The Milwaukee Brewers are facing a daunting schedule over their next 11 games through the end of July and will be a big test for their pitching staff.
Something to watch out for over the next two weeks of July, other than the trade deadline, is the rough schedule for the Milwaukee Brewers coming up. Currently they are ahead of the NL Central division by 2.5 games over the stumbling, but ever-dangerous Cincinnati Reds.
They have two more games on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies, a six-game homestand against the NL leading-Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds, then they finalize the stretch on the road again playing the Atlanta Braves.
It has been mentioned that the Milwaukee Brewers may need to add some pieces to their offense to contend. However, they may need to act fast as arguably their toughest stretch of games is upon them right now.
On Tuesday, they got beat in a close game against the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3. Aaron Nola had all of his stuff working, as he had a perfect game going into the fifth inning until Raimel Tapia broke it up with a single to left field.
However, this cannot be an excuse moving forward for the Milwaukee Brewers through these next set of games if they want to add to their lead in the NL Central standings. They will need to have their offense come to life. All of these next games come against opponents that can really hit the ball well and their pitching staff is going to be tested.
Philadelphia’s lineup is littered up and down with firepower. Bryce Harper may not be hitting home runs at the clip we are accustomed to, but he is as good as ever. In the game on Tuesday, Kyle Schwarber hit a home run and he is always capable of getting hot in the middle of the summer. Even though Trea Turner has been sluggish compared to previous years, he is a muti-faceted threat in all areas of the game.
Not only that, but they have six games against Major League Baseball’s best offense in the Atlanta Braves. Is there anything their lineup cannot do? Ronald Acuña Jr. is on a quest for a 40-home run and 40 stolen base season which as only been accomplished four times in Major League Baseball history. Currently he is already at 23 long balls and 44 stolen bases in only 93 games played. On another note, they hit a lot of home runs and have seven players at 15 or more home runs already this season. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, and Arizona Diamondbacks are tied as next closest teams with four players.
The Milwaukee Brewers pitching staff as a whole has been pretty steady this season and has been their main anchor in solidifying them as a contender. Corbin Burnes had 13 strikeouts in his first start since the All-Star break in the 1-0 win against the Cincinnati Reds back on July 14. He is set to close out the series against the Phillies on Thursday. Their bullpen, led by Devin Williams, has truly been lethal as well. They are tied with the Detroit Tigers as the only teams with six relievers that have 35 or more innings pitched that are over league average in my Wins Above Average for pitcher’s metric.
It will be interesting to see how this stretch of schedule plays out and could be good news for the rest of the NL Central contending teams if they faulter.