The Brewers are headed to St. Louis this weekend, as they’ll take on the Cardinals for the second time in a week, as the Crew took two of three from the Cardinals in Milwaukee this past weekend. Now, given the fact that these are virtually the exact same teams we saw just a few days ago, I’m keeping most of my intro the same, with some small updates.
The Brewers are wrapping up their six-game homestand on Thursday evening against the Angels, as they’re currently 4-1 with a series win over both the Cards
and Angels. After leaving Milwaukee on Sunday, the Cardinals dropped two of three to the Reds at home to begin this week. They’re enjoying an off day Thursday ahead of this series.
Not much to update on in terms of injuries for Milwaukee, as Jose Quintana was added to the IL after suffering a calf strain in Sunday’s series finale. Nick Mears missed the minimum 15 days with back tightness, replacing Quintana on the active roster ahead of Wednesday’s game against Los Angeles. Beyond them, Trevor Megill could still rejoin the bullpen in the coming days, while DL Hall is targeting a late September return. Connor Thomas, Shelby Miller, JB Bukauskas, and Garrett Mitchell are out for the year, while rookie Logan Henderson is out for the rest of the regular season but could potentially return for the playoffs.
The Cardinals got Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan back in the last week, but they’re still without pitcher Zack Thompson. Masyn Winn and Willson Contreras are also out for the rest of the year, as Winn will undergo knee surgery to repair a meniscus tear, and Contreras suffered a shoulder injury against Milwaukee this weekend.
Christian Yelich continues to set the pace for Milwaukee’s offense, with 29 homers and 99 RBIs on the season. Jackson Chourio is still just a pair of steals from his second consecutive 20-20 season, as he has 20 homers and 18 steals. Brice Turang is two homers from a 20-20 season with 18 homers and 24 steals, while William Contreras, Rhys Hoskins, Caleb Durbin, Sal Frelick, Isaac Collins, Andrew Vaughn, Jake Bauers, Joey Ortiz, Andruw Monasterio, Blake Perkins, and Danny Jansen round out the offense. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .261/.334/.409 (.743 OPS ranks 10th) with 162 homers (19th), 780 runs scored (second), and 155 steals (second).
Arenado’s return is big for the Cardinals, though he is having a down year offensively, hitting just .234/.291/.363 with 10 homers and 45 RBIs in 99 games. Alec Burleson has added 18 homers and 66 RBIs, while Iván Herrera has also provided some pop at catcher/DH. Nolan Gorman, Lars Nootbaar, Pedro Pagés, Brendan Donovan, Masyn Winn, Yohel Pozo, Victor Scott II, Jordan Walker, Thomas Saggese, José Fermín, Jimmy Crooks, and Nathan Church round out the offense for the Cards. As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .244/.314/.378 (.692 OPS is tied for 25th) with 142 homers (28th), 653 runs scored (tied for 18th), and 85 steals (21st).
Milwaukee’s bullpen is led by Abner Uribe, who has gone 70 1/3 innings with 84 strikeouts and a 1.79 ERA. Jared Koenig, Grant Anderson, Nick Mears, and Aaron Ashby have also been valuable bullpen pieces this season. Tobias Myers, Erick Fedde, Rob Zastryzny, and Joel Payamps round out Milwaukee’s injury-depleted bullpen. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.61 team ERA (second), including a 3.52 starter ERA (second) and a 3.72 reliever ERA (ninth). They’ve struck out 1,345 batters (fifth) over 1,352 2/3 innings.
After trading away some of the key pieces in their bullpen at the deadline, St. Louis’ bullpen is led by Kyle Leahy and JoJo Romero, who sport ERAs of 3.33 and 2.18, respectively. Romero also leads active Cardinals with seven saves. Riley O’Brien, Matt Svanson, Ryan Fernandez, Gordon Graceffo, Jorge Alcala, John King, and Chris Roycroft join them in the bullpen. As a staff, the Cardinals have a 4.29 team ERA (21st), including a 4.70 starter ERA (25th) and a 3.71 reliever ERA (eighth). They’ve struck out 1,135 batters (29th) over 1,354 innings.
Probable Pitchers
Friday, September 19 @ 7:15 p.m.: Jacob Misiorowski (4.35 ERA, 3.53 FIP) vs. Sonny Gray (4.43 ERA, 3.40 FIP)
Misiorowski, 23, has had an up-and-down rookie season for the Crew, pumping in plenty of strikeouts but also quite a bit of erraticism at times. His season numbers include a 4.35 ERA, 3.53 FIP, and 81 strikeouts across 60 innings, though he’s walked 25 and allowed eight homers in his 13 starts. He’s coming off a rough outing against these same Cardinals, in which he went five innings with four runs allowed on seven hits and a walk while striking out four in Milwaukee’s extra-innings come-from-behind win Saturday night.
Gray went head-to-head with Miz in his last start on Saturday evening, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out eight across five-plus innings. For the season, Gray is 13-8 with a 4.43 ERA, 3.40 FIP, and 187 strikeouts across 168 2/3 innings. In 19 career starts against the Crew, Gray is 4-6 with a 3.63 ERA and 132 strikeouts across 104 innings.
Saturday, September 20 @ 6:15 p.m.: Chad Patrick (3.64 ERA, 3.69 FIP) vs. Miles Mikolas (4.80 ERA, 4.95 FIP)
This is the spot in the rotation vacated by Jose Quintana, leaving Patrick as the next man up on Saturday evening. Patrick has made 24 appearances (21 starts) this season with Milwaukee, sporting a 3.64 ERA, 3.69 FIP, and 116 strikeouts across 111 1/3 innings. Each of his last two appearances have come from the bullpen, totaling two innings with no runs allowed on one hit, striking out four. His previous appearance before that was a no-decision against the Rangers, as he went 4 1/3 innings with three runs allowed on three hits and three walks with six strikeouts. The former fourth-round pick has made two appearances (one start) against the Cardinals this year, spanning 5 1/3 innings with two runs allowed and three strikeouts.
Mikolas, 36, has had another “meh” season for St. Louis this year, with a 4.80 ERA, 4.95 FIP, and 93 strikeouts over 146 1/3 innings. He’s coming off a solid start against Milwaukee, however, allowing just two runs on five hits and no walks with five strikeouts over five innings in a 3-2 win. He’s made 21 career appearances (20 starts) against Milwaukee, with an 11-7 record, 3.82 ERA, and 109 strikeouts across 122 2/3 innings.
Sunday, September 21 @ 1:15 p.m.: TBD vs. Matthew Liberatore (4.30 ERA, 4.13 FIP)
The Brewers have not yet announced a starter for Sunday’s series finale, though this would be Freddy Peralta’s spot in the rotation. It’s possible the Brewers hold Peralta back to start Monday against the Padres, though, as that would line him up to start Sunday’s series finale and for a game one start in the NLDS should the Brewers get a first-round bye. If this is Peralta, it would also give him an opportunity to surpass 200 strikeouts, as he sits at 195 on the season entering the final week. For the season, Peralta is 17-6 with a 5.4 bWAR, 2.65 ERA, and 3.61 FIP. He’s coming off a six-inning, one-run outing against the Angels in which he struck out 10. Across 20 career appearances (16 starts) against St. Louis, Peralta is 5-6 with a 4.67 ERA and 91 strikeouts over 86 2/3 innings.
Liberatore is a former top prospect of the Cardinals, though he hasn’t enjoyed much MLB success through his age-25 season. Across 28 starts this year (his first season as a full-time starter), he has a 4.30 ERA, 4.13 FIP, and 116 strikeouts over 146 2/3 innings. He went six innings in his last outing against the Reds, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk while striking out six. Liberatore has made 10 career appearances (three starts) against Milwaukee, with a sterling 1.14 ERA and 25 strikeouts across 23 2/3 innings. That includes a strong six-inning outing earlier this year, when he allowed two runs (one earned) with four strikeouts in a 3-2 victory.
How to Watch
Friday, September 19: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Saturday, September 20: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Sunday, September 21: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Prediction
This is a nearly identical series from last weekend’s series in Milwaukee, with similar pitching matchups and a swap of Nolan Arenado for Willson Contreras for St. Louis’ offense. That being said, I’ll take the Crew to win two of three for the second time in a week.
