The Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies, the top two teams in the National League, start a three-game series tonight in Milwaukee. It’s a rare split series, in that there’s a day off in the middle of it; tomorrow, the Brewers have their first off day in almost three weeks.
Today is also that day in which MLB rosters expand from 26 to 28. Each team is permitted one extra position player and one extra pitcher, so the Brewers made those moves today. In lieu of an unexpected position player, the Brewers merely
reinstated Joey Ortiz from the injured list. On the pitching side, Milwaukee has recalled reliever Craig Yoho for what is his third stint with the big-league club this season. Ortiz is right back in the starting lineup, while the quite hot Andruw Monasterio will take the day off, at least to start with. Jackson Chourio, who has six hits (including two doubles and a homer) since being reinstated from the injured list on Saturday, bats second.
Today’s pitching matchup features the Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski against Philadelphia’s Taijuan Walker. Walker is a former megaprospect who debuted at age 20 and is in his 13th major league season. His career has not quite gone as well as the scouts predicted it would back in the early 2010s, but he’s been mostly solid over the last few seasons and is having one of his better seasons, at least in terms of ERA: in 101 2/3 innings, Walker is just 4-7 but holds a 3.63 ERA (123 ERA+). There is cause to be somewhat dubious of those numbers though: Walker’s expected ERA via Statcast is 4.19 and his FIP is even worse at 4.67; according to Statcast, he doesn’t do anything all that well, though he does get a lot of ground balls and tends to avoid hard contact.
Misiorowski is coming off of his most encouraging start since he missed two weeks due to injury. It’s been a roller coaster for the young right-hander over those three post-injured-list outings, but he was quite good except for one mistake in his last start against Arizona. He struck out 10 batters in just five innings in that game, showcasing the stuff that is nigh unhittable when he’s on. But some sketchy defense and an ill-timed home run led to three earned runs in that one, a game of wild swings that the Brewers ended up winning 9-8.
Philadelphia’s lineup features several dangerous hitters, including the one man who may have a chance to unseat Shohei Ohtani as the National League’s MVP, Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber hit four homers in the Phillies’ game on Thursday and is sitting on 49 for the season, which leads the NL. He’s also first in all of baseball with 119 RBI, and his walk numbers are typically huge. Schwarber is batting .247/.367/.581 in what is his best season as a pro, and while his lower WAR total (4.4, due to his role as a DH) will probably prevent him from winning the MVP, he’s got a solid case based on narrative. The Philly who actually leads their position players in WAR is shortstop Trea Turner, who has finally put together the complete season that has eluded him since he joined as a free agent before the 2023 season. Turner is among the NL’s leaders in batting average (.300) and leads the circuit in hits (169) and remains one of the league’s best baserunners. And while neither is quite at their peak anymore, the Phillies are also getting solid years out of Bryce Harper (22 homers, 29 doubles in 109 games) and J.T. Realmuto.
First pitch today is at 3:10 p.m. and the game is being nationally televised on MLB Network for those out of market. For those who are not, find it in the regular places: FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network.
