The Milwaukee Brewers will wrap up their six-game homestand this week, as they welcome the Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim?) to town for three games beginning Tuesday evening. It marks the second-to-last home series this season for the Crew, and the last interleague series of the year. The Brewers are coming off a series win over the Cardinals, as they officially clinched their spot in the postseason on Saturday evening. On the other side, the Angels have had yet another disappointing season. While
the Mariners, Astros, and Rangers are fighting for positioning in the AL West, the Angels sit in last place at 69-81, one game behind the A’s. They’re coming off a four-game sweep at the hands of the Mariners.
Milwaukee’s stretch of pitching injuries continued over the weekend, as Jose Quintana suffered a calf injury in Sunday’s series finale. He was seen in a walking boot after the game, and he’s scheduled to have an MRI to determine the extent of the injury. Closer Trevor Megill, recovering from a flexor strain, also had a setback during an active BP session last week, though he could still return this week. Reliever Nick Mears could join him, as he’s nearing a return from a back injury. Shelby Miller, Garrett Mitchell, JB Bukauskas, and Connor Thomas are out for the year, while DL Hall could return in late September and Logan Henderson could be back for the postseason.
The Angels have been bitten hard by the injury bug down the stretch, as they’re currently without pitchers Reid Detmers, Ryan Zeferjahn, Andrew Chafin, Victor Mederos, Hunter Strickland, Carson Fulmer, Ben Joyce, and Tyler Anderson, as well as position players Jorge Soler, Nolan Schanuel, Travis d’Arnaud, Logan O’Hoppe, Zach Neto, and Yoán Moncada. That’s a lot of players. I’ll just quickly cover the ones we could see in this series — Moncada is day-to-day with ankle soreness, Neto missed the last three games over the weekend with a wrist injury, but it’s unclear if he’ll be back for this series, O’Hoppe is eligible to return from a concussion on Tuesday, and Schanuel’s return is still listed as “mid-September,” meaning he could be back this week.
Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and William Contreras lead the Brewers’ offense, with Caleb Durbin, Sal Frelick, Isaac Collins, Andrew Vaughn, Rhys Hoskins, Jake Bauers, Joey Ortiz, Andruw Monasterio, Blake Perkins, and Danny Jansen rounding out the squad. It’s been a fairly balanced attack for the Crew, as they’re hitting .260/.333/.408 (.741 OPS ranks 10th) with 160 homers (tied for 19th), 762 runs (tied for second), and 153 steals (second).
Jo Adell leads the Angels with 36 homers, while Taylor Ward has slugged 31 bombs. Mike Trout is having a down year while continuing to work through injuries, as he’s hitting just .231/.361/.417 with 21 homers, 58 RBIs, and 66 runs scored. Neto, O’Hoppe, Moncada, Soler, and Schanuel have also provided some pop when healthy. Christian Moore, Luis Rengifo, Chris Taylor, Logan Davidson, Chad Wallach, Oswald Peraza, Bryce Teodosio, Scott Kingery, Denzer Guzman, and Sebastián Rivero round out the active roster. As a team, the Angels are hitting .228/.302/.399 (.701 OPS ranks 22nd) with 207 homers (fifth), 639 runs (21st), and 81 steals (tied for 23rd).
Abner Uribe, Jared Koenig, and Aaron Ashby lead the depleted Brewers’ bullpen, as Uribe has turned in a great bounce-back year with a 1.82 ERA and 81 strikeouts over 69 1/3 innings. Grant Anderson, Joel Payamps, Rob Zastryzny, Tobias Myers, Erick Fedde, and Chad Patrick join them. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.63 team ERA (second), including a 3.55 starter ERA (third) and a 3.73 reliever ERA (10th). They’ve struck out 1,317 batters (sixth) over 1,334 2/3 innings.
Kenley Jansen continues to make a Hall of Fame case at age 37, with a 2.73 ERA and 27 saves this season. Brock Burke leads the bullpen with 66 appearances for L.A., while Luis García and former Reds’ foe Robert Stephenson have also gotten high-leverage innings. José Fermin, former Brewer José Ureña, Sammy Peralta, and Chase Silseth round out the bullpen. As a staff, the Angels have a 4.83 team ERA (28th), including a 4.85 starter ERA (26th) and a 4.80 reliever ERA (27th). They’ve struck out 1,186 batters (22nd) over 1,328 1/3 innings.
Probable Pitchers
Tuesday, September 16 @ 6:40 p.m.: Freddy Peralta (2.69 ERA, 3.64 FIP) vs. Caden Dana (6.32 ERA, 6.34 FIP)
Peralta is coming off one of his worst starts this season, as he struggled with his command and gave up a of homers in a 6-3 loss to the Rangers. He’s still been great overall this season, with a 16-6 record, 2.69 ERA, 3.64 FIP, and 185 strikeouts across 163 2/3 innings. With two or three starts remaining this season, Peralta needs 15 strikeouts to eclipse 200 for the third straight season. Prior to his five-run outing against Texas, Peralta hadn’t allowed a run since early August. Let’s hope we see that Peralta this time around. In two career starts against the Angels, Peralta is 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA and 13 strikeouts over 9 1/3 innings. That includes six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts last June.
An 11th-round pick in 2022, Dana is ranked as the Angels’ No. 5 prospect. At 21 years old, he’s made seven appearances (five starts) between 2024 and 2025 with L.A., including four appearances (two starts) this season. He hasn’t had much success against big league hitters, with a 6.32 ERA, 6.34 FIP, and 19 strikeouts across 15 2/3 innings this year. He wasn’t much better at Triple-A, with a 5.93 ERA and 85 strikeouts across 82 innings this season prior to his promotion. In two starts against the Royals and Twins this month, he’s allowed seven runs (six earned) across 9 2/3 innings (5.59 ERA) with 13 strikeouts. This marks his first career appearance against the Brewers.
Wednesday, September 17 @ 6:40 p.m.: Brandon Woodruff (3.32 ERA, 3.26 FIP) vs. José Soriano (4.13 ERA, 3.71 FIP)
Woodruff, originally scheduled to start over the weekend against St. Louis, was given a few extra days of rest leading into this one. He’s been solid since returning from injury, with a 3.32 ERA, 3.26 FIP, and 74 strikeouts over 59 2/3 innings. He had one of his best starts this year last time around, going six scoreless innings against the Pirates, allowing no walks and two hits with eight strikeouts on just 85 pitches. Woodruff has made just one career start against the Angels, all the way back in 2019, when he went six innings with four runs allowed and seven strikeouts in a 4-2 loss.
Soriano, who began his career solely as a reliever in 2023, has transitioned into a full-time starter this year. Across 30 starts, he has a 4.13 ERA, 3.71 FIP, and 152 strikeouts over 167 2/3 innings. He’s coming off a pair of short starts, as he allowed 12 runs (11 earned) over just 6 1/3 innings against the A’s and Mariners, striking out eight but walking eight and allowing 10 hits. This marks his first career appearance against Milwaukee.
Thursday, September 18 @ 6:40 p.m.: Quinn Priester (3.25 ERA, 4.13 FIP) vs. Yusei Kikuchi (4.08 ERA, 4.26 FIP)
Priester, 24, has been nothing short of solid for the Brewers since being acquired back in April. For reference, the former first-round pick accumulated -1.0 bWAR across his first two seasons with the Pirates and Red Sox. In just one year with the Crew, he has 3.0 bWAR, with career-best numbers in ERA (3.25), FIP (4.13), strikeouts (118), strikeout rate (7.2 K/9), and innings (146 2/3). The Brewers have also won each of his last 18 appearances, the third-longest streak in MLB history behind a Hall of Famer and a should-be Hall of Famer. So, pretty good. Priester went 5 1/3 innings against the Cardinals in his last outing, picking up the win as he allowed two runs and struck out five in an 8-2 victory. His lone appearance against the Angels came while with the Pirates last May, when he allowed five runs (three earned) over 4 2/3 innings with one strikeout in a loss.
Kikuchi, 34, has been solid for the Angels this season, earning his second All-Star selection and accumulating a career-high 2.9 bWAR through 31 starts. He sports a 4.08 ERA, 4.26 FIP, and 166 strikeouts across 167 2/3 innings, though he leads the AL in hits allowed with 174. He’s coming off a solid outing against the Mariners, allowing just one run on four hits and a walk while striking out three across six innings of work. The two-time All-Star has had some success against the Brewers in three career starts, with a 2-1 record, 3.00 ERA, and 14 strikeouts across 12 innings. That includes five shutout innings in a victory while with the Blue Jays last June.
How to Watch
Tuesday, September 16: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Wednesday, September 17: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Thursday, September 18: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Prediction
Given the injuries for the Angels, their documented struggles over the last decade or so, and the pitching matchups, I fully expect the Brewers to have a good series to wrap up their interleague schedule. I’ll take the Crew to sweep.
