The Milwaukee Brewers opened a weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as July gave way to August, and the timing could not have been tighter for either club. Milwaukee arrived after two losses in three games to the Giants, while the Angels were carrying a 42-67 record and the added burden of a trade deadline set for Monday evening.
That is why the matchup is drawing attention now. The Brewers have been productive despite the injuries around them, hitting.255/.337/.400 as a group with a.737 OPS that ranked sixth, 546 runs that ranked fifth and 107 steals that ranked fifth. The downside has been power, with 98 home runs that left them last in that category, even as the staff has held together with a 3.51 team ERA and a rotation ERA of 3.38.
Aaron Ashby has become part of that stability. The left-hander had made 51 bullpen appearances and logged 60 2/3 innings with 83 strikeouts and a 3.86 ERA, one of the reasons Milwaukee could keep moving through a stretch that has also included injured-list absences for DL Hall, Kyle Harrison, Joel Kuhnel, Rob Zastryzny, Brandon Woodruff, Brian Fitzpatrick, Quinn Priester and Angel Zerpa. Brandon Lockridge was on rehab assignment, and Sal Frelick was expected back in early to mid-August.
The Angels, meanwhile, were trying to play out a series while also bracing for movement elsewhere. They were hitting.239/.315/.386 with a.701 OPS that ranked 24th, plus 116 home runs, 464 runs scored and 56 steals tied for 21st, but the bigger issue around the club was the churn. Yusei Kikuchi was out until mid-August, Ben Joyce could return this weekend, Robert Stephenson and Jack Kochanowicz were out for the season, and Adam Frazier was on a rehab assignment with a chance to return as soon as next week. Sebastián Rivero was slated for an early August return, while Anthony Rendon had surgery just as the season was beginning and was expected to retire.
That leaves the Angels in a familiar bind: a club trying to finish a weekend series while the trade deadline presses in from the side. Earlier this week, the Angels traded catcher Logan O’Hoppe, and this week Chase Silseth was sent to the Rangers in the Logan O’Hoppe deal, a reminder that the roster can change fast even before Monday evening arrives. For Milwaukee, the next question is simpler and more immediate: how much of this pitching depth can hold up until its own arms, including the next wave of reinforcements, are actually back on the field.
