Milwaukee Brewers to be without Jimmy Nelson for the remainder of the season
By Jason Burke
The Milwaukee Brewers are hanging around the playoff picture both in the NL Central and the Wild Card race, but if they are to grab ahold of one of those spots, they’ll have to do so without Jimmy Nelson.
The Milwaukee Brewers sit just four games back in the NL Central and three back of the Colorado Rockies for the second Wild Card spot entering play on Saturday. They have two left against the division-leading Cubs this weekend, and another four later in the month. Jimmy Nelson’s strained rotator cuff and partially torn labrum in his right shoulder could be the difference between a postseason appearance and trying again next year.
Brent Suter is getting the start for the Brewers on Tuesday, while Nelson’s spot in the rotation is due up on Wednesday. All internal options are being considered according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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On the season Nelson is 12-6 with a 3.49 ERA, and just last night he fired five shutout frames in Chicago to help his team to a 2-0 win over the Cubs. He has been the Brewers’ best starting option this season, but given that we are in September, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the Crew is out of the race just yet.
With Matt Garza, Junior Guerra, Taylor Jungmann and Aaron Wilkerson listed as fill-in options on the 40-man roster by the Sentinel, there is someone that will be able to fill the void. With so many pitchers on rosters in the final month of the season, a competing team can mix-and-match as much as they’d like throughout the game in order to secure a victory.
Matt Garza has still been an effective pitcher the first time through the order, holding a 2.08 ERA, so if they can get 2-3 innings out of him and another 2-3 out of Junior Guerra (2.96 first time through) to get them to the bullpen, then it’s not a bad combo to try out.
Every win is going to count down the stretch, especially as the Brewers attempt to make up ground, and getting the most out of their roster is one way to ensure success. Josh Hader is a former starter in the minor leagues, and while he has been tagged with a couple of losses in recent weeks, he’s an option to pick up a couple of extra outs throughout the course of a few games.
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Over the past month Zach Davies has actually been the better starter between he and Nelson, so the current leader of the staff is still on board.
The Brewers were dealt a crappy hand today, but with some imagination they should be able to stay afloat in both of their races for a playoff spot.