The Milwaukee Brewers and Oakland Athletics continue their three-game series on Wednesday night. Oakland took the opener in 10 innings on Matt Olson’s walk-off home run.
Still Behind
The Milwaukee Brewers are still bouncing around the top of the tight NL Central. While they currently sit in third place, they are just two games back the first-place Cardinals and two behind the second-place Cubs, who are playing each other right now. This division is truly up for grabs, which should make the trade deadline very interesting as it approaches.
Starting the Brewers’ last game in July will be Gio Gonzalez. Gio is coming off a shoulder injury and will be looking to pick up his third win of the season as he currently sits at 2-1 with a 3.48 ERA and 36 strikeouts. Milwaukee would love to get some solid starts out of Gonzalez with August coming up and the division still being so tight.
Christian Yelich continues to lead the Brewers in just about every way in the batter’s box. He is leading the team in runs batted in with 80, which is currently sixth in MLB. Yelich leads MLB with 36 home runs and his .337 batting average. He is on pace to make another run at the NL MVP award, which will most likely come down to him and Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger.
Continuing To Contend
Oakland is having a solid season so far, they are eight games back from the Astros in the AL West and currently own a Wild Card spot. They will most likely be buyers at the deadline as they look to round out their roster heading into August. They are playing this series in Oakland where they are 34-22 this season while the Brewers are just 23-28 on the road.
Starting for the Athletics will be their 31-year-old veteran, Brett Anderson. Anderson took a loss against the Rangers in his last start, bringing him to 9-6 on the season. He carries a 4.05 ERA into this game with 61 strikeouts. Anderson has been up and down all season long, and coming off a loss, he will be looking to get back on track against a tough team and hopefully get momentum going to build off of.
Third baseman Matt Chapman has been getting it done for Oakland in the box this season, as he currently leads the team with 23 home runs as well as 61 runs batted in. Centerfielder Ramon Laureano leads the team with his .284 batting average, but he is currently listed as day-to-day on the IL with shin soreness. The A’s will look to get things going early and often to offer Anderson support to secure their Wild Card spot going into the month of August.
What To Expect
This should be a tight game from start to finish. I like Oakland to take this one at home in a low-scoring affair that may come down to the bullpens of each team.
