It’s September baseball and the Brewers once again find themselves fighting for a playoff spot. If they are able to overtake the Reds and Cardinals, it will be the first time the team will have made the post season three years in a row. In order to do that, though, they need to take care of business against the Royals. The Crew got off to a good start in that department last night, winning 9-5 despite a rough start from Adrian Houser.
Brewers’ Starting Pitcher: Corbin Burnes
The best starting pitcher the Brewers have had this season was one of their worst last season. After going 1-5 with a 6.09, losing his starting spot, and being sent down in 2019, Corbin Burnes has been a stabilizing and dominant force in the Brewers’ rotation. He is currently 3-0 with a 1.98 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. So dominating has he been since returning to the rotation that he is starting to be talked about as a potential Cy Young candidate.
In Burnes’ last start, he only made it through four and two-thirds innings against the Cardinals, but he did strike out 10. Prior to that, Burnes put together a string of three straight quality starts in which he allowed zero earned runs and struck out 10 or more batters twice.
Royals Starting Pitcher: Kris Bubic
The Royals will turn to Kris Bubic in Game Two against the Brewers. The rookie left-handed pitcher earned his first career victory his last time out. In that game against the Pirates, Bubic pitched five innings, allowed one run on six hits, struck out six and walked two.
Bubic is currently 1-5 with 4.50 ERA and 1.45 WHIP.
Playoff Scenario
The Royals, at 21-30 are all-but eliminated for playoff contention in the American League. The Brewers, on the other hand, are in a position to make a third straight playoff appearance.
Since MLB has a new playoff format for this year that allows the second place team from each division into the playoffs, the Brewers are hoping to make a move to second place in the Central. After the Royals series, the Brewers play three against the Reds and five against the Cardinals. The Brewers truly control their own destiny.
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