The Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks will match up against one another in the 2023 Wild Card Series. It is a best of three games series in which all necessary games will start at 6:08 PM CT in Milwaukee. Prior to this playoff series beginning here are four things that you will want to know.
Four things to know prior to the Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks Wild Card Series playoff match up.
1) Arizona won the regular season head-to-head match up, but put an asterisk next to that.
These two teams met six times during the regular season. The Diamondbacks won four games whereas the Brewers two. Their first series against one another was in April and their last in the middle of June. Three and a half months later each team’s makeup is much different. Additionally Milwaukee has home field advantage in the series and they finished tied for the fifth most wins at home with 49.
2) Over the last 30 days the Brewers have the upper edge in nearly every major statistic.
On paper the Brewers have outplayed the Diamondbacks. They have more wins (17 compared to 15), a better ERA (2.54 vs 3.81), a lower WHIP (1.08 vs 1.23), lower batting average against (.202 vs .235), more runs scored (139 vs 115), a higher batting average (.261 vs .232), higher on-base percentage (.324 vs .312), and a better slugging percentage (.420 vs .355).
3) Brewers hitters have struggled against Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly.
From a career standpoint Zac Gallen has started six games against Milwaukee. He has a 1.75 ERA during those games, 0.83 WHIP, and an 11.0 K:9. On the other hand, in eight starts Merrill Kelly has a 3.04 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and a .194 batting average against. Both of these pitchers may be asked to operate on short rest, but their track record against the Brewers is excellent.
4) These two teams play a similar brand of baseball.
Outside of strong pitching, both the Brewers and Diamondbacks are built around speed and defense. Arizona finished second only to the Cincinnati Reds in stolen bases with 166 whereas Milwaukee finished 11th with 129. Defensively the Brew Crew has the advantage for they finished second overall in DRS with 68 and the snakes were fourth with 48.
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1 Comment
The Crew might have had more SBs if they had hit better early in the season. They have a lot more guys getting on base now with the improved post deadline offense. I’d like to know what they did after that point compared to their numbers over the first ‘half’. Maybe also Tyrone Taylor after he got hot, since his early season should be thrown out when considering his actual worth (he’s better than Weimer).