After a rather disappointing series loss to the first place St. Louis Cardinals, the Milwaukee Brewers are 1.5 games back in the NL Central. As they continue to go for the pennant, they’re welcoming arguably the best team in baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers for four games starting on Monday.
The Dodgers have been unstoppable. Prior to Sunday’s loss against the Kansas City Royals, the team had a winning streak of 12 games and they’re one win away from 80 games.
Potential Playoff Picture
It’s off to the races for the postseason for all teams; But for the National League? This is going to be an entertaining rest of the season to watch.
We could very well see the Dodgers and Brewers in the playoffs. But at the time of writing this, the Brewers are hoping they can even get a Wild Card spot.
If we were to take a look at a potential playoff picture, the Dodgers would have the No. 1 seed, followed by the New York Mets (5.5 GB the Dodgers), the reigning champions the Atlanta Braves, who are 4.5 games behind New York but sit 5.5 games ahead of the second wild card spot. The Brewers currently sit a game and a half behind both the first place spot in the NL Central and a Wild Card spot.
Pitching Probabilities
MONDAY: Dodgers: Julio Urias (12-6, 2.49 ERA, 117 K’s), Brewers: Freddy Peralta (4-2, 4.37 ERA, 57 strikeouts)
When comparing the numbers of the probable pitchers for Monday, it looks like it’ll be a piece of cake for Urias. In his last seven starts, Julio Urias is 6-0 with an ERA of 2.20. He’s only had one bad start within the last month and a half and that was against the Chicago Cubs back on July 10. Since then, Urias has been healthy, and showing signs of being one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball.
For Freddy Peralta, he’s only made one start since returning from the IL. Peralta was placed on the IL back in May with a shoulder injury. In his latest start on August 9, he struck out four in five innings of work and only allowed two runs on two hits. The hope is that he will be able to throw more than 60 pitches coming up in this series with the Dodgers.
Career wise, Peralta is 1-0 with an ERA of 1.80 against the Dodgers. In his last start against LA, he gave up one run on one hit in seven innings of work. It’ll be a good matchup.
TUESDAY: Dodgers: Ryan Pepiot (1-0, 3.92 ERA, 23 K’s) , Brewers: Brandon Woodruff (9-3, 3.52 ERA, 109 K’s)
Ryan Pepiot is scheduled to make another start for the Dodgers. Pepiot, 24, has been filling the rotation spot that usually belongs to Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw was recently placed on the 15-day IL for lower back pain, something that put him out for a month earlier in the season. Pepiot is one of the Dodgers’ top pitching prospects, arleady making four starts in the big leagues.
In his last outing, Pepiot went four innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits. This might be the last start for Pepiot as Dustin May (elbow) is scheduled to return to the major league roster after his rehab assignment.
In his last start against the Rays, Brandon Woodruff gave up three runs on four hits over seven innings of work. He did however strike out five and didn’t walk a single batter. When on the mound, Woodruff seems to have it down controlling his pitches. Going against a tough offense like the Dodgers though? He’s going to have to be really sharp and controlled to secure a win.
WEDNESDAY: Dodgers: Tony Gonsolin (14-1, 2.24 ERA, 105 K’s) , Brewers: Eric Lauer (8-4, 3.64 ERA, 116)
It really came as a surprise to me why I don’t hear Tony Gonsolin’s name more. This man really can pitch, and has 14 victories under his belt just this season. Gonsolin is the sixth pitcher in Dodgers history to start off the season with a 10-0 record with an ERA of 1.54 or better. In his last start against the Royals, he carried a perfect game into the sixth inning and a no-hitter through seven. After retiring the first batter in the seventh, he gave up two hits and issued three walks. For someone who made his debut just three years ago, he’s put himself in the conversation of being one of the best.
Over his last seven starts, Lauer has been solid for Milwaukee. He’s posted a 2.90 ERA with 36 strikeouts. On Friday against the Cardinals, he went six innings allowing three runs on five hits, and struck out five. Unfortunately, the offense couldn’t back him up in that one. With a good, well-rounded team in the Dodgers coming to Milwaukee, one would hope that they would back up their pitcher and provide run support.
THURSDAY: Dodgers: Andrew Heaney (1-0, 1.16 ERA, 42 K’s), Brewers: Corbin Burnes (8-5, 2.39 ERA, 181 K’s)
It’s unsure if Andrew Heaney will be the starting pitcher on Thursday. The left-hander left the game after just three innings of work when he was hit by a line drive, causing a contusion on his left bicep. Heaney has only had 31 innings of work this season due to being on long injured list stints. Heaney was sidelined for 81 games due to a shoulder problem. His last start on Saturday against the Royals was only his fourth start of the season.
The reigning NL Cy Young is making a case for a back-to-back this season. Corbin Burnes finished Saturday night against the Cardinals going seven innings, only allowing four hits and one run while striking out six. While he didn’t factor into the win, Burnes does lead all of baseball in strikeouts with 181. His 2.39 ERA is ranked third in the NL and his road ERA of 1.94 is first in the National League. The Dodgers better be prepared, because when Burnes is on the mound, he’s electric.
The first game is set to start at 7:10 PM CST (5:10 West Coast) on Bally Sports Wisconsin at American Family Field.
Follow me on Twitter at @sarahspooon and follow us at @WiSportsHeroics! For all things Wisconsin sports, click here!