Series Preview: Milwaukee Brewers vs. Washington Nationals

The Milwaukee Brewers return home this weekend, as they’ll take on the Washington Nationals for three games beginning Friday evening. After unveiling their new City Connect uniforms on Thursday, the Crew will wear the jerseys in all three games of this series.

The Brewers are coming off a 3-3 road trip that included a series win over the Royals before a series loss to the Red Sox. They sit at 8-4, tied atop the NL Central with the Reds, though Cincinnati is actively playing against the Marlins in Miami as of this writing. On the other side, the Nationals are at the bottom of the NL East at 4-8. After getting off to a 3-1 start, including a series win over the Cubs, Washington has lost seven of their last eight, including series losses to the Phillies, Dodgers, and Cardinals.

The Brewers are still without a few key players, as Andrew Vaughn and Jackson Chourio are both out for a few weeks with hand injuries. On the pitching front, Jared Koenig (May), Quinn Priester (May), Rob Zastryzny (late April or early May), and Craig Yoho (mid-April) are also on the IL. The latest injury is Brice Turang, who sat out the last two games in Boston with left ankle tendinitis. He isn’t expected to need an IL stint, meaning he should be back on the field for this series.

Washington’s injured list is exclusively pitchers, including Josiah Gray, DJ Herz, Trevor Williams, Jarlin Susana, and Travis Sykora. All five of those injuries are in the “severe” category, with the first three on the 60-day IL and the last two still in the minors as two of the Nats’ top four prospects. All of them with the exception of Sykora are expected to return to play at some point in 2026 (Sykora is out for the season, with a 2027 return).

The Brewers’ offense went stagnant without Turang in the final two games in Boston, but they’re still one of the better offensive teams in baseball overall. Turang, Christian Yelich, and Garrett Mitchell have led the team thus far. Turang is hitting .270/.413/.514 with a homer, four doubles, a triple, seven RBIs, 10 runs scored, and four steals; Yelich is hitting .372/.413/.535 with a homer, two doubles, a triple, 10 RBIs, 10 runs scored, and three steals; and Mitchell is hitting .310/.429/.517 with a homer, three doubles, 13 RBIs, four runs scored, and three steals. William Contreras, Jake Bauers, Gary Sánchez, Luis Rengifo, Sal Frelick, David Hamilton, Brandon Lockridge, and Joey Ortiz round out the other regulars, with Blake Perkins and Luis Matos generally coming off the bench. As a team, Milwaukee is hitting .253/.356/.395 (.751 OPS ranks fourth), with 10 homers (tied for 18th), 70 runs scored (fourth), and 23 steals (first).

Despite their rough start to the season, the Nationals’ offense is not the issue. CJ Abrams and James Wood sit atop the team’s homer leaderboard with four each, with Abrams adding four steals. Former Brewer Joey Wiemer got off to a red-hot start but has cooled off quite a bit — even so, he’s hitting .440/.533/.760 with a pair of homers through eight games played. Brady House, Luis García, Daylen Lile, Jacob Young, Drew Millas, Nasim Nuñez, and Jorbit Vivas round out the regulars, with Keibert Ruiz, Curtis Mead, and José Tena serving as depth. As a team, Washington is hitting .266/.339/.431 (.770 OPS ranks third), with 16 homers (tied for third), 71 runs scored (third), and 14 steals (tied for third).

The Brewer bullpen is led in appearances (seven) by Grant Anderson and Aaron Ashby. Anderson has allowed two runs and struck out eight across eight frames, while Ashby has allowed three runs and struck out 14 over 9 2/3 innings. DL Hall hasn’t allowed a run in 7 1/3 innings of work, striking out 10. Trevor Megill is 3-for-3 in save opportunities, while Ángel Zerpa has allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings, picking up his first career save against the Red Sox on Monday. Abner Uribe is still one of the best relievers in the league, and Jake Woodford rounds out the bullpen, with one more addition expected on Friday to replace Koenig. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.77 team ERA (13th), including a 4.80 starter ERA (25th) and a 2.66 reliever ERA (sixth). They’ve struck out 124 batters (tied for fourth) over 105 innings.

Just about nobody in Washington’s bullpen has gotten off to a good start — the only player of the eight currently on the roster with an ERA under 3.00 is Paxton Schultz, who’s made just one appearance spanning one scoreless frame. The team is just 1-for-5 in save opportunities, with Clayton Beeter claiming that one save (he has a 3.18 ERA with two runs allowed over 5 2/3 innings). Cole Henry has an 0-2 record, with five runs allowed (three earned) over seven innings, while PJ Poulin (5.40 ERA), Cionel Pérez (13.50 ERA), Brad Lord (4.35 ERA), former Brewer Gus Varland (6.75 ERA), and Ken Waldichuk (7.04 ERA) have all struggled. As a staff, the Nationals have a 6.06 team ERA (30th), including a 5.75 starter ERA (30th) and a 6.34 reliever ERA (27th). They’ve struck out 92 batters (tied for 24th) over 107 innings.

Friday, April 10 @ 6:40 p.m.: RHP Chad Patrick (1-0, 0.96 ERA, 4.33 FIP) vs. RHP Jake Irvin (1-1, 8.00 ERA, 4.60 FIP)

Patrick was originally slated to start for the third time this season on Wednesday in Boston, but thanks to the doubleheader on Saturday, his turn through the rotation was pushed back to this weekend against the Nationals. While he’s allowed quite a bit of traffic through two starts, he’s done a good job keeping opponents off the scoreboard. Through 9 1/3 innings, he’s allowed just one run on nine hits and four walks with seven strikeouts. This will mark his first career start against Washington.

Irvin, 29, is in his fourth MLB season, all with the Nationals. He hasn’t had much success to this point, with a 4.99 ERA and a 5.07 FIP over nearly 500 career innings. In two starts this season, he’s had varied results. He started the year with five innings of two-run ball against the Cubs, picking up the win as he allowed three hits and a walk while striking out seven. In his last start against the Dodgers, he struggled across four innings, allowing six runs on eight hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Irvin has made six career starts against Milwaukee, with an 0-5 record, a 6.59 ERA, and 22 strikeouts over 28 2/3 innings. That includes a pair of starts last season, when he went 0-2 and allowed eight runs (five earned) over nine innings with seven strikeouts.

Saturday, April 11 @ 6:10 p.m.: LHP Kyle Harrison (1-0, 2.61 ERA, 4.12 FIP) vs. LHP Foster Griffin (1-0, 2.70 ERA, 4.75 FIP)

Brandon Sproat was originally scheduled in this spot, but he’s been bumped back by at least a couple of days, and Kyle Harrison will make this start instead. Harrison has had a successful start to his Milwaukee tenure, with a 2.61 ERA across 10 1/3 innings in starts against the Rays and Royals. He’s struck out 14 in those outings, as he’s successfully deployed a new kick-change. Harrison has made three previous starts against the Nationals, all while with the Giants. In those outings, he has an 0-1 record with a 4.30 ERA and 15 strikeouts over 14 2/3 innings.

Griffin, 30, is a former first-round pick who spent parts of two seasons with the Royals and Blue Jays back in 2020 and 2022, spanning eight innings in which he allowed nine runs (eight earned) and struck out five. He spent the last three seasons in Japan, where he made 54 appearances spanning 315 2/3 innings with a 2.57 ERA and 318 strikeouts. In two starts (against the Phillies and Dodgers) this season, he’s totaled 10 innings, allowing three runs on 10 hits and three walks while striking out 11. This marks his first career appearance against Milwaukee.

Sunday, April 12 @ 1:10 p.m.: Brandon Woodruff (1-0, 5.91 ERA, 4.59 FIP) vs. RHP Zack Littell (0-1, 3.60 ERA, 5.85 FIP)

With the slight change in plans regarding Sproat, Brandon Woodruff also moves up a day and stays on regular five-day rest. Woodruff got beat up a bit his last time out on Monday against the Red Sox and allowed five runs through the first four innings, but he kept his pitch count under control and lasted 5 2/3 innings, which was big for a bullpen that had just played a doubleheader in Kansas City. The Brewers managed to come back and win that game, but it did highlight the fact that if Woodruff isn’t pitching with excellent control (which he’s fully capable of), he can be quite hittable at this stage in his career.

Littell, 30, is in his ninth MLB season and now with his sixth team. He spent 2025 between the Rays and Reds, with a 3.81 ERA, 4.88 FIP, and 130 strikeouts across 186 2/3 innings. He’s made two appearances (one start) against the Phillies and Cardinals this season, spanning 10 frames with four earned runs on 10 hits and five walks, striking out seven. A familiar opponent for Milwaukee, Littell has made 12 appearances (three starts) against the Crew, with an 0-1 record, 1.75 ERA, and 18 strikeouts over 25 2/3 innings. He made three starts against the Brewers last season (two with the Reds, one with the Rays), allowing four runs and striking out 11 over 16 2/3 innings.

Friday, April 10: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Saturday, April 11: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Sunday, April 12: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

The Brewers seem to have the advantage in just about every facet in this series, including the fact that the Nationals are ice-cold right now. I’ll take Milwaukee to pick up the sweep.