The Milwaukee Brewers have won eight of 12 games since returning from the All-Star break, although two of their defeats were at the hands of the Atlanta Braves last weekend.
The visiting Brewers will look to exact a bit of revenge on Friday when they open a three-game series in Atlanta.
Milwaukee bounced back from its series loss versus Atlanta by taking two of three games against the Cincinnati Reds. The Brewers posted a 3-0 win Wednesday to extend their lead over the second-place Reds to 1 1/2 games in the National League Central.
“Just stacking up wins. They all count the same,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said after his team recorded its major league-best 12th shutout of the season.
“When you’re head-to-head, it’s a win for us and a loss for them, so it makes your job one game easier.”
Atlanta has considerably more breathing room atop the NL East, however it hardly is playing its best baseball of the season. The Braves have dropped seven of their last 10 contests following a two-game sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox.
Braves ace Spencer Strider and manager Brian Snitker aren’t ready to sound the alarm, however.
“We were playing — I’ll call it what it is — an unsustainable level of baseball over the last month,” Strider said after Wednesday’s 5-3 loss to the Red Sox, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I think this happens. When you play 162 games, you’re going to see it all. I think what makes this team good — what makes most teams good, that are good — is the ability to sort of weather the storm when things aren’t going the way you want them to.
“This little bump in the road is only gonna be that to us.”
Said Snitker: “It’s gonna happen. It’s just the nature of the beast here. You just keep fighting and showing up every day. We’re gonna get hot again at some point in time.”
Right-hander Yonny Chirinos (4-4, 4.02 ERA) will look to help the Braves heat up again when he makes his first start since being acquired off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.
Chirinos, 29, received a no-decision on Sunday in his final outing with the Rays after allowing three runs — all solo homers — in 4 2/3 innings versus the Kansas City Royals. He has yet to pitch against the Brewers in his career.
Milwaukee right-hander Adrian Houser (3-2, 3.86 ERA) will get the start on Friday looking to improve upon a 0-3 record with a 3.42 ERA in five career games (four starts) against Atlanta.
Houser, 30, received his third straight no-decision on Saturday despite matching a career high with 10 strikeouts versus the Braves. He also allowed three runs in six innings.
Houser will need to pitch carefully to Ozzie Albies, who belted a three-run homer in the eighth inning of Atlanta’s 4-2 victory over Milwaukee on Sunday. Albies also had a three-run blast during Wednesday’s setback to Boston.
–Field Level Media