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The Brewers are back to a 2.5 game lead in the NL Central after losing 11 of 13 before the break and allowing the Cardinals, Pirates and Reds to get back into the race. Milwaukee had a great April, due in large part to great starting pitching. Once the calendar turned to May, their offense took over and their NL Central lead got up to as many as 6.5 games near the end of June. The Brewers are a solid roster from top to bottom and are hoping to get back into the playoffs for the first time since 2011. They took 2 of 3 from the Mets in mid-June at Citi Field.
Thursday: RHP Dillon Gee (4-2, 2.92) vs. RHP Matt Garza (6-7, 4.04), 8:10 p.m. ET
Friday: RHP Zack Wheeler (5-8, 3.78) vs. RHP Yovani Gallardo (5-5, 3.79), 8:10 p.m. ET
Saturday: LHP Jonathon Niese (5-5, 3.13) vs. RHP Wily Peralta (11-6, 3.58), 7:10 p.m. ET
Sunday: RHP Jacob deGrom (4-5, 3.01) vs. RHP Jimmy Nelson (1-1, 5.06), 2:10 p.m. ET
The Mets miss ace Kyle Lohse as part of this four game series. Matt Garza tossed a complete game one-hitter on July 5th, but lasted only a third of an inning during his last start in Washington giving up 5 runs and 2 walks. Gallardo has a 5.40 ERA over three starts in July, but Peralta has had two straight starts of going 7 innings while allowing one run or less. Jimmy Nelson will be making his 5th major league start on Sunday. He has pitched to a 1.46 ERA over 111 innings with 114 Ks at AAA Nashville in 2014 and is the Brewers best pitching prospect.
C: Jonathan Lucroy - .312/.382/.500/.882, 11 HR, 47 RBI
1B: Mark Reynolds - .207/.300/.402/.702, 16 HR, 36 RBI
2B: Scooter Gennett - .305/.343/.481/.824, 8 HR, 34 RBI
SS: Jean Segura - .235/.269/.325/.594, 4 HR, 23 RBI
3B: Aramis Ramirez - .283/.332/.452/.784, 12 HR, 46 RBI
LF: Khris Davis - .249/.297/.467/.763, 16 HR, 51 RBI
CF: Carlos Gomez - .304/.369/.505/.874, 14 HR, 51 RBI
RF: Ryan Braun - .303/.354/.530/.884, 13 HR, 58 RBI
Lucroy, Ramirez and Gomez were All-Stars earlier this season as part of a potent Brewer lineup. Reynolds and Davis hit for power and while Braun’s HR numbers are down the rest of his stat line is impressive. Scooter Gennett is one of the league’s best hitting second basemen, but he did not play Wednesday due to tightness in his right quad. If he is unable to go, Rickie Weeks would take his spot at second. Jean Segura is having a down year after his all-star 2013 performance. Sadly, Segura’s nine-month-old son passed away on July 12th in the Dominican Republic.
CI: Lyle Overbay - .235/.316/.344/.660, 4 HR, 28 RBI
MI: Rickie Weeks - .259/.324/.392/.716, 3 HR, 17 RBI
OF: Logan Schafer - .190/.277/.300/.577, 0 HR, 6 RBI
UT: Elian Herrera - .276/.281/.333/.614, 0 HR, 2 RBI
C: Martin Maldonado - .254/.351/.388/.739, 2 HR, 8 RBI
The Milwaukee bench keeps the starters well rested. Veterans Overbay and Weeks are the main pinch hitting options. Maldonado is an excellent back up to Lucroy and Herrera can literally play anywhere on the diamond.
RHP: Francisco Rodriguez - 2.61 ERA, 29 SV, 48.1 IP, 8 HR, 55 K, 0.890 WHIP
LHP: Will Smith - 3.09 ERA, 1 SV, 46.2 IP, 4 HR, 61 K, 1.393 WHIP
LHP: Zach Duke - 1.10 ERA, 0 SV, 41 IP, 2 HR, 54 K, 0.927 WHIP
RHP: Brandon Kintzler - 3.60 ERA, 0 SV, 35 IP, 6 HR, 19 K, 1.457 WHIP
LHP: Tom Gorzelanny - 0.00 ERA, 0 SV, 9.2 IP, 0 HR, 12 K, 0.931 WHIP
RHP: Jeremy Jeffress - 0.00 ERA, 0 SV, 1 IP, 0 HR, 0 K, 0.000 WHIP
The Milwaukee bullpen is able to keep them in nearly every game where a lead is handed to them. Ex-Met K-Rod was selected to the NL All-Star team and has been an excellent closer for the Brewers this season.
I'll be visiting Miller Park on Saturday night where my family is planning to meet up with the vacationing Lunchbucket family for some pre-game tailgating. I may also get to the Sunday game if I can convince some of my softball teammates to take the trip with me.
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