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It’s no secret that the Milwaukee Brewers are one of a handful of NL teams that are openly going through a rebuilding year. They are currently 18-23, in fourth place in the NL Central sitting 11 games behind Chicago. The organization is short on reliable pitching and may look to sell off the remaining offensive pieces that they have later this season in order to improve the club for the future. However, they have won four out of their last six games…including taking two out of three from the front-running Cubs in their most recent series.
STARTING PITCHING MATCHUPS:
The starting pitching matchups seem to favor the Mets for this series as New York has the three starters with the best stats going up against the three starters with the worst stats from the Brewers.
Friday: LHP Steven Matz (5-1, 2.86 ERA) vs. RHP Wily Peralta (2-4, 7.30), 7:10 p.m. ET
RHP - Wily Peralta: 2-4, 7.30 ERA, 40.2 IP, 63 H, 33 ER, 7 HR, 18 BB, 25 K, 1.992 WHIP
Wily Peralta was thought to be the Brewers’ best starting pitcher coming into the season, but he has no lived up to that expectation so far this season. Opponents are batting .375 against him and he allowed 6 earned runs in his last start against San Diego. He has allowed two or more earned runs in each of his eight starts this season.
Saturday: RHP Jacob deGrom (3-1, 2.50) vs. RHP Zach Davies (1-3, 5.58), 4:10 p.m. ET
RHP - Zach Davies: 1-3, 5.58 ERA, 30.2 IP, 36 H, 19 ER, 3 HR, 13 BB, 20 K, 1.598 WHIP
Davies has been better of late after a rough start to the season. He has a 3.12 ERA over his past three starts. Opponents are hitting .305 off of him for the season. The 23-year-old has never faced the Mets.
Sunday: RHP Noah Syndergaard (4-2, 2.19) vs. RHP Chase Anderson (2-5, 5.32), 1:10 p.m. ET
RHP - Chase Anderson: 2-5, 5.32 ERA, 44 IP, 48 H, 26 ER, 11 HR, 14 BB, 33 K, 1.409 WHIP
Anderson went 8.2 innings against the Cubs in his last start allowing only 3 hits (2 solo HRs). Opposing hitters are batting .277 vs. Anderson this season. He is 28 years old and is 0-1 in two starts lifetime against the Mets.
BREWERS BULLPEN:
The Milwaukee bullpen is 10th in the NL with a 4.04 ERA. They rank second in the NL behind only Cincinnati in home runs allowed (23) and BAA (.268) this season. The bullpen features a bevy of ex-Mets: Chris Capuano (the only lefty), Blaine Boyer and Carlos Torres. Closer Jeremy Jeffress has 11 saves in 2016.
RHP - Carlos Torres: 0-1, 3.86 ERA, 21 IP, 21 H, 9 ER, 4 HR, 12 BB, 20 K, 1.571 WHIP
RHP - Michael Blazek: 10, 2.14 ERA, 21 IP, 21 H, 5 ER, 1 HR, 12 BB, 18 K, 1.571 WHIP
RHP - Blaine Boyer: 10, 1.74 ERA, 20.2 IP, 20 H, 4 ER, 1 HR, 5 BB, 7 K, 1.21 WHIP
RHP - Tyler Thornburg: 2-1, 4.08 ERA, 17.2 IP, 13 H, 8 ER, 4 HR, 7 BB, 28 K, 1.132 WHIP
LHP - Chris Capuano: 1-1, 3.86 ERA, 21 IP, 20 H, 9 ER, 6 HR, 14 BB, 21 K, 1.619 WHIP
RHP - Jeremy Jeffress: 10, 2.50 ERA, 18 IP, 17 H, 5 ER, 1 HR, 4 BB, 12 K, 1.167 WHIP
BREWERS HITTERS:
C - Jonathan Lucroy (R): .304/.373/.507, 6 HR, 16 RBI, 0 SB
Lucroy continues to be dependable behind the dish for Milwaukee with spot starts at firstbase. He went 7/26 on the Brewers’ recent homestand with 3 solo HRs.
1B - Chris Carter (R): .245/.307/.580, 12 HR, 29 RBI, 0 SB
Carter is Milwaukee’s biggest power threat and has 24 extra base hits this season compared to just 9 singles. He signed as a free agent over the winter coming in from Houston. He has 102 HR since 2013 which ranks 8th in the majors.
2B - Scooter Gennett (L): .244/.327/.422, 4 HR, 5 RBI, 1 SB
Gennett spent some time on the DL earlier in the season with oblique tightness. His walk rate is up from last season improving his OBP. He was 2/16 last season vs. the Mets with a solo home run.
SS - Jonathan Villar (S): .284/.388/.383, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 13 SB
Villar came to Milwaukee via trade from Houston this past off-season and is duplicating some of the same success he saw there. Villar leads the NL in steals and his team in walks. He has reached safely in 35 of 39 games this season. He hit .360 on Milwaukee’s recent homestand.
3B - Aaron Hill (R): .252/.308/.395, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 2 SB
Another new face to the Brewers, Hill came over from Arizona in the deal that brought Chase Anderson to Milwaukee. Hill splits time between third and second with Hernan Perez also seeing some time at the hot corner.
LF - Ryan Braun (R): .364/.429/.576, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 2 SB
Braun is having a great early season but is likely to sit out at least Friday’s game due to linger back issues. He is fourth in the NL in BA (.364) and is just 11 hits from 1500 in his career. He has returned to leftfield this season after spending the past two in right.
CF - Kirk Nieuwenhuis (L): .278/.394/.456, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 3 SB
A familiar face has been spending time patrolling center for the Brewers. Kirk was claimed off of waivers from the Mets just before Christmas last year and is batting .311 in May with a .446 OBP. He hit a home run off Jason Hammel of the Cubs on Thursday afternoon.
RF - Domingo Santana (R): .239/.353/.381, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 0 SB
Santana came from Houston as part of the Carlos Gomez trade last summer. He sat out Thursday’s game due to right shoulder soreness…which has plagued him much of the month.
BREWERS BENCH
Alex Presley and Ramon Flores are likely to take the starts where Braun or Santana are unable to go.
OF - Ramon Flores (L): .192/.297/.231, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB
OF - Alex Presley(L): .250/.325/.397, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 0 SB
3B - Colin Walsh (S): .089/.317/.111, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB
C - Martin Maldonado (R): .074/.306/.074, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB
3B - Hernan Perez (R): .262/.326/.500, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 5 SB
The Brewers are the type of team that the Mets should beat if New York is looking to get back to the playoffs this season. Their banged up lineup and battered pitching staff may be what the doctor ordered for the Mets to begin to right the ship that has been listless for a couple of weeks. However, the last thing they should do is look past the Brewers to the rematch with the Nats next week.
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