It’s been a pretty good start to the season for the Milwaukee Brewers. They currently sit at 20-13 and in first place in the NL Central. After losing two of three this past weekend to the Chicago Cubs, the Brewers remain on the road for a three game series with the Kansas City Royals. They are 20-15 and third in the AL Central. Here is what Milwaukee needs to do in order to bounce back for a series win.
The Milwaukee Brewers Have to Hit Kansas City Pitching Better
Credit the Chicago Cubs pitching staff, but the the Milwaukee Brewers offense was really poor against the Cubs starters. In three games, they scored zero runs against Chicago’s starters. However, they were really good against the bullpen Friday and Saturday. Brewers hitters also struck out 31 times in the three game series, just over 10 times a game.
It seems like an easy thing to ask for, but Milwaukee didn’t see Chicago’s best starters in Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga either. The wind played some factor over the course of three games, but they did not do a good enough job putting the ball in play.
On the other hand, the Brewers, when they get on base, are one of the better offenses in the league. They are sixth in batting average and eight in runs batted in.
Looking at the Kansas City probables, they are a combines 9-4 with an average ERA of 2.50. As a team, the Royals are seventh in ERA at 3.42. It will likely be a low-scoring series
Winning on the Bases
The Milwaukee Brewers are one of the best base stealing teams in the league. They have currently stolen 45 bases, good for third in the league. We didn’t see it a ton this past weeken, but this is an aggressive team on the bases and are usually successful at it.
Based on the Royal’s pitching stats, it appears the Brewers will have to try and steal some runs on the base pads over this three game stretch., They also struggled with runners in scoring position in Chicago. Getting players in scoring position should help take the pressure of the hitters.
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