Series 15 (of 52) Preview: Brewers Visit Houston

The Houston Astros host the Milwaukee Brewers for three games, starting tonight.

The three matches between the two clubs constitute the entire season series. Houston and Milwaukee share an unusual relationship in that they are the only two teams to change leagues in over 100 years. The Crew joined the NL in 1998, and Houston became a member of the AL in 2013. Houston’s record of 131-118 is its 13th-best against any other team.

In last season’s series, the Brewers won two of three games in Milwaukee, losing the opener 12-2 before shutting out Houston twice. In the win on May 22, Cristian Javier (5-1, 3.07) earned the victory, allowing one earned run in six innings, with five strikeouts and four hits allowed. Yordan Alvarez (11, 12) went deep twice in the win, totaling five RBIs on three total hits. Corey Julks (3) also collected three hits, including a home run. Martín Maldonado (3) and Mauricio Dubón (1) also went deep.

I felt very comfortable in the batter’s box today. I think when I get to the ballpark and feel comfortable in the batter’s box, good things can happen. I could see the ball very well and that’s what can happen.

Starting pitchers and playing time

Friday, 7:10 p.m. CT: Freddy Peralta (3-1, 3.63) vs. Hunter Brown (0-4, 7.79)
Saturday, 6:10 p.m. CT: Bryse Wilson (2-1, 2.65) vs. Justin Verlander (2-1, 3.38)
Sunday, 1:10 p.m. CT: Colin Rea (3-1, 3.45) vs. Spencer Arrighetti (1-4, 7.52)

Last night, Houston capped its four-game series with the A’s by pulling out all the stops for an 8-1 victory. Cristian Javier (3-1, 3.23) earned the victory by striking out eight in six shutout innings. He walked one and allowed two hits, looking a lot like the 2022 version of himself. Shawn Dubin had a nine-out save. Offensively, Jake Meyers and Alex Bregman led Houston’s offense with multiple hits – a single and a double each – and Joey Loperfido (1) went deep for the first time in his MLB career.

Overall, I think the most important thing is that everyone executes better. I just feel like we play better as a team now. We play baseball. You can see it too. We’re just playing team ball now. -Bregman

Meanwhile, the Brewers are coming off a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, winning the last two. In the final game of the set on Wednesday, the Crew went deep five times, as William Contreras (6), Gary Sánchez (6), Sal Frelick (2), Joey Ortiz (4) and Jackson Chourio (5) everyone put one on the seats. Milwaukee’s pitcher, the aptly nicknamed (for a pitcher) Robert Gasser (2-0, 0.82), held Pittsburgh to one run on six hits in five innings.

Telling someone so much about it is fun. -Ortiz

Ranking

Houston Astros: 19-25, .432, third in AL West, five games behind division leader Seattle Mariners, 12th in AL, 5.5 games back in wild-card race, tied for 23rd in the MLB (with the Cincinnati Reds). At the rate of 70-92. Bottom 10: LLWWLWWWWW, Fangraphs playoff odds: 51.7 percent.

Milwaukee Brewers: 26-17, .605, first in the NL Central, two games ahead of the second-place Chicago Cubs. Fourth in the NL, four games behind the AL-leading Philadelphia Phillies, seventh in MLB. On pace for 98-64. Last 10: LWLWWWLLWW. Fangraphs playoff odds: 72.9 percent.

Heroes and Zeroes (highest and lowest WPA for four-game series vs. Oakland)

Hero:
Josh Hader 44.7
Kyle Tucker 35.3
Framber Valdez 34.5
Alex Bregman 33.9
Bryan Abreu 19.1

Zeros:
Jon Singleton -6.8
Mauricio Dubon -7.8
Ryan Pressly -10.0
Jérémie Peña -18.6
Yordan Alvarez -27.0

My lineup for the first game: (I know they won’t do that)

1B Dubon
SS Pena
2B Altuve
RF Tucker
3B Bregman
DH Singleton
LF Loperfido
C Caratini
C. F. Meyers