The Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets opened a three-game series on Monday, July 20, and the first game put Jacob Misiorowski back on the mound against Freddy Peralta at American Family Field.
That is why Mets Vs Brewers is drawing attention now. The matchup pairs two hard-throwing right-handers in a game that carries more than one layer of interest for Milwaukee and New York, and it lands on a night when fans were also being pointed to how to watch and listen across the series. Misiorowski’s return gave the opener a fresh edge, but Peralta’s recent form made him the bigger question. Over his last five starts, he had gone 0-3 with a 7.59 ERA and a 1.97 WHIP in 21⅓ innings, numbers that sit far from the power arm he was once known for in Milwaukee.
Peralta’s nickname in his first few seasons with the Brewers was Fastball Freddy, and he threw heat about 80% of the time back then. That profile still helps explain why this game was framed as a fastball-heavy matchup, even as his current stretch has looked rougher than the reputation suggests. The Brewers and Mets were meeting in Game 1 of a three-game series, so the opener carried extra weight before the rest of the set had even begun.
There was also a layer of irony hanging over the night. Peralta was being scouted by contending teams, including the Brewers, even while he was already lined up to face Milwaukee in the series opener. That kind of overlap is hard to miss in a game like this, where one club is trying to evaluate pitching talent and the other is staring across the mound at a familiar arm with recent struggles attached to it.
The next turn comes quickly. Brandon Sproat was scheduled to pitch Tuesday, July 21, and he arrives with momentum of his own after going 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA, 24 strikeouts and 18⅓ innings over his last four starts. Milwaukee acquired Sproat in the Peralta trade in the offseason along with Jett Williams, which gives the series another layer for anyone tracking how the deal is still rippling through both clubs.
For now, though, the opener belongs to Misiorowski and Peralta. That is the game people wanted, because it puts velocity, recent form and roster history in the same frame before the series moves on.
