The Milwaukee Brewers arrive for Brewers Vs Mets in New York this week with the kind of record that changes the temperature of a series preview. At 81-50, Milwaukee leads the NL Central and has won each of its last three series, while the Mets are 59-72 and sitting with the sixth-worst record in baseball.
That gap is why this matchup is drawing attention now. The Brewers have just finished off the Dodgers, Mariners and Braves in consecutive series, and the Mets have done enough lately to go 6-3 against the Nationals, Padres and White Sox. For Milwaukee, the question is not whether it has been playing well. It is whether the roster can stay intact long enough to keep that run going on the road.
Garrett Mitchell is at the center of that concern after exiting Sunday's Little League Classic when he was hit by a pitch and left with a right forearm contusion. Jake Bauers also took a shot in that game, fouling a ball off his leg and foot while already playing through a toe fracture this season. Milwaukee's lone position player on the IL is Sal Frelick, though he is expected back for this road trip, and the club is also without Brandon Woodruff, JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe, Rob Zastryzny, Joel Kuhnel, Brian Fitzpatrick, Quinn Priester and Angel Zerpa on the pitching side.
That is the friction inside a team that has otherwise looked complete enough to keep winning. Woodruff may be back before the end of the year after not needing surgery, Romero and Kuhnel are expected back in late August, Uribe could be activated on Wednesday, and Zastryzny's return timeline is still TBD. Fitzpatrick, Priester and Zerpa are out for the season. The Brewers still have enough production to travel with real confidence, but each new injury narrows the margin.
Milwaukee's offense has been getting work from Jake Bauers, who leads the club with 23 homers, 19 doubles and 75 RBIs while slashing.273/.382/.503. The Brewers are batting.254/.337/.396 as a team, with a.733 OPS, 120 homers, 650 runs scored and 129 steals. Their balance shows up even in the odd places: they rank last in homers, yet fifth in runs scored and third in steals, which is a reminder that they are not beating opponents one way.
The Mets have had to patch together their own attack without Mark Vientos, Juan Soto and Jorge Polanco. Vientos is on rehab assignment, Soto is expected back in September and Polanco is out for the season. Carson Benge has carried the lineup in Soto's absence with 16 homers, 17 doubles, 53 RBIs and 19 steals, but New York still sits at.236/.307/.391 as a team with a.698 OPS, 161 homers, 546 runs scored and 68 steals. The numbers say the Brewers are the better club entering this series, and the injury lists say neither side is exactly whole.
Milwaukee also has enough on the mound to keep the series from feeling like a sprint. Aaron Ashby has made 61 appearances and owns a 3.33 ERA with 102 strikeouts over 73 innings, while Trevor Megill has 24 saves in 26 opportunities with a 2.34 ERA. The Brewers have built this trip on momentum, but Mitchell's injury, Bauers' leg issue and the long list of unavailable arms leave the lineup and bullpen with questions that could decide how much of that momentum survives the week.
