Part of the reason for Hernan batting 6th could be that it gives the Brewers a middle-ish spot in the order to replace in a double switch. For instance if Chacin goes between 4 to 5 innings, then you likely just get past Hernan's spot in the order for a second time when you are ready to bring in a reliever.
The Brewers lineup is now updated in the initial post. Am I mistaken, or is this the first time this season we have seen this exact lineup (1 through 8)?
Brewers hitters each only have a few plate appearances versus Anderson, but a couple that standout... Ryan Braun is 5-for-8 with 3 HRs against Anderson. Travis Shaw is 3-for-5 with 2 doubles and 1 HR against Anderson. With the next two probable starters for the Rockies being Márquez and Freeland today feels like a really important opportunity to get a win.
[pre]Rockies Lineup Brewers Lineup 1. Blackmon (L) CF 1. Lorenzo Cain ® CF 2. LeMahieu ® 2B 2. Christian Yelich (L) RF 3. N. Arenado ® 3B 3. Ryan Braun ® LF 4. C. Gonzalez (L) RF 4. Jesús Aguilar ® 1B 5. T. Story ® SS 5. Mike Moustakas (L) 3B 6. G. Parra (L) LF 6. Hernán Pérez ® SS 7. Desmond ® 1B 7. Travis Shaw (L) 2B 8. C. Ianetta ® C 8. Erik Kratz ® C 9. T. Anderson (L) P 9. Jhoulys Chacín ® P[/pre] Link: Brewers Game Notes TV Broadcast on FS1
In case you needed more reasons to appreciate how impressive Christian Yelich has been the last few months this Fangraphs article by Jeff Sullivan has you covered... Lift-Off for Christian Yelich
In Jayson Stark’s article for The Athletic he admits that even though he wrote a week ago that Baez was his NL MVP, he cast his official ballot on Monday night and his 1st place vote was for someone other than Baez. It is pretty obvious he voted for Yelich, but said isn’t allowed to publically say who he voted for. I enjoyed this fun fact from the article...
From the past two days at Wrigley in 22 innings of baseball versus the Brewers/Rockies the Cubs had just 9 hits total, 6 of which were from Rizzo, Baez, and Almora. Only two were extra base hits (Rizzo’s HR yesterday and Baez’s double tonight).
This all seems spot on to me, especially the lingering effects of Bryant’s injury this season as well as the likelihood of them making a run at Bryce Harper. I am obviously glad the Cubs are done this season, but I think they are far from facing any sort of demise on the horizon.
I agree. I think the Brewers would have a slightly better chance to advance versus this depleted Cubs pitching, but I am happy the Cubs are now a mere afterthought in 2018.