Game Thread #106: Milwaukee Brewers (60-45) vs. Atlanta Braves (56-48)

Brewers finish homestand with another NL East foe

The Milwaukee Brewers will hope to build off of Sunday’s win as they welcome the Atlanta Braves to American Family Field this evening.

The Braves are struggling with health, as they’ve lost several of their best pitchers and last year’s MVP, Ronald Acuña Jr., for the season with injuries. Additionally, several of their standout players from the last several years—Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies (who is on the IL), and Sean Murphy, most notably—have underperformed. That said, there’s still enough talent here to have Atlanta in playoff position, where they lead the NL’s Wild Card race.

Tonight, they’ll send rookie Grant Holmes (and all of his hair) to the mound. It’ll be Holmes’ 11th appearance as a professional, but his first as a starter; he has mostly relieved since 2021 in the minor leagues, and it would appear that he’s operating as an opener. He’s been effective in 2024, with a 2.70 ERA in 23 ¹⁄₃ innings and a 4.2 K:BB ratio in addition to a 2.63 ERA in 41 innings at Triple-A Gwinnett.

Milwaukee will go with Colin Rea tonight. He’s coming off of five scoreless innings in Milwaukee’s 1-0 victory over the Cubs on Tuesday, another solid start in a good season. We also await the debut of new trade acquisition Nick Mears, who was active yesterday but did not pitch.

Jake Bauers, who comes in hot, is batting third tonight and playing first base, while Rhys Hoskins will handle DH duties. Milwaukee’s defense should be close to full potential with their alignment tonight. Waukesha native Jarred Kelenic will lead off for Atlanta, while former Brewer Orlando Arcia will bat eighth. There’s still plenty of pop in their lineup, most notably in the form of Marcell Ozuna, who has 30 home runs and leads the National League with 82 RBI.

First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. on Bally Sports Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network.