Series Preview: Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies

After snapping a nine-game winning streak in a series loss to the Cubs on the road, the Brewers return home for a three-game showdown with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The teams last squared off in the third week of July, and the Brewers took two out of three games from the Phillies in that series.

The trade deadline has since come and gone, but the Phillies largely stood pat with their roster as the calendar flipped to August. Starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen, who threw a no-hitter in his second start with his new club, represented their lone big-league acquisition.

That lack of action at the deadline has not derailed the Phillies’ quest for a playoff spot. They enter the series atop the National League Wild Card standings, three games ahead of the Cubs. Their 74-59 record matches that of the Brewers.

In their last 10 games, Philadelphia is 7-3.

The Phillies have done some shuffling in the field, using Bryce Harper as a part-time first baseman and giving Kyle Schwarber some time at DH. Harper remains unable to throw from the outfield after an expedited recovery from Tommy John surgery last winter, but he received medical clearance to play first base shortly after the Brewers left Philadelphia. He has also found his power stroke in that time, hitting 11 of his 15 home runs on the season since facing the Brewers.

Pitching Matchups

Friday, September 1 @ 7:10 p.m.: Freddy Peralta vs. Zack Wheeler

When the Brewers last faced the Phillies, Wheeler was sitting on a 4.04 ERA despite strong peripheral statistics. The results have since started to match the quality of his pitching. In his last seven starts, the veteran owns a 2.51 ERA and 3.14 FIP.

Wheeler’s mound opponent will be Freddy Peralta, who just wrapped up an excellent August that saw him post a 2.10 ERA and 2.07 FIP with a 40% strikeout rate in five starts.

Saturday, September 2 @ 6:15 p.m.: TBD vs. Aaron Nola

Adrian Houser’s spot in the rotation comes up on Saturday, but he hit the injured list earlier this week with right elbow effusion. Rather than slide Wade Miley’s start forward by one day, the Brewers will fill Houser’s rotation spot with another starter. Colin Rea is the leading candidate after being withheld from his scheduled start in Triple-A Nashville on Thursday.

Nola has given the Brewers trouble throughout his career, and that was the case when he faced them in July. He threw 7 ¹⁄₃ innings of three-run ball in that outing.

Sunday, September 3 @ 12:05 p.m.: Wade Miley vs. Ranger Suarez

Despite the team’s day off on Thursday earlier in the week, Miley will remain on schedule and start Sunday. His run as a reliable back-end starter continued in his last start when he threw six innings against the Cubs and allowed just two runs.

Suarez has been out since August 19 with a right hamstring injury, but he will be activated to start on Sunday. The southpaw owns a 3.88 ERA with a matching 3.88 FIP in 17 starts this season.

Prediction

The Milwaukee offense showed signs of slowing down after putting up strong surface-level numbers during the winning streak. The Brewers also find themselves in the crosshairs of a hot Zack Wheeler and will be forced to dip into their Triple-A depth for a starter to oppose Nola. The Phillies could very well take two of the three games.