Earlier this year, it did not look like there would be a 2020 baseball season. Once a 60-game season was announced, Brewers fans hoped for the team’s third straight post-season berth. However, inconsistent play and slumps from major stars made a post-season appearance seem like a pipe dream. In typical Craig Counsell Brewers fashion, though, here we are on the last day of the regular season, the post season within reach. In order for the Brewers to advance into October, they must win today against the Cardinals.
THE OFFICIAL NL RACE FOR THE 8 SEED:
For the Brewers to clinch:
Win
OR
Lose + Phillies AND Giants loseFor the Phillies to clinch:
Win
AND
The Brewers AND Giants loseFor the Giants to clinch:
Win
AND
The Brewers loseRt’s appreciated 🙂
— Zac (Wear A Mask) (@WiscoSportsZac) September 27, 2020
Last night, the Brewers kept their playoff hopes alive behind the arm of Brandon Woodruff. Woody pitched eight shutout innings, striking out ten. Josh Hader earned his 13th save on the season while Ryan Braun and Danny Vogelbach hit solo home runs en route to a 3-0 shutout. The Brewers got help from the Tampa Bay Rays, who defeated the Phillies, and the San Diego Padres who defeated the Giants. Both the Phillies and Giants were neck and neck with Milwaukee. Now, all the Brewers need to do is win one more. If they lose, they can still get in if both the Phillies and Giants lose, but they can control their own destiny by winning.
Brewers Starter: Brett Anderson
Question: which Brewers pitcher leads the teams in quality starts in 2020? Answer: Brett Anderson. Anderson signed with the Brewers for one year and $5 million. It was a low-risk high-reward contract. Anderson, who has battled injuries throughout this entire career, proved to be very effective when healthy. David Stearns and the Brewers decided to roll the dice on him.
Early on in the season, it looked like the injuries followed him to Milwaukee. He missed his first schedule start with a blister. When he came back to the rotation, he didn’t pitch long into games and the Brewers lost his first three starts. Since then, though, they have won five of the six games he started.
On the season, Anderson is 4-3 with a 4.00 ERA and 1.27 WHIP. He has been even better in September with a 2-1 record and 3.71 ERA. That ERA was inflated by his first September start, a loss to the Indians in which he allowed four runs in five innings. In his last two starts, he has gone six innings and allowed three runs total. His previous start may have his best on the season. Anderson went six innings against the Reds, allowing two runs on four hits while walking none. He also struck out a season high seven. He will need to be just as good, if not better, in his start.
Cardinals Starter: Austin Gomber
Austin Gomber has spent the majority of the season as a member of the Cardinals bullpen. In fact, he has only made three starts, and only pitched more than three innings once. That start came in his last start, when he pitched six shutout innings against the Royals.
Of concern for the Brewers should be the fact that in his 13 appearances, Gomber has allowed a run in just two of them. One of those appearances, though, came very recently. On September 17, Gomber pitched one and two-thirds innings against the Pirates, giving up four runs on four hits and two walks. The Brewers have not scored early in games very often this year, but it may be imperative for them to do so in this game.
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