Phillies Series Preview: at Milwaukee Brewers
By Matt Veasey
The Philadelphia Phillies are in Milwaukee this weekend for a three-game set against the host Brewers at Miller Park.
Despite having one of the worst offensive attacks in all of Major League Baseball to this point in the season, the Phillies are still sitting in third place in the National League East Division with a 7-9 record as they come off a 10-game homestand in which the club produced a 5-5 mark.
The Brew Crew is also at 7-9, going 4-4 thus far at home in Miller Park this season. They are coming off a split in a four game Inter-league series against their geographic rivals from the American League, the Minnesota Twins, in which they lost Thursday’s finale by an 8-1 score.
The Milwaukee offensive attack is led by 2011 National League Most Valuable Player, left fielder Ryan Braun. He is hitting for a fantastic .340/.421/.560 slash line over 57 plate appearances across 14 games. Braun’s three homers, 11 RBI, and nine runs scored are all 2nd on the team.
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Milwaukee is also getting power from 1st baseman Chris Carter, signed as a free agent back in January. Carter leads the Brewers with four home runs, five doubles, and 13 RBI thus far. 2nd baseman Scooter Gennett is hitting .283/.400/.543 with three homers, and leads the club with 11 runs scored.
Catcher Jonathan Lucroy was a 2014 National League All-Star who finished 4th in the NL MVP voting that season. He is hitting well, but has not produced many runs for the Brewers to this point. Lucroy has four homers in 29 career games against the Phillies.
While the Brewers are no great shakes with bats in their hands, ranking in the middle of the pack at 16th among all MLB teams with 59 runs scored, they are still scoring about a run-per-game more than the Phillies, who at 42 runs scored are 29th of the 30 MLB ball clubs. Only the Tampa Bay Rays at 40 have scored fewer.
Manager Craig Counsell‘s rotation has been led thus far by 26-year old righty Jimmy Nelson, whom the Phils will miss in this series. The Brewers have gotten strong work from their closer, Jeremy Jeffress, who has five Saves, allowing just five hits in 6.2 innings with a 5/1 K:BB ratio. But the rest of the Milwaukee bullpen has issued 25 combined walks thus far in 57.1 innings, an ongoing problem for the team.
Following this series, the Phillies will enjoy another day off on Monday before coming back east to the Nation’s Capital for a series with the NL East-rival Washington Nationals.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY: Aaron Nola (0-2, 5.68 ERA) vs Zach Davies (0-1, 19.29 ERA): a 23-year old righty, Davies was a 26th round pick of the Baltimore Orioles in the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft. He came to Milwaukee at last season’s trade deadline in exchange for outfielder Gerardo Parra. He received a September promotion for his first cup of coffee in the big leagues, going 3-2 with a 3.71 ERA, allowing just 26 hits in 34 innings. Four of those seven were Quality Starts. After pitching brilliantly in his first start of the season, Nola has been clobbered for 11 earned runs over his last two outings.
SATURDAY: Charlie Morton (1-1, 3.86 ERA) vs Chase Anderson (1-1, 2.25 ERA): Anderson is a 28-year old righty who was the Arizona Diamondbacks 9th round pick in the 2009 MLB Amateur Draft. He made 48 starts over the last two seasons with the Snakes before coming to Milwaukee in five-player deal back in January in which shortstop Jean Segura went to Arizona. He allowed no earned runs in 11 innings over his first two outings this season before getting bombed for four earned runs and 11 hits in his last start against the Twins. The 9-year veteran Morton is coming off back-to-back Quality Starts against San Diego and Washington.
SUNDAY: Jerad Eickhoff (1-2, 1.89 ERA) vs Wily Peralta (0-3, 8.35 ERA): the Brewers are expecting much more than they have gotten thus far this season out of the 27-year old righty Peralta, who they signed back in 2005 as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He is 0-3 over his first four starts with an 8.35 ERA, allowing 25 hits in 18.1 innings with just a 13/12 K:BB ratio. Coming off a 17-win season in 2014, Peralta suffered a strained oblique that caused him to miss almost two months last season. He hasn’t been the same since coming back. Eickhoff has pitched well in all three of his outings this year, and has back-to-back nine strikeout efforts.
KEYS TO PHILLIES VICTORY
LEFTY BATS: with Milwaukee starting three right-handers on the mound, and with a bullpen that features just two lefties, neither of whom is overpowering in veterans Chris Capuano and Sam Freeman, those left-handed bats, in particular Ryan Howard and Odubel Herrera, must produce.
REAL NOLA: the Phils need the Nola who yielded seven earned runs on seven hits and an uncharacteristic three walks in his last start against the Washington Nationals to have stayed back in South Philly. In his first two outings, Nola produced a 17/0 K:BB ratio. Now THAT is the guy they need to see on the mound on Friday night to start this series right.
BENCH BERNIE BREWER: the Brewers goofy yellow-mustachioed mascot takes off down a massive slide high above the center field stands with every Brewers’ home run. Phillies pitching needs to stop surrendering longballs the way they did to the New York Mets in their most recent series at Citizens Bank Park, and keep Bernie on the bench. The Mets clubbed a dozen in the three games. The Brewers are 12th in baseball in homers, and have a handful of legit power pieces in their lineup.
BROADCAST SCHEDULE
| Friday, April 22nd | @Milwaukee Brewers | 8:10 PM EDT | TCN TV | FM 94 WIP Radio |
| Saturday, April 23rd | @Milwaukee Brewers | 7:10 PM EDT | CSN TV | FM 94 WIP Radio |
| Sunday, April 24th | @Milwaukee Brewers | 2:10 PM EDT | CSN TV | FM 94 WIP Radio |
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE forecast for Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Miller Park has a retractable roof, making weather a virtual non-factor in this series.
Friday
Patchy fog between 11am and noon. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 50. North wind 10 to 15 mph.
Friday Night
Areas of frost after 2am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 35. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light after midnight.
Saturday
Areas of frost before 8am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 56. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Saturday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers after 2am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 43. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Sunday
A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
INJURIES / DISABLED LIST
Milwaukee Brewers
| Date | Player | Status |
| 4/3 | Matt Garza, P | Right lat strain – out 4-6 weeks (on 15-day DL) |
| 4/1 | Corey Knebel, P | Strained left oblique (on 15-day DL) |
| 3/25 | Yhónathan Barrios, P | Right shoulder surgery (on 60-day DL) |
| 3/25 | Zack Jones, P | Right shoulder soreness (on 60-day DL) |
| 3/25 | Rymer Liriano, RF | Facial fractures (on 60-day DL) |
| 3/25 | Sean Nolin, P | Left UCL sprain (on 60-day DL) |
| 3/25 | Will Smith, P | Torn LCL in right knee (on 15-day DL) |
Philadelphia Phillies
| Date | Player | Status |
| 4/2 | Aaron Altherr, LF | Torn tendon in left wrist (on 60-day DL) |
| 4/2 | Matt Harrison, P | Lower back inflammation (on 60-day DL) |
| 4/2 | Mario Hollands, P | Recovery from left elbow surgery (on 60-day DL) |
| 3/25 | Cody Asche, LF | Strained right oblique (on 15-day DL) |
| 3/25 | Michael Mariot, P | Right ankle sprain (on 15-day DL) |