The Milwaukee Brewers continue their tense series against the Cubs Tuesday night after rallying for an 8-4 game one win. Trailing in the division by 6.5 games earlier this season, the Brew Crew reclaimed the NL Central lead with the victory. That rivalry won’t get any lighter as they now prepare to dig in against a familiar face in the form of Cubs starter Colin Rea.
Rea is well-acquainted with Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs franchises
On the season, Rea is 8-4 with a 4.06 ERA across 102 innings. Still low on strikeouts and high on homeruns, he’s lucky to have limited the damage thus far. His 4.96 FIP, which incorporates homeruns, walks, and strikeouts, suggests that he has benefitted from some luck on balls in play. He has surrendered a .765 OPS and 42.1% hard-hit rate, both well above league average.
The Brewers declined Rea’s option after he struggled mightily in September last season. He then signed with the Cubs in free agency, another one-year deal with a club option tacked on.
Rea has an extended history with both organizations. Following a 2020 sojourn, he is now in his second Cubs stint. He first joined the Brewers in 2021, after he was cut by Chicago, but they let him go after the season and he spent the next year playing Japanese ball.
Milwaukee re-signed him to a minor league deal ahead of the 2023 campaign. Over the next two seasons for the Brewers, Rea went 18-12 in 49 starts. Manifesting a familiar flaw, he also gave up 52 homeruns, boosting his ERA to 4.40 in that span.
Tuesday presents tough task for ex-Milwaukee hurler
Despite suspect underlying metrics, he hasn’t been a bad pickup for Chicago. With a rotation wracked by injury, the Cubs should simply be glad for serviceable innings behind their top two arms, Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga. They are a team to watch in the starting pitcher market at the trade deadline.
Torched by lefties this season, Rea encounters a projected Brewers lineup featuring four such bats, including switch-hitter Isaac Collins alongside Brice Turang, Sal Frelick, and Christian Yelich.
Although the offense ranks near the bottom in power numbers, Brewer bats launched a trio of dingers in yesterday’s game. Susceptible as he is to longballs, Rea might be walking into one tonight. He allowed three homeruns in five innings to a weak Royals lineup last time out.
Milwaukee will trot out Quinn Priester as Rea’s counterpart on the rubber. Priester has a 3.28 ERA and .674 OPS against in 19 appearances this season. Even facing Chicago’s high-powered offense, the Brewers claim the upper hand in the pitching matchup.
As of Tuesday afternoon, ESPN has them as -130 full-game favorites at home.
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