When the Milwaukee Brewers were last at American Family Field, they still had not yet clinched the NL Central. Today, they return back home, not only division champions for the fourth consecutive year, but they also clinched a bye to the NLDS, clinched the best record in all of baseball and clinched home field advantage throughout the playoffs, including the World Series.
There is, quite literally, nothing left to play for in the standings. Whether the Brewers win or lose, it will have no bearing on the outcome of the regular season or what their postseason path would look like.
However, that doesn’t mean these games aren’t important. Mentally, it’s important for the Brewers to keep their foot on the gas and stay locked in, because if they lose that focus, it can be extremely difficult to get it again in the postseason.
The St. Louis Cardinals, meanwhile, have nothing to play for but pride. The Cardinals are going to have a losing season regardless, as they already have 82 losses on the season. They are essentially locked into a 4th place finish in the division.
There were a slew of roster moves from the Brewers prior to the game. Bryse Wilson was reinstated from the injured list with Lyon Richardson being designated for assignment to make room. Also Andrew Vaughn was placed on the 10-day IL with an illness. Outfielder Brandon Lockridge was recalled from Triple-A to take his roster spot.
The Brewers will have Robert Gasser on the mound as he makes his last push for a postseason rotation job. Gasser massively helped his cause his last time out against Baltimore, throwing seven shutout innings en route to a 1-0 victory. If Gasser can continue to climb that trust tree, he could very easily be in play to start Game 3 of the NLDS.
“Gas[ser] has been confident. He’s starting to understand his stuff and how it works…and he’s taking that step, when you see the confidence and then you see the consistency, that’s what fires you up.” Pat Murphy said.
The Cardinals will have right-hander Michael McGreevy on the mound. McGreevy has had a solid season, making 30 starts for St. Louis with a 3.84 ERA.
The lineup going against McGreevy tonight will have Garrett Mitchell, Brice Turang, and William Contreras atop the order. Jake Bauers, Christian Yelich, and Joey Ortiz form the middle of the order with Ortiz holding down shortstop. Cooper Pratt is sitting today because he’s “not feeling well”, per Pat Murphy. Luis Lara, Sal Frelick, and David Hamilton round out the bottom of the order. Lara is in right field while Frelick is in left field. Jackson Chourio is sitting once again today, but will likely be the first man off the bench. Murphy is trying to strategically give a few of his starters rest days here and Chourio is one of them.
The Cardinals lineup against Gasser will have JJ Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera, and Jordan Walker leading things off. Leo Bernal, Jose Fermin, and Thomas Saggese form the middle of the order. Then Masyn Winn, Pedro Pages, and Victor Scott II round out the bottom of the lineup.
There’s nothing left to clinch, but the Brewers still have to play their way and are looking to finish off the regular season on a high note.
Eric Samulski
