Series Preview: Milwaukee Brewers vs. Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies are in the middle of another rough season, and they enter this series after trading away some of their players at the trade deadline. Gone from the roster are Mike Moustakas, Pierce Johnson, C.J. Cron, Randal Grichuk, and Brad Hand. The Rockies come to Milwaukee after taking two of three from the Cardinals. They are an even 10-10 since the All-Star break.

Lineups

The Rockies lineup has taken some hits recently. Along with Cron and Grichuk being traded away, Kris Bryant and Charlie Blackmon are both on the IL. Nolan Jones leads the Rockies offense with a 116 WRC+ and a .280/.367/.484 batting line. Ryan McMahon has also been a strong bat in the Rockies lineup with a 106 wRC+, 19 HR, and a .261/.342/.481 batting line. They are the only two on the active roster with a wRC+ over 100. The next highest is Elias Diaz at 89, and then Jurickson Profar at 78. Brendan Rodgers has returned to the lineup after missing most of the season with a shoulder injury, and is 5-for-21 in five games since his return. Ezequiel Tovar has also been a main part of the lineup, usually batting second with a .253/.286/.409 batting line.

For the Brewers, the new lineup is settling into place after the acquisitions of Carlos Santana and Mark Canha, as well as the promotion of Sal Frelick. Santana has slid into the third spot in the lineup, with Canha generally batting sixth. Frelick has been batting fifth in the lineup in the last week. Christian Yelich and William Contreras have locked in the first and second spots in the lineup, and Willy Adames has been taking the fourth spot. Andruw Monasterio has earned regular playing time since Brian Anderson’s injury, and Brice Turang and Joey Wiemer hold the spots at the bottom of the order.

Probable Pitchers

Monday, August 7 @ 7:10 p.m.: Peter Lambert vs. Freddy Peralta

Peter Lambert started the season in the bullpen but was moved to the rotation in July. After a stay in Triple-A, he was recalled on July 21 and has made four total starts this season. As a starter this season, he has a 1.96 ERA and 3.26 FIP in 18 ¹⁄₃ innings. Overall, he has a 5.07 ERA and 5.16 FIP.

Freddy Peralta has put up scoreless starts in two of his four starts since the All-Star break. He’s been swapping with Corbin Burnes for the strikeout lead on the team, though his 10.8 K/9 is significantly higher than Burnes. He had a season-high 13 strikeouts on July 26, and posted a quality start against the Nationals (six innings, three earned runs) in his last start.

Tuesday, August 8 @ 7:10 p.m.: Kyle Freeland vs. Wade Miley

Kyle Freeland has made the second most starts for the Rockies this season but missed a bit of time in July because of a right shoulder subluxation. He was reactivated from the injured list on July 28 and is making his third start after his IL stint. The Brewers have faced him once this season. He pitched five scoreless innings on May 3 in the Rockies 7-1 win, striking out five.

Wade Miley returned to the rotation on Wednesday and had a good start his first time back. He allowed just one run in four innings, though he only threw sixty pitches in that start. That should be extended a bit more in this start, though the bullpen may still need to cover an extra inning or two.

Wednesday, August 9 @ 1:10 p.m.: Chris Flexen vs. Adrian Houser

Chris Flexen came to the Rockies after starting the season with the Mariners. The Brewers have faced him once already this season, scoring four runs off of him in six innings on April 17. Flexen was designated for assignment by the Mariners on June 27 and then traded to the Mets with Trevor Gott for Zach Muckenhirn. The Mets immediately re-designated Flexen for assignment and released him three days later. The Rockies signed him to a minor-league deal on July 14 and recalled him on July 29. In two starts with the Rockies, he has allowed nine runs (eight earned) in 8 ²⁄₃ innings. Overall this season, he has a 7.82 ERA and 7.27 FIP.

After a rough start on July 28 for Adrian Houser, he bounced back with just one run allowed on Thursday. He’s been solid in the rotation this season, posting a 4.19 ERA and 4.20 FIP. He’s had quality starts in three of his last six starts, and his only bad start in those six was six runs allowed against the Braves.

Bullpen

The Rockies bullpen is led by Justin Lawrence and Brent Suter. They traded their leader in saves, Pierce Johnson, at the trade deadline. Lawrence has been their strongest reliever, posting a 2.89 ERA and 3.43 FIP this season in 56 innings, with a 9.16 K/9 and 4.18 BB/9. Brent Suter has been doing well in his first season with the Rockies with a 2.68 ERA and 3.13 FIP in 50 ¹⁄₃ innings. Jake Bird leads the bullpen in innings pitched at 60 ¹⁄₃, and he has a 4.18 ERA and 3.55 FIP to go along with that.

For the Brewers, Devin Williams and Joel Payamps continued to lead the bullpen, but newcomer Andrew Chafin has also entered the late game mix. In his first two appearances with the Brewers, he got the ninth inning of Thursday’s win and the eighth inning of Saturday’s win. Elvis Peguero and Hoby Milner have also been solid in the bullpen this season, and Abner Uribe is rising in his first major league season.

Prediction

The Brewers are in a good spot in this series, if their offense can put together some runs early. The pitching staff has been strong since the All-Star break. The offense just needs to give them some runs to work with. It’s hard to see a sweep, but two of three should be doable.