With a sweep of the hapless Los Angeles Angels this week (and an assist from Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene yesterday in the form of a shutout of the Cubs), the Milwaukee Brewers lowered their magic number to clinch their third straight National League Central Division title to four games. One more win (or a Dodgers loss) locks in a first-round bye, should the Brewers successfully close the division race, and Milwaukee’s magic number to clinch the best record in the league—and home-field advantage for the entirety
of their postseason, no matter how long it lasts—is at six.
For the second straight weekend, Milwaukee will face off with the St. Louis Cardinals. It’s been a tough second half for the Cards, who were tied with the Brewers in second place as late as June 24 but who have gone just 23-32 since the All-Star break. The Brewers took two of three from St. Louis last weekend in Milwaukee, and will look to find similar success on the road.
Their first hurdle will be St. Louis’s Sonny Gray, who was effective in five innings (eight strikeouts, one walk, two runs) against Milwaukee on Saturday but was failed by his bullpen in Milwaukee’s thrilling, 9-8, ten-inning victory. It’s been a somewhat disappointing season for the 35-year-old right hander, though it’s not entirely Gray’s fault: his 3.40 FIP is sixth in the National League, but his ERA lags behind by more than a run, at 4.43.
On the other side, the Brewers will send Jacob Misiorowski back to the mound for his 14th big-league start of the season (recreating last weekend’s matchup with Gray). Miz was shaky in that start last weekend; he gave up two runs in the top of the first and four over five innings in total, with home runs allowed to Iván Herrera and Brendan Donovan. It remains to be seen whether Misiorowski is shifted to a bullpen role for the National League Division Series, when the team could get by with only three starting pitchers; if that ends up being the case, it’s possible that this could be Miz’s last start of the season if they want to give him a chance to pitch out of the ‘pen before the regular season ends.
One difference in St. Louis’s lineup compared to last weekend is the presence of Nolan Arenado, who returned from the injured list on Monday after a six-week absence. He’s batting fourth tonight. For Milwaukee, Sal Frelick is back atop the lineup after getting the night off on Thursday. Jake Bauers continues to get all of Milwaukee’s at-bats against right-handed pitching.
First pitch is at 7:15 p.m. on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network.
