The Milwaukee Brewers have a record of 45-39 after a 6-3 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday afternoon, and are tied with the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central race. The team is 1.5 games out of an NL Wild Card spot.
The team has remained afloat despite missing presumptive number two starter Brandon Woodruff. Woodruff has been out since April 7, with a subscapularis strain and isn’t expected back until after the All-Star Break.
The absence of Woodruff has brought on the emergence of Colin Rea.
How Colin Rea has kept the Brewers afloat?
Early in the season, Milwaukee dealt with injuries to Wade Miley, Eric Lauer, and Adrian Houser started the season on the injured list. Options were limited, and Milwaukee had to rely on Janson Junk, and Rea to make spot starts. Rea has made the third most starts on the Brewers with 14, and has fortified the starting rotation.
In his last start against the New York Mets, Rea pitched six innings of one-run ball, induced eight ground ball outs, and allowed only three hits. On Sunday against the Pirates, Rea pitched six innings, allowed two runs, produced 12 ground ball outs, and struck out three.
Colin Rea should be in the rotation for the rest of the season. He’s been one of the bright spots for the team this year, and has been able to fill the void left by Brandon Woodruff. While Woodruff will be apart of the rotation once he comes back, Rea has earned a spot in the rotation not just this year, but next year too because right now he’s been pitching like a solid number three starter.
