Jake McKibbin

Santana sitting probably after yesterday's scare just to be sure, hasn't had many days (if any) out of a lineup so far

They usually do this, just call up a reliever until a start is needed, then option said reliever back down

They'll keep winker until they have to release him in all likelihood, in case of injury etc

I absolutely agree. I think if he's not playing tonight that's damning

Given he defensive prerogative for Miley and Anderson hitting Taillon quite well previously, he may start tonight

A four game effort from here = free burgers for the fans. These are the truly important things

The Cubs may be thinking they need to at least win this series though, so that adds a lot of pressure too

The Brewers offense has been vastly different than those of the Braves and Dodgers, but is it the perfect one for this specific team? And why did it take so long to click? Image courtesy of © Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports The much-maligned Milwaukee Brewers offense has recently been, to use a technical term, “absolute nails”. They’ve scored five runs or more in each of their last eight games, in a style that allows for an offensive consistency the likes of which was nowhere to be found last year. Let’s start there. Last season, the Brewers ranked 10th in OPS, but there were a lot of questions over how that translated to performances against quality pitching, because they feasted on weaker hurlers with a barrage of home runs in a down year for power numbers across the league. They hit the third-most home runs in the league, behind the Yankees and Atlanta, but there was an underlying sense of struggles to come, something that manifested itself in failing to reach the playoffs. Make no mistake, the offense was not bad, but it wasn’t geared toward consistency or tackling elite starting pitchers. This season started off with a different approach, seemingly more about putting balls in play and significantly less focus on the long ball. They have hit only 136 home runs this year, good for 22nd in baseball, as well as just 193 doubles, which places them 27th across both leagues. They haven’t hit for power, and have only really excelled thus far in taking walks (third in MLB). Since the All-Star break, however, their offensive formula has clicked, with the additions of Carlos Santana and Mark Canha fitting right into the Brewers philosophy and taking this lineup to the next level. The whole offense is based around several things: Take your walks, and take pitches Over the last eight games, the Crew have had a remarkable knack for getting the starter out of the game before the sixth inning, and have done so by excelling in the deeper counts. There is no better example than grinding down Max Scherzer, who had been lights-out since moving to Texas, and chasing him from the game having thrown 99 pitches in under four innings of work. The other big-name pitchers faced in the recent sequence are: Yu Darvish – 76 pitches, four innings Kenta Maeda – 92 pitches, five innings Dane Dunning – 99 pitches, five innings Andrew Heaney – 84 pitches, 3 2/3 innings Four of the aforementioned pitchers have been on seriously impressive form as of late, and the Brewers stopped all of them shy of six innings. In doing so, they've shown that this approach can be successful against the best, lending some credibility to the potential of not just reaching the playoffs, but having success in them off the back of their Cerberus-like rotation. This approach requires an ability (up and down the lineup) to put balls in play and provide quality at-bats, something the Brewers lacked earlier in the season. This quintessential issue was exposed earlier in the season, with Brice Turang, Joey Wiemer, Willy Adames, Rowdy Tellez and Brian Anderson’s streakiness, so they couldn’t build sustained pressure behind Christian Yelich and William Contreras. Jesse Winker was the type of hitter they wanted, but he just wasn’t doing enough outside of taking walks. The recent performances of Santana and Canha, who see a lot of pitches, combined with the hot streaks of Tyrone Taylor and Willy Adames; the addition of personified grit that is Sal Frelick; and the improved discipline and contact skills of Brice Turang have meant that up and down this lineup are players who will take quality at-bats and make opposing pitchers work, applying consistent pressure. You can’t always bring runs in from scoring position, but the Brewers are doing a far better job of putting ducks on the pond with regularity in a game, making runs at some point almost inevitable. They average 4.01 pitches per plate appearance, second in MLB only behind the Chicago Cubs. This approach can be negated by BABIP luck, as they found out in being swept by the Dodgers, but with the state of the rotation as it is, this is exactly the type of consistent plate appearance they need to give themselves a chance day in and day out, against any opposition. Power Power isn’t a requirement for this offense, but they have the ability to crank some deep balls, depending on the form of certain hitters. Adames and Tellez are central to this, with both heating back up recently. Adames steamrolled through the Rangers and White Sox, while Tellez demonstrated his potency with a five-RBI night (including a home run) Saturday and a big two run double on Sunday against the San Diego Padres. Due to the increased traffic on the bases, the power of these two hitters can enable the Brewers not just to be consistent, but to dominate and put up big crooked numbers, and both are going to be vital going down the stretch and into key series this week against the Phillies and the Cubs. Statistical Improvements Pre-All Star Break Since Trade Deadline OPS 0.689 0.716 BABIP 0.288 0.283 Strikeout Rate 25% 18.6% Despite the luck on balls in play actually dropping, the Brewers have notably improved their overall offensive production to reach the middle of the pack, which is all they really need. They’ve made a massive stride in avoiding strikeouts, leading the league in that category since the trade deadline. There could be more to come if the BABIP rates rebound to a more normal number throughout the season, although they do have a propensity for pop-ups that can hurt them there. They're also leading the league in time hitting into double plays since the break, which can halt a few too many of their rallies. In short, they’ve created an offense that can score some runs on their worst days, and pile them on in their best days. Each at-bat has a chance to find a way on base, and the concerted pressure is telling during the recent stretch of wins. This is not a top-tier hitting machine that instills fear in an opposing pitcher, but it is perfect for the shutdown rotation and bullpen the Brewers currently have. When four out of five of your starters have the chance to go six shutout innings, you don’t need any more--though Pete Alonso would’ve been nice, too. View full article

On top of that, Taillon has really struggled against lefties but done okay against right handers. He's particularly struggled with an out pitch to lefties Facing 261 left handers - 27 walks, 14 home runs, 1.56 WHIP Facing 235 right handers - 6 walks, 5 home runs, 1.14 WHIP Could we see yet more Rowdy madness tonight? Though he is 0-6 against Taillon The first game is going to be a real tone setter, especially with Burnes / Woodruff coming up next. If we get the old vintage Miley, it's on, but I'm worried Swanson will catch fire again against the Brewers. He's struggled of late, but he has had some success against Miley in the past

Really interesting that the clubs have lined up almost perfectly with their "fourth choice" guys, then number 1 & 2 starters for each game. It's almost worth seeing that four game series highlights from July again for the drama involved, if we have anything like that again there'll be a few heart attacks Can definitely get to Taillon, I think it comes down to whether the Brewers can be tighter/luckier defensively than they were in July ( a lot of ground balls just finding holes) as well as keeping the hitting up. They could romp through this if they maintain any semblance of offense, but these Cubs could just GO What a thrilling way to start the week. Some fun stats Bellinger has just a .387 Slugging percentage over his last 10 games, despite a .290 batting average. He's very short and compact to the ball and poking it to gaps at the moment, but it's working. Justin Steele has shown some signs of fatigue over his last seven starts, with an ERA over 4 in August Seiya Suzuki is en Fuego with a .444/.516/.815 line over his last seven, and a 1.083 OPS over his last 15 games Other than that, not a ton of hot bats, with Hoerner struggling a little bit Candelario has hit it hard at times but also just a .207 OBP over his last seven games

Huge walk... The patience at the plate has been such a big part of this recent run

BOOM

Is it just me or has Sanchez framed quite well this series?

Ouch! That the situation he Brewers have been so much more effective in as of late, shame to finish the inning like that. Still it happens to everyone, though that slide may come back to haunt them

Bad Houser today... He's either lights out or a buffet of runs

The option of Tellez or Canha is a nice one, such contrasting profiles. Hopefully that lineup can grind this padres staff down, didn't realise the San Diego offense hasn't quite been as underperforming as I thought with so many stolen bases, home runs and huge RBI totals compared to the Brewers One of these games they'll produce an offensive outburst Also intriguing how well Ben Gamel has hit against Peralta, he's been a Brewer killer since leaving them

Just brought up Wicks, though tactfully made sure he isn't in line to face the Brewers next week. Could be a real sink or swim move, starters have mostly taken some adjustment period this year when getting promoted

Avila has been a great opener/reliever this season, but has massively outperformed expected numbers with an xERA of 3.85 compared to his actual 1.17 ERA He's a fastball/change/curve guy, with really effective off speed offerings so far this year but also very hittable behind the fastball (either four seamer or sinker)

One other thing is the ABS system in the international league has resulted in a smaller strike zone apparently. For a player who you want to develop skills of strike zone discipline, AA would be a better place to do this. I saw his first AB last night and the raw power there is truly something to behold

Does this make it all the more remarkable how consistently the Brewers have excelled at this under Counsell?

I heard the MKE tailgate saying about how apparently having a lights out closer alone doesn't make you good in one run games

I think it's Darvish in first game!

He is lined up to start Saturday it seems!

This'll be interesting.. I did wonder if with all the off days the Brewers may have tried to line up Burnes, Woody and Freddy for the Cubs series but doesn't look like that's happening