Reds vs. Brewers: Pitching preview, prediction, and more

The Brewers stout rotation is lifting a light offense.

For the Milwaukee Brewers, it’s all about the pitching. More specifically, the starting pitching.  Members of the  Brewers’ rotation currently consume three of the top six spots in the NL ERA race. Right-handers Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, and Freddy Peralta occupy the two, four, and six positions, respectively.

As a group, the Milwaukee rotation has compiled an excellent 3.13 ERA and an impressive 1.03 WHIP while limiting the opposition to a meager .200 batting average. Needless to say, the pitching leader board in the NL is littered with Beer Makers.

Brandon Woodruff holds down the top spot in bWAR, while Corbin Burnes leads league hurlers in WHIP and strikeouts per nine innings. But wait, there’s more. Freddy Peralta is setting the pace in allowing the fewest hits per nine frames. Thankfully, he’ll be the only one of the three-headed monster the Reds will see in this series.

Milwaukee has needed every bit of their fantastic rotation to pick up the slack for a stale offensive unit that has been the worst in the National League. The Brewers’ offense resides in the league basement with a paltry .211 batting average and a ghastly .297 OBP.

The bats don’t suffer from a lack of effort or, in their case, maybe too much effort. Milwaukee’s offense trails only Philadelphia with 581 strikeouts. However, when the Brewers do make contact, the ball tends to fly out of the park.

Ranking fifth in the senior circuit with 75 round-trippers, Milwaukee has a balanced power attack.  Right fielder Avisail Garcia is the only Brewer in double digits in homers with 11, but four other Beer Makers have gone deep at least six times.