MILWAUKEE BREWERS NOTES:
BREWERS vs. CARDINALS
SUMMARY: Are 186-238 all-time, including 5-4 this season…..went 9-10 last season.
at MIL: Are 88-122 all-time, including 2-1 this season…..went 5-5 last season…..are 78-110 at American Family Field and 10-12 at County Stadium.
at STL: Are 98-116 all-time, including 3-3 this season…..went 4-5 last season…..have gone 75-81 at new Busch Stadium and 23-35 at old Busch Stadium
Do You Believe in Magic?
The Brewers’ magic number to clinch the NL Central is 4…..a combination of Brewers wins and Cubs losses totaling 4 will clinch the division…..the magic number to clinch a postseason berth is 3 over the Marlins.
The Hunt for October
The Brewers are looking to qualify for the postseason for the fifth time in the last six seasons…..the team made the postseason in a franchise-record four consecutive years from 2018-21 and missed the postseason by just a single game in both 2017 and 2022.
Brewing Consistency
The Brewers won their 86th game of the season last night…..it is their sixth consecutive season with 86+ victories (does not include 2020)…..during this stretch (2017-23), the Dodgers are the only Major League team that has accomplished the feat.
Season Record
2017 ……………………………………………. 86-76
2018 ……………………………………………. 96-67
2019 ……………………………………………. 89-73
2021 ……………………………………………. 95-67
2022 …………………………………………… 86-76
2023 ……………………………………………86-66
Close Calls
The Brewers are 21-9 (.700) in their last 30 games, the best record in the Major Leagues (since August 18)….. all 9 losses during this stretch have come by just one (6) or two (3) runs….. overall, the team’s last 10 losses have come by one (7) or two (3) runs.
Best MLB Records – Since August 18
Team Record
Milwaukee ……………………… 21-9 (.700)
Baltimore …………………………. 21-10 (.677)
Tampa Bay ………………………20-10 (.667)
Fine ‘Penmanship
The Brewers bullpen has a 1.01 ERA in its last 12 games (53.1ip, 6er) with a 0.92 WHIP and .154 opponent AVG (28-for-182)…..the Brewers (3.45) lead the National League and are trailing only the Yankees (3.35) in the majors in bullpen ERA this season.
TODAY’S GAME: Is game 4 (2-1) of the final road trip of the season to St. Louis (2-1) and Miami (3g)…..following this trip and an off day next Monday, the team returns to American Family Field to end the regular season vs. St. Louis (3g) and Chicago-NL (3g).
IN THE TRAINER’S ROOM: LHP Aaron Ashby (left labrum), RHP J.C. Mejía (right shoulder), OF Garrett Mitchell (left shoulder), RHP Elvis Peguero (right elbow), 1B Darin Ruf (right knee), RHP Thyago Vieira (right calf), LHP Justin Wilson (left lat) and OF Jesse Winker (back/right quad) are on the injured list…..Ashby, Mejía, Mitchell, Ruf and Wilson are on the 60-day IL.
IN THE STANDINGS (175 days): The Brewers have spent the following number of days alone or tied at each position in the NL Central standings: FIRST: 122, SECOND: 51, THIRD: 2, FOURTH: 0, FIFTH: 0…..the team is currently in first place, leading the Cubs by 7.0 games and Reds by 8.0 games.
SERIES-LY SPEAKING: The Brewers are 27-19-2 in series play.
Game 1: 27-22, Game 2: 30-19, Game 3: 24-23, Game 4: 5-2 Sweep Wins (9): vs. NYM (3g, 4/3-4/5), at SEA (3g, 4/17-4/19), vs. KC (3g, 5/12-5/14), vs. PIT (3g, 6/16-6/18), at CIN (3g, 7/14-7/16), at CWS (3g, 8/11-8/13), at TEX (3g, 8/18-8/20), vs. MIN (2g, 8/22-8/23), vs. SD (3g, 8/25-8/27)
Sweep Losses (5): at COL (3g, 5/2-5/4), vs. OAK (3g, 6/9-6/11), at MIN (2g, 6/13-6/14), at ATL (3g, 7/28-7/30), at LAD (3g, 8/15-8/17)
AT HOME: The Brewers are 45-30 at home, going 15-7-2 in series play…..the team is 13-3 in its last 16 home games…..from 8/9-9/2 had a season-high 8-game winning streak…..went 46-35 at home last season, going 15-8-4 in series play.
ON THE ROAD: The Brewers are 41-36 on the road, going 12-12-0 in series play…..went 40-41 on the road last season, going 9-12-5 in series play.
LET’S GO TO THE VIDEO TAPE: The Brewers have made 30 replay challenges this season, going 14-16…..their last challenge (won) came on 9/14 vs. Miami as an out call at home plate (Tyrone Taylor) was overturned.
TONIGHT’S STARTER: #20 – LHP WADE MILEY (21gs, 8-4, 3.38)
MILEY AT A GLANCE: Wade Miley, 36, is making his 22nd start of the season and second against the Cardinals…..Miley last started last Friday vs. Washington and earned a 5-3 win (5.2ip, 5h, 3r, 3er, 2bb, 3k, 1hr, 92 pitches)…..the team is 13-8 in his starts…..he has 8 quality starts…..opponents are batting .223 (90-for-404, 16hr)…..Miley was on the 15-day injured list from 5/17-6/16 with a left lat strain and from 7/17-8/1, retroactive to 7/14, with left elbow discomfort…..he signed as a free agent with Milwaukee on January 9…..he is signed through the 2023 season with a mutual option for 2024.
WELCOME BACK!: Miley returned to Milwaukee, where he pitched in 2018 for the National League Central champions and went 5-2 with a 2.57 ERA in 16 starts…..he went on to make 4 starts during the postseason, posting a 1.23 ERA (14.2ip, 2er), as the team went on to advance to the seventh game of the NLCS against Los Angeles.
LAST SEASON: Miley went 2-2 with a 3.16 ERA in 9 games/8 starts with Chicago-NL last season…..he missed most of the season while spending time on the injured list on three occasions: 4/7-5/9 (left elbow inflammation), 5/29-6/9 (left shoulder strain) and 6/11-9/5 (left shoulder strain).
CAREER: Is 107-98 with a 4.08 ERA in 313 games/306 starts (1727.1ip, 783er)…..is in his 13th Major League season with Arizona (2011-14), Boston (2015), Seattle (2016), Baltimore (2016-17), Milwaukee (2018, ‘23), Houston (2019), Cincinnati (2020-21) and Chicago-NL (2022)…..was an All-Star with the Diamondbacks in 2012…..threw a no-hitter with the Reds on 5/7/21 at Cleveland…..Miley was selected by Arizona in the supplemental first round (43rd overall) of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of Southeastern Louisiana University.
CAREER AT AMERICAN FAMILY FIELD: Is 9-4 with a 3.92 ERA in 23 starts (114.2ip, 50er)…..is 5-2 with a 3.69 ERA in 11 starts this season (61ip, 25er).
CAREER ON THE ROAD: Is 51-52 with a 3.95 ERA in 165 games/163 starts (911.2ip, 400er)…..is 3-2 with a 2.98 ERA in 10 starts this season (48.1ip, 16er).
CAREER vs. CARDINALS: Is 3-6 with a 4.11 ERA in 12 starts (61.1ip, 28er), including a no-decision this seas
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
RECENT REDBIRDS: The St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers play the final game of a four-game series this afternoon at Busch Stadium as the two division-rivals face off seven times over an 11-day stretch (Sept. 18-28) … St. Louis is 2-4 on its homestand vs. Philadelphia (1-2) and Milwaukee (1-2), and has gone 9-7 over their last 16 games overall (Sept. 3-present).
FLIGHT PATTERN: The Cardinals enter today in 5th place in the NL Central, 3.0 games behind 4th-place Pittsburgh … St. Louis has spent 135 of 69 days in last place on the MLB schedule (April 26-May 19, May 29-July 7 & July 28-present) … The Cardinals 67-85 record is their lowest at the 152-game mark since 1978 when they were also 65-87 (.428).
DIVISION MATH: The Cardinals enter today’s game with an 18-26 mark (.409) in divisional play with seven games remaining, including today, against NL Central clubs. It’s their 2nd lowest mark in divisional play (20-32, .385 in 1995), and it will be the first time since 2017 (34-42, .447) that they will finish below .500 within the division. The Cardinals have finished .500 or better within the NL Central in 22 of 30 seasons since MLB’s six-division alignment began in 1994.
FRESHMAN FINISHES: Cardinals rookie Jordan Walker hit safely for the 6th straight game last night and has done so in 14 of his 17 games played in September (.302, 19-63). Walker, with one more hit, would become just the 12th Cardinals rookie since 2000 to collect 20+ hits in Sept./Oct. Walker entered play today ranked T5th among NL rookies in hits (19), with Arizona’s Corbin Carroll (24) leading the way. Walker is co-leading NL rookies this month with his 4 HR’s.
GAMES THAT MATTER: Since Opening Day of 2011, the Cardinals have played 1,988 regular season games, out of 1,991, during which they still maintained playoff aspirations and had not yet been eliminated. Last night was the first time the Cardinals played a game after being eliminated from postseason contention since the final game of the 2018 regular season (September 30, 2018).
THE NOOT SCOOT BOOGIE: Lars Nootbaar collected a pair of hits last night to lead the Cardinals, and his lead-off double was his 16th hit to lead-off the 1st inning, passing Brendan Donovan (15) for the team lead…Lars, who has put together back-to-back multi-hit games, can match his season-high for consecutive multi-hit games (3) with another multi-hit effort this afternoon. Nootbaar is currently ranked 2nd on the team to Nolan Arenado (40) with his 39 hits to lead-off an inning.
PALACIOS PLATING RUNS: Outfielder Richie Palacios has driven in runs with each of his last 5 hits, including last night’s 8th inning RBI-single to go along with his 4 home runs since Sept. 12…Palactios has 11 RBI & 5 HR’s in his 22 games played for the Cardinals and is slugging .550.
PLAYERS USED: 50 players have appeared for the Cardinals this season, one less than the franchise record of 51 players shared by the 1997, 2021, and 2022 Redbirds … With the addition of Alec Burleson to the Injured List yesterday, only four Cardinals have avoided the Injured List and been active for every game this season (excluding suspension): Willson Contreras, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Miles Mikolas.
HELLS BELLS: Since the beginning of 2022, Ryan Helsley (1.65) ranks 2nd among Major League relievers in ERA and WHIP (0.84) to Dodgers Evan Phillips (1.64, 0.80) and 2nd in average against (.144) to Brewers Devin Williams (.142) – minimum 95.0 IP
BACKSTOP BOMBS: Cardinals catchers (Willson Conteras-19, Andrew Knizner -9) have combined for 28 home runs this season, T-3rd in MLB and one fewer than the single-season Cardinals record of 29 established by the 1979 backstops of Ted Simmons (26), Terry Kennedy (2), and Steve Swisher (1) … Contreras’ 19 homers as a catcher currently tie for 5th-most in Cardinals single-season history.
CHANGING COLOGNE: The Cardinals will look for another scent of cologne, not named Panther, when they hit PETCO Park this weekend for their lone series visit…the Redbirds are 4-11 over their last 15 games played in San Diego (including 2020 Wild Card Series).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP MILES MIKOLAS (7-12, 4.84)
TODAY’S GAME Leads MLB NL Ranks: Games Started (32, T-1st), Losses (12, T-6th), Innings Pitched (182.1, 7th), Hits Allowed (205, 1st*), Runs (100, 3rd), Walks/9 IP (1.78, 3rd)
- The 2022 N.L. All-Star & Cardinals’ Opening Day starter for 2023 is making his MLB-leading 33rd start of 2023, 176th career appearance & 148th career start.
- His 205 hits allowed are the most allowed by a Cardinals pitcher in a single season since Adam Wainwright (220) in 2016.
- Surpassed the 900.0 innings pitched for career in his last start.
- This year marks his fourth 32+ start season among his five active seasons as a Cardinal (missed 2020 COVID-shortened season due to injury).
- Is currently at 52-52 for his career and has not seen his W-L record dip to below .500 since July 27, 2014 (3-4, .429).
- The Cardinals are just 5-15 in his 20 games started since June 4. He’s had 7 Quality Starts in that span and logged 6.0+ IP 13 times.
- Has received 3 runs of support or fewer in 25 of 32 starts this season, including just one run or fewer in 14 of 32 starts (44%).
- Has crossed the 180.0 innings threshold for the 4th time in his MLB career. Leads the Cardinals in innings pitched (182.1) and shares the team lead in wins (7)
- Has allowed 23 of his 100 runs in the 1st inning (6.54 ERA, .336 BA).
- Since joining the Cardinals in 2018, Mikolas has issued the fewest walks in MLB (min. 700 IP) with 147; Justin Verlander (150) is 2nd. His 1.63 walks/9 IP is 2nd behind Zack Greinke (1.61) for the fewest in MLB.
- Hasn’t committed an error since 8/2/18 vs. COL. One of two pitchers (Erick Fedde) with 100+ total chances and zero errors since 8/3/18. Ranks 8th among MLB pitchers in fielding pct. (.988) since 2018 (min. 100 TC). Was one of 10 MLB pitchers and two Cardinals (Wainwright) with a perfect 1.000 fielding pct. (31 total chances) in 2022.
- Ranks 2nd among current Cardinals behind only Adam Wainwright (2,668.1 IP) in most career innings pitched (814.0) as a member of the Cardinals. Can pass Jack Taylor (816.0) for 58th in Cardinals history with 2.1+ innings in this start.
- Among all-time Busch Stadium III leaders, ranks 5th in ERA (3.21), T-9th in wins (22) with Braden Looper, and 8th in innings pitched (412.2).
LAST TIME OUT
- Suffered his team-high 12th loss (7th since All-Star break) last Sat. in a 6-1 defeat vs. Philadelphia. Kyle Schwarber’s 3-run HR in the 5th broke the game open.
DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
9/16 PHI L 6-1 L-12 6.0 8 5 5 0 2 1 93-69
