Series Preview: Milwaukee Brewers vs. Oakland Athletics

The Brewers have looked good as of late, winning their last two series against the Reds and the Orioles. The Brewers have been holding onto a slim margin atop the NL Central, with the Pirates nipping at their heels. Milwaukee will need to keep winning if they want to stave off some feisty division rivals. The Oakland Athletics coming to town is a great opportunity for the Brewers to win their third straight series, as Oakland sits at just 14-50 even after taking two of three against the Pirates.

Lineups

The Brewers are finally starting to get healthy, with Luis Urias and Willy Adames both returning from injury. Adames hit a homer in his first at-bat back, and as one of the core hitters on the team, it’s a massive plus to have him in the lineup again. Owen Miller has been producing all season, posting a .310 batting average through the first two-plus months. Joey Wiemer has had a blistering hot month of June, posting a .478 average with three homers and nine RBIs across seven games.

Former Brewers prospect Esteury Ruiz and Brent Rooker have been the breakout players for the A’s this season, with Ruiz posting .260/.321/.337 splits and 29 stolen bases while Rooker leads the team with 12 homers and 36 RBIs. The Brewers will need to keep track of Ruiz should he get on base. Beyond those two, the A’s don’t have much offense, with Shea Langeliers next in line with eight homers this season. As a team, the A’s are slashing just .225/.305/.359 for the third-lowest OPS in all of baseball.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday, June 9 @ 7:10 p.m.: Adrian Houser (2-1) vs. Luis Medina (0-5)

Adrian Houser has been fantastic in his return to the Brewers this season. He has posted a 3.45 ERA through six starts and he’s allowed three or fewer runs in all but one of those starts, a bad luck outing against the Blue Jays at the end of May. Houser should be able to pitch a solid game against a somewhat lackluster Oakland lineup.

Medina has struggled mightily this season, and this could be a potential offensive explosion for the Crew. He has an 0-5 record through six appearances (five starts) to go with a dismal 8.19 ERA across 29 ²⁄₃ innings. Medina is even worse on the road, with an ERA at 11.68 in three starts.

Saturday, June 10 @ 3:10 p.m.: Julio Teheran (1-2) vs. Paul Blackburn (0-0)

Julio Teheran’s record doesn’t reflect how good he has been since joining the Brewers as a midseason signing. He has posted a 1.56 ERA through three starts and pitched six innings of shutout baseball against the Blue Jays star-studded hitting lineup. With this A’s batting order, Teheran should have an opportunity to post his fourth strong start of the season.

Paul Blackburn has also struggled this season, allowing six runs through two starts (nine innings) since returning from injury. He’s had some success in the past, including a 4.28 ERA over 21 starts in 2022, so he may be a tougher matchup for the Brewers lineup than Medina.

Sunday, June 11 @ 1:10 p.m.: Freddy Peralta (5-5) vs. JP Sears (0-3)

Freddy Peralta is one of the few Brewers starters that hasn’t dealt with a significant injury this season and has consistently eaten up innings. Freddy is 5-5 in his 12 starts, with some amazing performances and some unfortunate ones. He does have 70 punchouts through his 65 ¹⁄₃ innings, including nine in his last start against the Orioles, showing he still can sit batters down at the plate.

JP Sears has been one of the more successful Oakland pitchers this season, which isn’t saying much. Sears has an ERA of 4.20 and is 0-3 in 12 starts, but he had a 2.94 ERA in six starts during the month of May and allowed one run across 4 ¹⁄₃ innings against the Pirates his last time out.

Bullpen

Devin Williams has been one of the best relievers in all of baseball this season and has been a lights-out closer for them all year. He has also been able to get three saves of four-plus outs for the first time in his career, a valuable shift given Milwaukee’s injury troubles. Joel Payamps and Peter Strzelecki have also been solid back-end pieces, acting as set-up men to Williams.

Zach Jackson has probably been the best reliever for the A’s this season, posting a 2.50 ERA through 19 appearances, but he’s on the 15-day IL with a right flexor tendon strain. Among active players, Sam Moll, Richard Lovelady, Sam Long, and Trevor May lead the team with appearances, with Moll sitting with the best ERA (3.13) among the four. With rough pitching all around, this could be a very bad series for Oakland.

Prediction

With favorable pitching matchups and advantages in every part of the game, I’ll take the Brewers to sweep the A’s, although the A’s may put up a fight coming off a series win over the Pirates in Pittsburgh.