Game Thread #6: Milwaukee Brewers (1-4) vs. Kansas City Royals (2-3)

Freddy Peralta and the Brewers look to start a win streak in today’s rubber match

The Brewers took a step in the right direction yesterday, snapping what had been a four-game losing streak to start the season. Milwaukee now has a chance to inch closer to .500 against Royals ace and Opening Day starter Cole Ragans (5.40 ERA), the fourth-place finisher in last year’s AL Cy Young Award voting.

On the hill for the Brewers is veteran right hander Freddy Peralta (3.60 ERA). Peralta got the loss in his own Opening Day start but only gave up two runs and pitched pretty well. He should have a good chance at picking up his first win of the season if he can get enough run support.

Speaking of run support, the Brewers offense has been pretty average through five games. Milwaukee ranks 16th in runs per game with four, down from last year’s 4.78. The Brewers’ heart of the order — Jackson Chourio, Christian Yelich, and William Contreras — is a combined 9-for-55 so far this season (.163).

Chourio has five hits this year but has also had more at-bats than any other Brewer. Contreras hasn’t really done anything at the plate, recording just two singles all season. Yelich has also had two hits all season. One of them was a monster home run yesterday, a sign that his bat might be waking up.

There’s not really any indication that Chourio, Yelich, and Contreras won’t start performing like they have in the past. The batted ball data and advanced stats aren’t concerning, and each player has squared up the ball at least a couple times this year. It’s also true, however, that Milwaukee needs those three to be more consistent in order to win the division. Yelich is out today, but Chourio and Contreras remain in the lineup as expected.

Brice Turang leads off again after going 3-for-4 yesterday. Turang’s looked more assertive at the plate and is clearly seeing the ball better. His average exit velocity was 87 miles per hour last season; now, it’s all the way up to 93.3. His hard-hit percentage almost doubled, from 29.7 to 50. His home run against New York just happened to be the hardest ball he’s hit in the big leagues, ever. Time will tell if Turang can keep hitting like this, but the peripherals support the idea that his improvement could be sustainable.

Isaac Collins hits third today in place of Yelich. Collins, who has been serving as the fifth outfielder in the absence of Blake Perkins, has three hits in six at bats so far this season. He hopes to make it clear to manager Pat Murphy that he deserves a place on the 26-man roster.

Sal Frelick remains in the fifth spot in the lineup despite an 0-for-4 day yesterday. Frelick’s had a hot start to the season. He’s gotten on base a ton so far but hasn’t really been hitting the ball that hard. Frelick is followed by Rhys Hoskins, Vinny Capra, Garrett Mitchell (hitting eighth today) and Joey Ortiz.

The first pitch is slated for 12:10 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and broadcast via radio on the Brewers Radio Network.

Full lineups for both teams are below: