Brewers look to finish road trip strong against lowly White Sox
The Milwaukee Brewers, wrapping up a 10-game road trip that took them west and has now brought them back closer to home, are headed to Chicago to battle the White Sox for three games beginning Tuesday night. Milwaukee is 2-5 through seven games this trip, dropping three of four to the Giants before losing two of three to the Cardinals over the weekend. On the other side, the measly White Sox are 7-21, the second-worst record in the majors (only ahead of the 4-23 Rockies) after dropping two of three to the A’s over the weekend.
On the injury front, the latest domino to fall for Milwaukee is Garrett Mitchell, who strained his oblique over the weekend against the Cardinals. He’ll be shelved for at least a month, meaning Daz Cameron, who was called up to replace him, should be in the fold for a while, as both Mitchell and Blake Perkins (shin) are out until the end of May. Pitchers Brandon Woodruff, Nestor Cortes, Connor Thomas, Aaron Ashby, Robert Gasser, Aaron Civale, and DL Hall are all on the IL with various injuries, with Woodruff and Ashby likely the closest to returning (though Woodruff reportedly felt “tired” after his latest rehab start).
For the White Sox, current injuries among position players include Josh Rojas, Korey Lee, Chase Meidroth, Austin Slater, and Mike Tauchman. The Brewers shouldn’t see any of those players as they’re all currently listed with return dates of May or later. On the pitching front, the Sox have four players out for the year after Tommy John surgery (Ky Bush, Prelander Berroa, Drew Thorpe, and Mason Adams). Beyond that, starter Martín Pérez is currently on the 60-day IL with an elbow injury of his own.
The Brewers’ offense is led by Jackson Chourio, who had a solid weekend in St. Louis after a disappointing series in San Francisco. Chourio is now hitting .285/.299/.537 with six homers, 23 RBIs, 21 runs, 11 doubles, and two steals. Christian Yelich has boosted his average to .238 after a cold start, while Rhys Hoskins is hitting .296 and William Contreras is hitting .245. Brice Turang (.319) and Sal Frelick (.301) are the lone Brewers currently eclipsing a .300 average. As a team, Milwaukee is hitting .249/.322/.377 (.699 OPS ranks 17th) with 26 homers, 146 runs scored, and 37 steals.
Chicago’s offense is led by … pretty much nobody. Andrew Benintendi has four homers, but he’s hitting just .217. Among qualified hitters, Lenyn Sosa is actually the only one hitting above .200, as he’s slashed .271/.293/.375 with two homers, seven RBIs, four doubles, and nine runs scored. Luis Robert Jr. hasn’t had a great year, but he does have three homers and 10 steals to lead the team. As a team, Chicago is hitting a league-worst .211/.286/.326 with 22 homers, 95 runs, and 20 steals this year.
Nick Mears leads Milwaukee’s bullpen with a 0.87 ERA through 10 1⁄3 innings, striking out 15. Jared Koenig (2.08 ERA), Abner Uribe (2.31 ERA), Craig Yoho (2.45 ERA), and Grant Anderson (3.24 ERA) have also been solid. Closer Trevor Megill has struggled to a 4.91 ERA, picking up the loss Saturday in St. Louis, while Tyler Alexander also hasn’t had much success since moving to the bullpen (5.87 ERA over 7 2⁄3 innings). As a staff, the Brewers’ starters have a 3.63 ERA (eighth) and the bullpen has a 4.87 ERA (26th) for a 4.16 ERA overall (18th) with 230 strikeouts (18th).
The White Sox bullpen features no listed closer, as Brandon Eisert is the only player to even pick up a save this year (the team is 1-for-4 in save opportunities). Penn Murfee leads the team in appearances at 13, but he has an 8.71 ERA. Jordan Leasure — who entered the year as the team’s closer — has a 4.50 ERA and is 0-for-2 in save opportunities. Cam Booser and Mike Vasil are two of the only bright spots, with a 3.38 ERA and 13 strikeouts for Booser and a 1.17 ERA and 10 strikeouts for Vasil. The recently called-up Steven Wilson has also been solid, allowing no runs with six strikeouts over five innings. Chicago’s rotation has a 3.99 ERA (16th) and the bullpen has a 4.28 ERA (21st) for a 4.13 ERA overall (17th) with 211 strikeouts (26th).
Probable Pitchers
Tuesday, April 29 @ 6:40 p.m.: Freddy Peralta (2.43 ERA, 3.12 FIP) vs. Bryse Wilson (4.30 ERA, 6.65 FIP)
Peralta, 29, has also compiled 1.3 bWAR through six starts, putting him on track for ~6.5 WAR if he can hit the 30-start threshold as he’s done in each of the last two years. He’s struck out 36 over 33 1⁄3 innings, and while the walks are starting to haunt him (10 in his last 20 1⁄3 innings), he’s still keeping runs off the board. He is, however, coming off his worst start of the season, allowing three runs on five hits and a pair of walks over five innings against the Giants. He’s made four appearances (three starts) against the White Sox in his career, with a 1.50 ERA and 24 strikeouts over 18 innings.
Wilson, who spent the last two seasons in Milwaukee, isn’t off to a great start for the White Sox. He’s made 10 appearances (one start) with a 4.30 ERA and career-worst 6.65 FIP, striking out 10 while walking six and allowing 21 hits in 14 2⁄3 innings. He made his first and only start of the season on Wednesday against the Twins, allowing one run on five hits and three walks on 55 pitches in 2 2⁄3 innings. Wilson hasn’t pitched against Milwaukee since his Pittsburgh days. Across seven appearances (six starts), he sports a 4.88 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 31 1⁄3 innings.
Wednesday, April 30 @ 6:40 p.m.: Tobias Myers (4.50 ERA, 8.28 FIP) vs. Shane Smith (2.30 ERA, 3.33 FIP)
Myers made his season debut against the Giants on Thursday, and it went just fine. He allowed two runs on four hits and four walks with two strikeouts over four frames as he worked around traffic all afternoon. Myers started against the White Sox in a May game last year, allowing five runs and striking out four over 4 1⁄3 innings as the Brewers provided him enough run support (Milwaukee ultimately won 12-5) to give him a no-decision.
Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in December’s Rule 5 Draft out of Milwaukee’s organization, has been the best arm on Chicago’s staff this season. Through five starts, he has a 2.30 ERA with 22 strikeouts over 27 1⁄3 innings. He went five scoreless innings against the Twins in his last start, striking out seven as he picked up the first win of his young career. This marks the first career start for Smith against Milwaukee.
Thursday, May 1 @ 1:10 p.m.: Chad Patrick (2.45 ERA, 4.12 FIP) vs. Sean Burke (6.00 ERA, 6.48 FIP)
Patrick is another rookie who’s put together a solid start to his career. Through six games (five starts), he sports a 2.45 ERA with 22 strikeouts over 25 2⁄3 innings. As with Peralta, the walks have been a concern (11 this season), but he’s done his job filling in for a depleted rotation. His last start came in Friday’s loss to the Cardinals, where he went 4 1⁄3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks with a pair of strikeouts. This marks the first career start for Patrick against the White Sox.
Chicago’s Opening Day starter has not had a good sophomore campaign. After making four appearances (three starts) with a 1.42 ERA, 3.32 FIP, and 22 strikeouts over 19 innings in 2024, he’s allowed 22 runs (eight earned) with 20 strikeouts over 27 innings this season. Frankly, his only good start this year came on Opening Day, when he went six scoreless innings against the Angels. His last appearance came out of the bullpen against the Athletics, pitching 5 1⁄3 innings and allowing four runs (three earned) with five strikeouts. Burke has never pitched against Milwaukee.
How to Watch
Tuesday, April 29: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Wednesday, April 30: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Thursday, May 1: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Prediction
The Brewers have had a very up-and-down season, but one thing they haven’t yet achieved is a sweep. I think this will end in Chicago as Milwaukee finishes up the road trip 5-5 and on a four-game win streak.