The Brewers and Rockies kick off their weekend series today with a rare Friday afternoon game (in order to accommodate the fun Brewers Legends game). The Brewers are hot, coming out of the All-Star break with five wins in six games over the Marlins and Mets. After a day off yesterday, Milwaukee will look to extend their good fortune against the seemingly perpetually struggling Rockies.
Starting this game for the Brewers is left-handed rookie Shane Drohan, who is coming off a quality start and career-high
nine strikeouts in a win over the Marlins on Saturday. With this start, Drohan will have more starts than relief appearances this year; he’s been better as a reliever (1.82 ERA in 24 2/3 innings, 6.50 K:BB) than a starter (3.86 ERA in 51 1/3 innings, 2.94 K:BB), but that’s still quite good for a starting pitcher, especially one at the back end of the rotation.
Colorado counters with the right-handed Tomoyuki Sugano, who at 36 years old in his second year stateside after a distinguished career in Japan. Sugano hasn’t been too bad for the Rockies in 17 starts; he doesn’t really strike batters out, but he doesn’t walk many, and while his 4.76 ERA is a little ugly, that translates to a decent 105 ERA+ after accounting for his home ballpark. Sugano doesn’t have overwhelming stuff but he has seven different pitches that he throws at least six percent of the time, a huge arsenal; he throws his four-seam fastball, splitter, and sinker about an equal amount (around 20% of the time), and then uses a slider, cutter, and sweeper about an equal amount (about 10% of the time) as secondary pitches. He’ll also work in a curveball on occasion. So while Sugano isn’t going to overwhelm anyone, batters have a difficult time knowing what’s coming, and he doesn’t help the offense out by giving out free passes.
Before we get to today’s lineup, there is a roster move to make. David Hamilton, after two rehab appearances with Triple-A Nashville, is back in Milwaukee. That brings an end to Braden Shewmake’s brief Milwaukee tenure (unless he clears waivers and sticks in the organization): in four games with the Brewers, Shewmake was 2-for-7 with a double, an RBI, and a stolen base.
Hamilton is right back in the lineup for today’s game, starting at third base against the right-handed Sugano. But the Brewers are riding Joey Ortiz’s hot bat, as he will start alongside Hamilton at shortstop. Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, and Luis Lara are in the outfield, while William Contreras, Brice Turang, Jake Bauers, and Christian Yelich make up the rest of the lineup.
Stick around after today’s game, too, as the Brewers will build on the fun of last year’s alumni Home Run Derby with the Alumni Legends Game, which will take place right after the game. We’ll put up a separate open thread for that game after this one is over. Check out these lineups! Bill Hall! Yovani Gallardo! Big Sexy! The Toolshed! …Jeff Bianchi?! (My bet is on Jace Peterson for game MVP, that guy still looks like he could play.)
Today’s actual game, as noted, is a 3:10 p.m. start. It will be on Brewers TV and, as always, the Brewers Radio Network.
