The Milwaukee Brewers are set to head west for the second time this year, this time a little closer to the coast as they’ll be by the Bay to take on the San Francisco Giants. Milwaukee, coming off a solid 4-2 homestand that featured series wins over the Tigers and A’s, is now 12-10 this season, one game behind the Cubs in the NL Central. On the other side, the Giants sit at 14-8 after dropping two of three to the Angels over the weekend, though they’re 1.5 games back and sit in third in the deep NL West, behind the Padres and Dodgers.
As I said in the series preview for the Brewers’ series against the A’s, the Brewers finally appear to be on the upswing on the injury front. Tobias Myers returns this series, leaving Brandon Woodruff, Nestor Cortes, Aaron Ashby, DL Hall, and Aaron Civale as the main arms still on the IL. Robert Gasser, Connor Thomas, and Thomas Pannone are also injured on the pitching side, while Blake Perkins and Tyler Black are the lone positional injuries.
The Giants have (mostly) stayed healthy, with first baseman Casey Schmitt, outfielder Jerar Encarnacion, and catcher Tom Murphy the only players on the IL at this point in the year. Frankly, it’s crazy for any team to have no pitching injuries, but here we are.
Milwaukee’s offense is still led by Jackson Chourio with five homers, as he also leads the team with 14 extra-base hits (eight doubles and a triple), driving in 19 runs and scoring 17 with a .260/.273/.521 line. William Contreras is hitting just .230, and Christian Yelich is hitting .203, but Brice Turang (.322/.358/.437 with eight steals) and Sal Frelick (.342/.432/.474) have made up for that to this point. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .240/.312/.379 (.691 OPS ranks 22nd) with 22 homers and 112 runs scored this season.
The Giants’ offense is led by second-year star Jung Hoo Lee, whom the Brewers missed last season as he was on the IL. Through 21 games, he’s hitting .333/.389/.593 with three homers, 10 doubles, 14 RBIs, 19 runs scored, and three steals. Matt Chapman is hitting .240 but sports a .406 OBP, while former friend Willy Adames is off to a cold start, hitting .202/.273/.281 with one homer, four doubles, 11 RBIs, and 11 runs. As a team, the Giants rank 18th with a .700 OPS, hitting .224/.305/.395 with 25 homers and 111 runs scored.
Milwaukee’s bullpen is anchored by the combination of Grant Anderson, Jared Koenig, Abner Uribe, Nick Mears, Trevor Megill, and Bryan Hudson, not necessarily in that order. Everybody has had their moments this year, but Megill and Hudson both have slightly inflated ERAs (4.26 and 4.05, respectively) due to recent rough outings. As a team, the Brewers rank 18th with a 4.16 staff ERA, including a 3.42 starter ERA (fifth) and a 5.14 reliever ERA (26th) with 190 strikeouts this year.
The Giants’ bullpen is anchored by Tyler Rogers, Randy Rodriguez, Erik Miller, Lou Trivino, Hayden Birdsong, and closer Camilo Doval. Doval has shown some signs of cracking, allowing six runs (three earned) over 9 1⁄3 innings while blowing two saves in four opportunities. Rogers leads the team in appearances with 11 1⁄3 innings across 12 outings. As a staff, the Giants rank sixth with a 3.53 team ERA, including a 4.34 starter ERA (23rd) and a 2.22 reliever ERA (second) with 199 strikeouts this year. One upside for this series is that the Brewers will miss veteran Justin Verlander, who made a strong start Sunday against the Angels.
Probable Pitchers
Monday, April 21 @ 8:45 p.m.: Quinn Priester (0.90 ERA, 4.22 FIP) vs. Robbie Ray (4.19 ERA, 5.87 FIP)
Priester, 24, has looked fantastic through two starts with the Brewers. While he has allowed seven hits and five walks over 10 innings (1.20 WHIP), he’s only allowed one run and struck out eight, picking up his first win against the Tigers as he worked five-plus scoreless frames. He’s made one career start against the Giants, working six scoreless innings with six strikeouts last April.
Ray had a pair of solid starts (10 total innings, two runs allowed) against the Mariners and Yankees before allowing four runs across four frames against the Phillies last time out. The 12-year veteran has made four career starts against the Brewers, with a 1.85 ERA and 38 strikeouts across 24 1⁄3 innings.
Tuesday, April 22 @ 8:45 p.m.: Jose Quintana (0.71 ERA, 3.81 FIP) vs. Jordan Hicks (6.04 ERA, 4.23 FIP)
Quintana has looked solid through two starts with the Brewers, allowing one run on eight hits and three walks with six strikeouts in wins against the D-backs and Tigers. In seven career appearances (six starts) against the Giants, he has a 1-4 record with a 4.98 ERA and 31 strikeouts over 34 1⁄3 innings.
Hicks, the firethrower who has transititioned from a closer to a starter with the Giants, has struggled in the young season. Across four starts, he’s allowed 15 runs in 22 1⁄3 innings, all of which have come over his last 16 1⁄3 innings after he went six scoreless innings against the Astros in his season debut. In 19 career appearances against Milwaukee (all in relief), he has a 3.00 ERA with 25 strikeouts across 21 innings.
Wednesday, April 23 @ 8:45 p.m.: Freddy Peralta (1.91 ERA, 3.13 FIP) vs. Logan Webb (2.40 ERA, 1.62 FIP)
Peralta’s walks are still there, but he’s (mostly) kept runs off the board, allowing two or fewer runs in all five of his starts. He’s coming off his first scoreless start of the year, as he went five innings and struck out five against the A’s on Friday night. In four career appearances (three starts) against San Francisco, Peralta has a 3.18 ERA with 18 strikeouts over 11 1⁄3 innings.
Through five starts, Webb is showing why he’s the Giants’ ace. He’s allowed nine runs (eight earned) over 30 innings with 38 strikeouts. He’s made 30-plus starts each of the last three seasons, breaking the 200-inning mark in each of the last two. His last start against the Angels resulted in his first loss of the year, though he went six innings and struck out 12 as he allowed two runs (one earned). He’s made five career starts against Milwaukee with a 2.61 ERA and 39 strikeouts across 31 innings.
Thursday, April 24 @ 2:45 p.m.: Tobias Myers (season debut; 3.00 2024 ERA; 3.91 2024 FIP) vs. Landen Roupp ( 4.09 ERA, 3.25 FIP)
Myers is set to make his first start of the season after an oblique injury sidelined him for about the first month of the season. A surprising piece of Milwaukee’s rotation a year ago, he went 9-6 with a 3.00 ERA and 127 strikeouts across 138 innings in his rookie year. He made three rehab starts at Triple-A Nashville, allowing three runs and striking out eight over 13 1⁄3 innings (2.03 ERA). He made one start against San Francisco last year, allowing three runs and striking out four over five frames.
Roupp, 26, is also in his sophomore season after a solid rookie year in 2024. He mostly worked out of the bullpen a year ago (23 appearances, four starts), but all four of his appearances this year have come from the rotation. His last start against the Angels was his best of the year, as he went seven innings, allowing two runs and striking out nine in the win. Roupp made three appearances (one start) against the Brewers last year, allowing two runs and striking out eight over 8 2⁄3 innings.
How to Watch
Monday, April 21: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Tuesday, April 22: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin+ and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Wednesday, April 23: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Thursday, April 24: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Prediction
The Giants are off to a fast start and, with a mostly healthy team, look like they’re poised for a playoff push after three consecutive seasons around .500. This is one of the Brewers’ biggest road tests so far, but I’ll still take a series split by the Bay.
