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Tonight's Matchup: Brewers (Lohse) v Braves (Maholm)

Join us at 6:10 for the Brewers' last game in Atlanta until May.

By Kyle Lobner
Scott Cunningham

There's a chance tonight could be Kyle Lohse's final start as a Brewer.

Before we get to him, though, at 6:10 tonight the Brewers will face Braves lefty Paul Maholm (4.44 ERA, 4.30 FIP) in his final audition for a spot on the playoff roster. Maholm made his 26th start of the season on Friday, allowing four runs on eight hits over 5.1 innings against the Cubs. He only threw 79 pitches in that outing in his first appearance in almost two weeks.

Maholm has been having injury issues this season that have limited him to just eight starts since July 1. He went on the DL with a wrist injury in July and skipped a start with an elbow issue earlier this month. His average velocity is at a career-low 87 mph on his fastball this season, although he was closer to 90 against the Cubs in his last start.

The Brewers are quite familiar with Maholm, who spent parts of eight seasons as a Pirate and Cub before joining the Braves in 2012. They also faced him in June and scored four runs on eight hits over five innings, walking one and striking out three. Four active Brewers have faced him ten times or more:

PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
Aramis Ramirez 47 44 11 2 0 2 10 2 5 .250 .298 .432 .730
Carlos Gomez 21 19 8 2 0 1 3 0 3 .421 .476 .684 1.160
Jonathan Lucroy 13 11 6 0 0 2 4 2 1 .545 .615 1.091 1.706
Yuniesky Betancourt 11 10 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .100 .091 .100 .191
Total 130 117 35 6 0 5 20 7 15 .299 .352 .479 .830
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/25/2013.

He'll face veteran righty Kyle Lohse (3.51 ERA, 4.18 FIP), who will be wrapping up the first season of his three-year contract. Lohse struggled through five innings against the Cubs on Thursday, allowing three runs on seven hits with a walk and four strikeouts. He allowed two home runs in that game and is fourth in the NL with 26.

Lohse turns 35 in October and the Brewers still have two years and $22 million left on his contract, plus $7 million in deferred salary from this season. If he continues to pitch like he did this year he could be a key part of the next two Brewer teams, but his age and salary also make him an interesting candidate to trade this winter.

Lohse has seen the Braves ten times in his career but this is the first time he's facing them as a Brewer. Six active Braves have faced him ten times or more:

PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
Brian McCann 22 20 5 0 0 1 3 1 2 .250 .273 .400 .673
Dan Uggla 18 17 5 1 0 1 3 1 3 .294 .333 .529 .863
Justin Upton 15 13 2 1 0 0 1 2 3 .154 .267 .231 .497
Jason Heyward 12 10 2 2 0 0 0 2 3 .200 .333 .400 .733
Chris Johnson 11 10 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 .200 .273 .200 .473
Reed Johnson 11 10 4 0 0 0 2 1 0 .400 .455 .400 .855
Total 122 112 34 7 0 3 16 9 18 .304 .352 .446 .799
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/25/2013.

As of this writing I haven't seen tonight's lineup. If you have, please drop it in the comments.

And in the bullpen:

  • Donovan Hand pitched .2 innings (12 pitches) last night.
  • Brandon Kintzler pitched one inning (nine pitches) last night.
  • Rob Wooten pitched one inning (nine pitches) on Monday.
  • Michael Blazek pitched one inning (six pitches) on Monday.
  • Jim Henderson last pitched on Sunday.
  • Alfredo Figaro last pitched on Saturday.
  • Michael Gonzalez last pitched on Friday.
  • Burke Badenhop last pitched on Thursday.
  • Jimmy Nelson and Tom Gorzelanny are technically still on the active roster but Nelson is expected to start on Saturday and Gorzelanny is done for the season with shoulder soreness.

It rained this afternoon in Atlanta but that's expected to clear out before game time. Expect a temperature around 67 at the start of the game under partly cloudy skies.

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