With Brett Anderson going on the 10-day injured list, the Brewers had to decide who will start in Anderson’s place. Many thought it was going to be Brent Suter, newly acquired Patrick Weigel, or even Eric Lauer. Manager Craig Counsell blindsided us with a surprise and announced Zack Godley as this afternoon’s out-getter.
Introducing Zack Godley
The 31-year-old right-handed pitcher is two years removed from pitching in the National League. He spent last season with the Boston Red Sox and the latter half of 2019 with the Toronto Blue Jays. Godley is Brett Anderson-esque as he is mainly a ground ball pitcher. Similarly to Anderson, Godley’s career ground ball percentage sits at almost 50 percent. He has been in the league for six years.
What the Marlins hitters will see most out of Godley is a mix of a fastball, cutter, and curveball. He’ll also sprinkle in a changeup every now and then. Godley was signed to a minor league contract as a depth piece, but he brings enough starting experience to a team that makes him qualified.
On the other hand, his past few seasons have been nothing but a struggle. Godley is coming off of his worst season, where he managed to give up 42 hits and nine home runs in 28 ⅔ innings. Don’t let this discourage you, though. His best work as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks came early in his career. In his sixth year in the majors, Godley has a career earned run average of 4.86 with 88 starts under his belt.
Interestingly enough, if Godley does well today, he can continue to start in place of the injured Brett Anderson. Godley’s contract includes an opt-out in early May. The veteran made his big league debut against the Brewers in 2015. Baseball has a funny way of circling back to its roots.
Sandy Alcantara
The former All-Star Sandy Alcantara takes the bump for the Marlins this afternoon. He is coming off of his shortest start of the season so far at five innings. It wasn’t a bad start, though. Alcantara gave up four hits, and two runs courtesy of the home run ball.
In three career starts against the Brewers, Alcantara has held the team’s offense to four runs in 34 at-bats. There are four Brewers on the current roster with at-bats against Alcantara. With this re-surfaced Brewers team, it’ll be difficult to predict how Alcantara will work through this Brewers’ team. His velocity, though, sits anywhere from 83-97 mph. The Marlins’ righty has yet to record a full winning season. Coming into today’s contest, Alcantara is 0-2 with a 3.34 ERA and a WHIP of 1.04.
Fishing for a series win
After last night’s close win and an Adrian Houser home run, the Brewers are fishing for a series win against the Marlins. Tyrone Taylor has proven that he deserves a spot on the big league squad. It would be in the Brewers’ best interest to keep Taylor once Lorenzo Cain comes back from injury. Taylor went 3-for-4 last night with a moonshot home run off of the scoreboard.
Kolten Wong is swinging a hot bat as of late. In his last seven games, Wong is 10-for-17 with a slash line of .333/.455/.500. He is back in the lead-off spot today.
To make room for Zack Godley on the 40-man roster, the Brewers optioned OF Corey Ray back to the alternate site. Right-handed pitcher Phil Bickford was designated for assignment.
Brewers Lineup
The series finale against the Fish gets underway at 12:40 p.m. CT.
📺: @BallySportWI
📻: @620wtmj @fleet_farm | #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/OrLLHMahcf— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 28, 2021
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