Brewers release 2019 schedule

As this summer comes to a close, the Brewers are giving us a chance to start planning next summer with the release of their 2019 schedule.

Here you go:

We won’t get too much into strength-of-schedule stuff right now, because it’s impossible to know what moves will be made over the offseason to make what might seem like an easy series significantly tougher (or vice-versa). But at least on paper, that opening month slate looks like it could be challenging if rosters stay roughly the same.

In April, you have:

- 10 games against the Cardinals- 7 games against the Dodgers

- 3 games against the Cubs- An early-season West Coast trip against the Dodgers and Mike Trout, a possibly healthy Shohei Ohtani and the Angels

- 2 games against another playoff contender in Colorado

In all, there’s only 6 games against opponents that don’t seem all that scary (Cincinnati and the Mets).

If there’s a trade-off, the September schedule at least looks like it could be smoother sailing, with a total of 11 games against the Marlins, Padres and Reds. That month does feature a stretch of 18 games in a row, though, but the hope is that it’s more manageable due to expanded rosters that month.

Other highlights:

- A 10-games-in-10 days road trip against playoff contenders Chicago, Philadelphia and Atlanta- Only playing having to play Houston two games at a time, instead of in an extended series (at least until October)

- Five games against the Cubs in September, four of which are at home and all of the games are within the first week of the month- Only three games against the Cardinals in September, a benefit of front-loading those games -- in fact, the Brewers don’t see the Cardinals at all for almost four months. After the series finale on April 24th, their next game against St. Louis isn’t until August 20th.

- A six-game road trip to end the season, including the final series in Colorado, which may be nerve-wracking for a whole variety of reasons