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Here is the Brewers lineup for Friday night's opener against the Pirates:
1. Carlos Gomez (R) CF
2. Jean Segura (R) SS
3. Ryan Braun (R) RF
4. Aramis Ramirez (R) 3B
5. Jonathan Lucroy (R) C
6. Khris Davis (R) LF
7. Mark Reynolds (R) 1B
8. Rickie Weeks (R) 2B
9. Wily Peralta (R) P
The Pirates are starting the left-handed Francisco Liriano, which means Rickie Weeks and Mark Reynolds get to stay in the lineup. The Brewers will have the same eight on the field as won game three of the Phillies series to clinch the sweep. I certainly won't be criticizing any lineup choices anytime soon: The Brewers are averaging seven runs per game over this six-game win streak.
Perhaps the biggest news coming out of this lineup is the fact that Jonathan Lucroy is in it. When Wily Peralta pitches, it has generally been a foregone conclusion that Martin Maldonado would be his batterymate. Such was the case in his very first start of the season, and such was the case for much of 2013. In fact, Lucroy has not caught Peralta since June 16, 2013. After that game, Maldonado took over and Peralta posted a 3.05 ERA for the rest of the season.
For his career, Peralta has a 6.38 ERA when Jonathan Lucroy is behind the plate and a 3.64 with Maldonado. Lucroy has caught just eight of Peralta's games. It's interesting that the Brewers are making the change today. They must not want to have a set Maldonado-Peralta battery and instead have the option to play Lucroy on any given day. Tomorrow isn't a day game, so it's not like there's any necessary rest being needed. We'll see how it goes.
Here is the Pirates' lineup:
1. Starling Marte (R) LF
2. Travis Snider (L) RF
3. Andrew McCutchen (R) CF
4. Pedro Alvarez (L) 3B
5. Russell Martin (R) C
6. Neil Walker (S) 2B
7. Travis Ishikawa (L) 1B
8. Jordy Mercer (R) SS
9. Francisco Liriano (L) P
