BB, 37 K, 1.221 WHIP, 20/4 Inheirited/Scored
Zach Duke(L) - 27 Games, 1.50 ERA, 0 Saves, 24 IP, 1 HR, 5 BB, 32 K, 1.083 WHIP, 14/4 Inheirited/Scored
Brandon Kintzler - 24 Games, 3.38 ERA, 0 Saves, 21.1 IP, 3 HR, 4 BB, 8 K, 1.313 WHIP, 7/3 Inheirited/Scored
Rob Wooten - 22 Games, 2.95 ERA, 0 Saves, 21.1 IP, 1 HR, 4 BB, 17 K, 1.172 WHIP, 15/4 Inheirited/Scored
Wei-Chung Wang (L) - 9 Games, 12.79 ERA, 0 Saves, 12.2 IP, 5 HR, 6 BB, 9 K, 2.526 WHIP, 1/1 Inheirited/Scored
Ex-Met Brewers:
Carlos Gomez
Francisco Rodriguez
Ex-Brewer Mets:
Dana Eveland
Milwaukee has a solid team this season and has the makeup to put together a magical run. They will need to avoid injuries and losing streaks like most good teams do, but they have a lot of talent on the field each night. I expect St. Louis to challenge their lead at some point this season, but if the Brewers’ pitching can stay consistent, Milwaukee has the tools to maintain at the top of the NL Central.
|
