Phillies Series Preview: Milwaukee Brewers

ByMike Azzalina|
MIAMI, FL - JULY 17: Nick Williams #5 of the Philadelphia Phillies hits an RBI single in the third inning during a game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park on July 17, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - JULY 17: Nick Williams #5 of the Philadelphia Phillies hits an RBI single in the third inning during a game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park on July 17, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
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PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 17: Brent Suter
PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 17: Brent Suter

The Pitcher: Brent Suter

We will go with the wildcard for this weekend’s set. With never seeing Brent Suter, I am picking the lefty as the player to watch. The Harvard graduate carries a 3.09 ERA into his first start in Citizen’s Bank Park.

Despite appearing in 11 games this season, this will only be Suter’s fifth start. The Brewers have only won one of those starts (8-1 against Baltimore), but he has surpassed six innings in two of the four starts.

Pittsburgh did knock him out early with two runs on seven hits and two walks over 4.2 innings. He will look to bounce back against the Phils on Saturday.

Suter is a 31st round pick who depends more on his ability to locate and change speeds to succeed. He does not blow hitters away with his high 80s-low 90s fastball. He will occasionally mix in the change and curveball, but again will need to hit his spots in order to succeed.

If the Phillies are able to avoid a ton of groundball outs, they may have a slight upper-hand against Suter. The southpaw has found himself inducing nearly 50% of hitters into groundball outs. He is not adept to allowing a ton of homers either, so the Phils will have to continue hitting the ball the way they were in Miami to have success against the type of pitcher Suter is.