MILWAUKEE BREWERS NOTES:
BREWERS vs. CARDINALS
SUMMARY: Are 185-238 all-time, including 4-4 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 97-116 all-time, including 2-3 this season…..went 4-5 last season…..have gone 74-81 at new Busch Stadium and 23-35 at old Busch Stadium.
Today’s Transactions
RHP JB Bukauskas was recalled from Triple-A Nashville today…..the team reinstated RHP Julio Teheran from the 15-day injured list…..RHP Colin Rea has been optioned to Nashville….. RHP Elvis Peguero was placed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow effusion, retroactive to September 17.
Do You Believe in Magic?
The Brewers’ magic number to clinch the NL Central is 6…..a combination of Brewers wins and Cubs losses totaling 6 will clinch the division…..the magic number to clinch a postseason berth is 5 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.
The 700 Club
Last night marked the 700th career win for Craig Counsell as a manager.
Close Calls
The Brewers are 20-9 (.690) in their last 29 games, the best record in the NL and tied with the Rays for second in the majors (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.
Make Mine a Double
The Brewers tied a season high with 6 doubles in last night’s victory against the Cardinals (4/14 at SD), including 4 consecutive in the fourth inning from Willy Adames, Josh Donaldson, Tyrone Taylor and Sal Frelick…..this marked the first time in franchise history that the team had doubles in 4 consecutive plate appearances.
Fine ‘Penmanship
The Brewers bullpen has a 0.89 ERA in its last 11 games (50.1ip, 5er) with a 0.91 WHIP and .152 opponent AVG (26-for-171)…..the Brewers (3.46) lead the National League and are trailing only the Yankees (3.29) in the majors in bullpen ERA this season.
Santana’s Greatest Hits
Carlos Santana needs 1 HR for 300 in his career…..his 299 HR rank 10th in MLB history by switch-hitters.
TONIGHT’S GAME: Is game 3 (1-1) of the final road trip of the season to St. Louis (1-1) 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 (174 days): The Brewers have spent the following number of days alone or tied at each position in the NL Central standings: FIRST: 121, SECOND: 51, THIRD: 2, FOURTH: 0, FIFTH: 0…..the team is currently in first place, leading the Cubs by 6.0 games and Reds by 7.0 games.
SERIES-LY SPEAKING: The Brewers are 27-19-2 in series play.
Game 1: 27-22, Game 2: 30-19, Game 3: 23-23, 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 40-36 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: #37 – RHP ADRIAN HOUSER (20g, 18gs, 6-4, 4.53)
HOUSER AT A GLANCE: Adrian Houser, 30, will be making his 21st appearance and 19th start of the season…..Houser last started last Thursday vs. Miami and earned a 4-2 win (5ip, 5h, 2r, 2er, 0bb, 5k, 82 pitches)…..the team is 12-6 in his starts…..he has 5 quality starts…..opponents are batting .287 (111-for-387, 12hr)…..Houser began the season on the 15-day injured list with a right groin strain…..he was sent to Triple-A Nashville on rehab assignment on April 14, where he made 4 starts, and reinstated on May 7….. he was on the 15-day injured list again from 8/28-9/13 with right elbow effusion…..Houser was acquired from Houston, along with LHP Josh Hader, OF Brett Phillips and OF Domingo Santana, in exchange for OF Carlos Gómez, RHP Mike Fiers and International Signing Bonus Slot #76 on 7/30/15.
LAST SEASON: Houser went 6-10 with a 4.73 ERA in 22 games/21 starts last season…..the team went 9-12 in his starts…..he made 6 quality starts…..opponents batted .258….. he posted a 2.98 ERA over his first 8 starts of the season (42.1ip, 14er) and a 6.17 ERA over his last 13 starts (58.1ip, 40er)…..he was on the 15-day injured list from 7/1-8/23 with a right flexor strain and from 9/28 through the remainder of the season with a right groin strain.
CAREER: Is 29-33 with a 4.08 ERA in 126 games/94 starts (523.1ip, 237er)…..is in his seventh Major League season, all with the Brewers (2015, 2018-23)…..has gone 24-33 with a 4.38 ERA as a starter (462ip, 225er) and 5-0 with a 1.76 ERA in relief (61.1ip, 12er)…..underwent “Tommy John” surgery on his right elbow on 7/21/16.
CAREER AT AMERICAN FAMILY FIELD: Is 11-15 with a 3.68 ERA in 64 games/46 starts (259ip, 106er)…..is 3-1 with a 4.66 ERA in 10 games/9 starts this season (46.1ip, 24er).
CAREER ON THE ROAD: Is 18-18 with a 4.46 ERA in 62 games/48 starts (264.1ip, 131er)…..is 3-3 with a 4.41 ERA in 10 games/9 starts this season (49ip, 24er).
CAREER vs. CARDINALS: Is 4-5 with a 3.19 ERA in 14 games/11 starts (59.1ip, 21er), including 0-3 with a 6.23 ERA in 3 starts last season (13ip, 9er)…..is 3-3 with a 4.76 ERA in 8 career games/6 starts at Busch Stadium (28.1ip, 15er).
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
RECENT REDBIRDS: The St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers play the third game of a four-game series tonight at Busch Stadium as the two
division-rivals face off seven times over an 11-day stretch (Sept. 18-28) … St. Louis is 2-3 on its homestand vs. Philadelphia (1-2) and Milwaukee (1-1), and has gone 9-6 over their last 15 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 134 of 68 days in last place on the MLB schedule (April 26-May 19, May 29-July 7 & July 28-present) … The Cardinals 67-84 record is their lowest at the 151-game mark since 1990 when they were also 67-84 (.444).
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 … Tonight is the first time the Cardinals will have played a game after being eliminated from postseason contention since the final game of the 2018 regular season (September 30, 2018).
BURLESON TO IL, HERRERA RECALLED: Prior to tonight’s game, the Cardinals announced that they placed 1B/OF Alec Burleson on the 10-Day Injured
List with a left thumb fracture and recalled catcher Iván Herrera from Memphis (AAA) for the third time this season … In 83 games with Memphis this season, the 23-year-old Herrera has slashed .297/.451/.500 (86-290) with a .951 OPS that ranks 7th in the International League and 2nd to Luken Baker (1.159) among Cardinals minor leaguers.
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 today, 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.
GOING STREAKING WITH CONTRERAS: Willson Contreras is riding an eight-game hitting streak (.464/.545/.929, 13-28) since Sept. 13, T-5th-longest in the NL and one game longer than his younger brother, William (7) … Willson (137) and William (45), who have each homered in the first two games of the series, combine for 181 home runs in their career, 36th-most among brothers in MLB history.
PLAYING SCRABBLE: Colin Rea (W) and Drew Rom (L) factored into last night’s decision, combining for only six letters in their last names … Those six letters tie for the fewest in any Cardinals game in MLB history (1892-2023): Charlie Lea (W) and Danny Cox (L) on April 29 1984 at Montreal; Jumbo Diaz (W) and Seunghwan Oh (L) on Aug. 2, 2016 at Cincinnati, and Seunghwan Oh (W) and Blake Wood (L) on Sept. 29, 2016 vs. Cincinnati … Relatedly, Marc Rzepczynski aka “Scrabble” had only one winning decison while pitching for St. Louis for parts of three seasons: June 4, 2012 at New York Mets. – Cardinals Communications Gameday Associates
HELLS BELLS: Since the beginning of 2022, Ryan Helsley (1.65) ranks 2nd among Major League relievers in ERA (1.65) and WHIP (0.84) to Dodgers Evan Phillips (1.58, 0.79) 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.
OH BROTHER: For the 4th time in franchise history, two different sets of brothers have played against each other in the same season: Hector/Jose Sr. Cruz and Ken/Bob Forsch in 1975 and 1977; Randy/Ron Flores and Yadier/Bengie Molina in 2007; and Willson/William Contreras and Richie/Joshua Palacios in 2023. – Elias
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: LHP ZACK THOMPSON (5-6, 4.34)
TONIGHT’S GAME
- Second year player and former Cardinals 1st round draft pick (2019, 19th player overall) out of the nearby University of Kentucky, is making his 8th start of the 2023 season and the 9th of his young career.
- Making his 1st career start against the Brewers. Made one relief appearance against Milwaukee this season on 4/8 at MIL as part of Cardinals 6-0 combined shutout win.
- Worked a career single-game high 7.0 IP with 92 pitches in his 9/3 start vs. PIT and threw a career-high 98 pitches on 9/9 in 4-3 win at CIN.
- Leads STL pitchers with 4.05 ERA & 42 strikeouts since August 1 (min. 35 IP).
- Ranks 9th among National League LHP stating pitchers in ERA (4.05) since August 1 & ranks T-7th in strikeouts (42).
- Has received 20 runs of support (4.0 runs/game) in his last five starts after receiving zero runs of support in his first two starts this season.
- His 8 strikeouts on 8/6 vs. COL were the most in franchise history by a Cardinals lefthander making his 2nd career start.
- Is 3-3, 4.95 ERA in his 8 career starts (40.0 IP/22 ER) with 39 strikeouts.
- In the month of August, posted a team-best 3.13 ERA among STL starters (4 starts).
- Recalled on 8/1 from Memphis (AAA) – his 3rd stint with the Cardinals this season.
- Appeared in just four games between St. Louis & Memphis (AAA) in the month of July.
- Appeared in 11 games (9 starts) at Memphis & made 18 relief appearances (6 starts) for St. Louis this season, totaling 85.1 IP overall in 2023 between the two teams.
- Earned his 1st win since 4/14 vs. PIT on 7/19 vs. MIA, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings of relief on 29 pitches.
- Induced 2 GIDP in 2.0 IP or fewer on 7/19 vs. MIA; 1st Cards pitcher to do so since Luke Weaver on 8/17/17 at PIT.
- Was 1-4, 8.66 ERA at Memphis, striking out 41 batters in 34.1 IP while issuing 39 walks.
2023
- Rejoined the rotation on Aug. 18 and has started each of his last six games and seven of his last eight. Began the season in the bullpen and has made 16 relief appearances.
- Made 2nd career start 8/6 vs. COL & established a career-high with eight strikeouts.
- Earned his first win as a starting pitcher in MLB battling through 5.0 innings allowing two runs on six hits in a 6-4 win at PIT on 8/23. Departed after a 1:32 rain delay in the 6th inning leading 5-2.
LAST TIME OUT
- Allowed four 1st inning runs in 5-4 loss to the Phillies last Fri. (9/15), then reeled off four scoreless IP, with just one hit allowed. The loss snapped his winning streak at three games.
DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
9/15 PHI L 5-4 L-3 5.0 5 4 4 2 4 1 89-55
