After becoming the first team swept at the hands of the league-worst Oakland Athletics, the Milwaukee Brewers look to bounce back in Tuesday’s opener of a two-game set against the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis.
The Brewers have lost four in a row after Oakland came to Milwaukee and took all three games of the weekend set, capping it off with an 8-6 decision on Sunday afternoon.
“My overall feeling, you’ve got to give them credit. They’ve been getting their teeth kicked in all year,” said Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy, who filled in as manager with Craig Counsell attending his son’s graduation. “It doesn’t ignore the fact that we’re hobbling in so many ways, but don’t forget, that’s a major league team over there.”
Milwaukee scored just three total runs in the first two games of the series, falling 5-2 on Friday and 2-1 Saturday in 10 innings. To Oakland’s credit, the club now is on a five-game winning streak.
Minnesota was on the road at Toronto for a key set against the Blue Jays and won two of out three games. However, the Twins lost a 4-0 lead on Sunday and squandered an opportunity for a sweep by falling 7-6.
“We didn’t get it done. It’s disappointing when you have a lead and can’t hold it,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We had a good series overall here. You know the sweep when you have it in your hand is what you want, walking away without it, definitely disappointing.”
The Brewers will have their ace Corbin Burnes (5-4, 3.36 ERA) on the mound to start the two-game set. He is coming off one of his best starts of the season, going eight shutout innings against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday, picking up the victory while striking out nine.
Burnes has a 2-1 career record against Minnesota with a 2.45 ERA and 29 strikeouts in just 18.1 innings pitched over four appearances (three starts).
Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez (3-3, 4.25 ERA) will oppose Burnes. He is also coming off a strong outing, pitching seven innings on the road at Tampa Bay and allowing just one run while striking out six in a game Minnesota lost 2-1.
Lopez has started five times against Milwaukee in his career, all as a member of the Miami Marlins. He is 1-1 with a 3.19 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 31 innings pitched in those starts.
Lopez will look to continue the Twins’ stellar pitching as they sport MLB’s second-best team ERA at 3.52. Offensively, Milwaukee ranks 25th in baseball with an OPS of .683 and 27th with a .229 batting average.
Tuesday night is the first of four matchups between the teams this season, two in Minnesota and then two in Milwaukee on Aug. 22-23. Milwaukee went 3-1 against the Twins last season, splitting the two games played at Minneapolis.
–Field Level Media