Two teams who lead their respective NL divisions will do battle when the Milwaukee Brewers travel on the road to Oracle Park to take on the San Fransisco Giants. Milwaukee snapped a three-game losing streak in their last outing, avoiding being swept by the Twins with a 6-2 win in the finale to improve to 79-52 on the year. San Fransisco lost two of three to the Braves but held onto the best record in the MLB and a 2.5 game lead in the NL West at 84-46 on the season.
San Fransisco is led by a strong team of veterans, and are a top-10 offense, hitting .244 as a team and scoring 4.82 runs per game which rank ninth in the MLB this season. Shortstop Brandon Crawford leads the way hitting .291 and has driven in a team-high 73 runs on the season. Catcher Buster Posey continues to beat father-time, he’s hitting .312 with 16 home runs and 41 RBIs in just 86 games.
The Giants made a huge acquisition at the deadline when they traded for Cubs' third baseman Kris Bryant, in part to replace Evan Longoria who has struggled with injuries. Bryant didn’t start on Sunday due to a side injury, but I see it as more of a day-off than an injury that will keep him out for a significant amount of time.
Alex Wood will get the start for the Giants, he’s been a solid rotational starter this season, going 10-4 with a 4.08 ERA. The Giants have won four of Wood’s last five starts, and even without working past the six-inning, any has put together strong starts. Wood allowed two runs on six hits in 5 ⅓ innings in his last start, he walked two and struck out five as the Giants held on to beat the Mets 3-2.
Milwaukee has overcome struggles at the plate this season to take a strong lead in the NL Central, they’re 26th in team batting average hitting .234 and 18th in the MLB at OPS. Milwaukee has benefited from some timely hitting and managed to score 4.63 runs per game, which ranks tenth in scoring offense. Former MVP Christian Yelich has struggled this season and he’ll need to get going if Milwaukee wants to make a run, but outfielder Avisail Garcia has shouldered the load hitting .272 with 24 homeruns and 78 RBIs, all of which lead the team.
The Brewers could potentially have the best one-two starting rotation, and they’ll send out half of that with Brandon Woodruff to start this game. Woodruff has been lights out, he’s third in the MLB in ERA (2.38) and WHIP (0.93), but is just 8-7 on the season. Woodruff pitched a scoreless six innings in his last outing allowing four hits without issuing a walk, and struck out 10 in a 4-1 win over the Brewers.
