Game Thread #53: Milwaukee Brewers (32-20) vs San Diego Padres (30-20)

The Brewers open up a seven-game homestand Thursday night as they welcome the San Diego Padres to American Family Field. Adrian Houser will open the four-game series on the mound against left-hander Sean Manaea. The Padres have been struggling since dropping two of three to the Brewers last week, having just gotten swept by the Cardinals in St. Louis. Meanwhile, the Brewers are back in Milwaukee after a winning road trip that saw a series win over the Padres and two four-game splits with the Cubs and Cardinals.

After a good start to the season, Houser struggled in the month of May, posting a 1-3 record with a 4.68 ERA. Last time against the Cardinals, Houser got rocked for eight runs (five earned) and nine hits in the 8-3 loss. He was solid in his last appearance vs the Padres, giving up just one run and three hits in six innings of work. The ground ball specialist has also had career success against the top of this Padres lineup. The 1-4 batters in tonight’s lineup — Jurickson Profar, Jake Croneworth, Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer — are a combined 2-for-21 lifetime against Houser.

Sean Manaea enters Thursday with a 4.02 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and a team-leading 60 strikeouts. The big left-hander has a good fastball and sinker while doing a good job at limiting home runs. The Brewers, who lead the NL in home runs, will try to add to the eight long balls that Manaea has given up so far. He has only faced the Brewers once in his career, back in 2016. Manaea gave up five runs on six hits in the 5-4 Brewers victory.

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