Game Thread #87: Milwaukee Brewers (51-35) @ Colorado Rockies (29-56)

Brewers look to build on comeback victory

The Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies will meet again tonight in the third of a four-game set in Denver. The first two games have been back-and-forth contests, both close games; in game one, the Rockies prevailed in extra innings, but in game two, the Brewers pulled off a late victory when they scored two runs in the ninth inning on their way to a 4-3 victory.

After a busy news day in which the Brewers acquired starter Aaron Civale from Tampa Bay and placed Joey Ortiz and Enoli Paredes on the IL, they’ll turn to Colin Rea to try to tame the unforgiving mile-high altitude. Rea is coming off a solid start against the Cubs, in which he picked up a victory while allowing two runs on three hits and two walks in 5 ¹⁄₃ innings while striking out a season-high eight batters.

Colorado will start right-hander Dakota Hudson, who Brewers fans will remember from his six seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals. Hudson’s career got off to an excellent start, as he had a 131 ERA+ through his first 241 innings and finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2019, but injuries cost him almost the entire 2021 season and he hasn’t been the same since. Hudson signed a one-year deal as a free agent this year, and is having his worst season: he leads the majors with 11 losses and is just 2-11 with a 5.84 ERA (5.28 FIP) in 16 starts. Hudson’s strikeouts, which were never an area of strength for him, have been virtually gone since his injury, and this season he has a nearly 1:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, as he’s struck out 44 batters and walked 43.

With today’s news that Ortiz is on the injured list, expect to see a lot of Andruw Monasterio in the lineup at third base. He’s there today, batting ninth. Garrett Mitchell also makes his second start of the year and is batting fifth and playing center field, with Sal Frelick batting seventh and playing right. Jackson Chourio will start tonight’s game on the bench.

First pitch is at 7:40 p.m. on Bally Sports Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network.