The Brewers haven't won a series against Minnesota since June of 2007, and haven't won one at home since taking 2 of 3 in June of 2005. Tonight, they get their first of two chances to end those streaks.
Current Series
Brewers lead the series 1-0
| Tue 06/22 | WP: Chris Narveson (6 - 4) SV: John Axford LP: Scott Baker (6 - 6) | 7 - 5 win |
Minnesota Twins Wednesday, Jun 23, 2010, 7:10 PM CDT Partly cloudy,rain. Winds blowing from right to left field at 15-20 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 75. Complete Coverage > | ||
| Thu 06/24 | 1:10 PM CDT | |
Follow us after the jump for tonight's pitching matchup, lineup and more!
Manny Parra (3.91 ERA, 3.84 FIP) is making his sixth start of the season, and for the first time all year he's starting three times in a row on normal(ish) rest. In three starts in June he's posted two quality starts and come close a third time: he's posted a 3.63 ERA in the month. Last time out, Parra pitched six innings against the Rockies, allowing two runs on six hits, walking none and striking out five.
Parra's FIP would suggest his ERA is pretty close to his true talent level this season, but his BABIP against (.362) is still very high. This year, he's using his changeup less (7.6% of the time, down from 16.5% last year) and his splitter more (14.5%, up from 9.6%). The splitter has been his best pitch, worth +3.87 runs per 100. Orlando Hudson is the only Twin that's faced him ten times: He's hitting .250/.400/.250 in 10 PAs.
Lefty Francisco Liriano (2.98 ERA, 2.23 FIP) is making his 14th start and having an incredible bounce back season: Last year he managed just 136.2 innings and a 5.80 ERA: This year he's on pace for 202 innings, and if he completes them at this pace he may be an AL Cy Young contender. Liriano has posted five straight quality starts since May 26: He's averaged seven innings per start over that stretch with a 2.57 ERA, striking out 41 in 35 innings and walking just seven.
Liriano throws a 93.5 mph fastball and uses it 50.1% of the time. He relies heavily on a 85 mph slider, which he uses 33.5% of the time. The slider is easily his best pitch, worth +2.97 runs per 100. No Brewers have faced Liriano more than eight times, but the Brewers that have faced him are a combined 3-for-23, hitting .130/.250/.174.
Via the Brewers' Facebook page, here's tonight's lineup:
Rickie Weeks 2B
Corey Hart RF
Prince Fielder 1B
Ryan Braun LF
Casey McGehee 3B
Carlos Gomez CF
Jonathan Lucroy C
Alcides Escobar SS
Manny Parra P
And in the bullpen:
Kameron Loe pitched 2 innings (32 pitches) last night.
John Axford pitched 2 innings (31 pitches) last night.Todd Coffey faced 3 batters (11 pitches) last night.
Trevor Hoffman pitched 1 inning (12 pitches) Sunday.
Carlos Villanueva pitched 0.1 innings (15 pitches) Saturday.
David Riske pitched 1 inning (11 pitches) Friday.
Chris Capuano hasn't pitched since Saturday, June 12.Zach Braddock pitched 0.2 innings (23 pitches) Saturday, and might not be with the team.
Enjoy the game!