The Milwaukee Brewers are set to host the Atlanta Braves for two games this weekend, then face them again Sunday night in the MLB Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It is a three-game stretch against the same opponent that lands at a sharp point in the season: Milwaukee is chasing its 80th win and still owns the best record in baseball.
That is why this Braves Vs Brewers run is drawing attention now. The Brewers and Braves are both in the mix at the top of the National League, with Atlanta leading the NL East and holding the third-best record in the league behind Milwaukee and the Dodgers. For a weekend series to roll straight into a national showcase game gives the matchup unusual weight, even before a pitch is thrown.
Trevor Megill gives Milwaukee one more reason to believe the calendar has arrived at the right time. He has 23 saves and a 2.39 ERA, anchoring a bullpen that has carried a big share of the load while the Brewers have moved to the top of the standings. Aaron Ashby has handled 59 appearances and 71 innings, and the group around him has helped cover for a pitching staff that has had to absorb a long injury list.
The numbers around the two clubs tell the rest of the story. Milwaukee is hitting.253/.337/.397 as a team, with a.734 OPS that ranks seventh, 642 runs and 129 steals, but only 119 home runs, which is last. That is the odd shape of the best record in baseball: the Brewers keep finding ways to score without much power. Jake Bauers leads them with 22 home runs, while Brice Turang has added 16 and is hitting.262/.356/.439. Joey Ortiz has steadied after a poor first two months and is at.252/.317/.381, and Garrett Mitchell is hitting.261/.356/.421.
Atlanta brings a different profile. The Braves are hitting.246/.310/.413 with a.723 OPS, 608 runs, 167 home runs and 62 steals. Matt Olson has slugged 36 home runs and 31 doubles, and Drake Baldwin has added 21 home runs while hitting.272/.354/.449. Dylan Lee has been the busiest arm in the Braves bullpen with 60 appearances and a 2.02 ERA over 58 innings, and Raisel Iglesias has 26 saves with a 3.09 ERA. The club is deeper in power than Milwaukee, but it has also had to keep patching together the pitching side of the roster.
That is the friction in this series: Milwaukee has the better record and the better pitching run prevention, while Atlanta has the more dangerous power profile. The Brewers own a 3.46 team ERA, second-best in MLB, with a 3.53 starter ERA and a 3.37 bullpen ERA, and they have struck out 1,245 batters over 1,144 1/3 innings. Atlanta’s staff has several arms working through injuries, yet the Braves have no position players on the injured list, which leaves their lineup intact for a weekend that could hinge on whether power or pitching speaks first.
Sal Frelick is the lone Brewers position player on the injured list and could be back this weekend, while Abner Uribe, JoJo Romero and Joel Kuhnel are all listed as out until late August and Brian Fitzpatrick, Angel Zerpa, Quinn Priester and Brandon Woodruff are out for the season or the year. Atlanta’s side is missing Spencer Schwellenbach until September at the earliest, with Robert Suarez, Spencer Strider and Hurston Waldrep all listed as to be determined, Reynaldo López out until late August, Joe Jiménez out until September and Joey Wentz out for the season. The next confirmed step is simple: the teams play their weekend games first, then reconvene Sunday night in Williamsport, where the Little League Classic will put the same matchup in a different setting and make the result easier to remember.
