The Brewers picked up a nice win over the Cubs yesterday in the first of a three-game series on Chicago’s north side. Today, they’ll look to take the series and catch up to (and pass!) the Cubs in the standings.
Yesterday, the Brewers jumped out to a sizable early lead, Brandon Sproat did enough to keep Chicago at bay despite some shakiness, and Shane Drohan did the rest. (Drohan is good.) Tonight, in the second game of the series, the Brewers would figure to have a pitching advantage in a matchup between Jacob Misiorowski and Chicago’s Ben Brown.
Brown, who is a 26-year-old right-hander, did not start the year in the Cubs’ rotation. His first 12 appearances this year all came out of the bullpen, but with the injuries that the rotation is dealing with, he moved back into a starting role on May 8. Since then, he’s made two starts, and he’s done everything the Cubs could ask. Both starts went four innings, and in those eight combined innings, he’s struck out 10, walked two, and allowed just one hit and no runs. The Cubs won both games, a 7-1 victory over the Rangers and a 2-0 win over the Braves. For the season, Brown has a sterling 1.60 ERA and 2.45 FIP in 33 2/3 innings, but it’s worth noting that last season, Brown had a 5.92 ERA in over 100 innings, so some regression is probably expected at some point or another.
Misiorowski, of course, has planted himself firmly within the NL Cy Young race, and he’s riding some serious momentum, having made two of the best starts of his young career his last two times out. Miz hasn’t allowed a run since April 25, and he’s currently riding an 18-inning scoreless streak. He’s also leading baseball in strikeouts with 80; Cristopher Sánchez matched him with his stellar 13-strikeout shutout on Saturday, but he’s made one more start than Misiorowski, and Miz will jump back into the sole lead tonight, assuming he strikes out at least one batter.
The Brewers will operate with a Jackson Chourio-Garrett Mitchell-Sal Frelick outfield from left to right tonight with Christian Yelich as the designated hitter. Jake Bauers is the first baseman, so Andrew Vaughn will be a bench weapon tonight. William Contreras is doing the catching, and David Hamilton and Luis Rengifo will man the left side of the infield. In game number 46, this is the 46th unique lineup that the Brewers have used this season.
First pitch this evening is at 6:40 p.m. on Brewers TV and the Brewers Radio Network.
