Houston Astros Visit Milwaukee Brewers — Series Preview

The red-hot Houston Astros visit the Milwaukee Brewers for three games starting tonight at 6:40 PM CT.

This three-game set is the only time this season the Astros will play the Brewers. The last time these two clubs met was way back in 2019. That season, the two teams split a pair of two-game home-and-home series.

The final game between the two, on September 3, would see the Brewers defeat Houston, 4-2. Zack Greinke (14-5, 3.09) took the loss, allowing four runs on eight hits over six frames. Alex Bregman was the only Astro to finish with more than one hit, with a single and a solo homer.

Despite substandard hitting from key spots in the lineup, the Astros are riding a seven-game wave and are now sitting eight games above .500, at 27-19. Over their six-game homestand, they outscored their two opponents by a combined 30-16.

In the final game of the homestand, Framber Valdez pitched a shutout, allowing the Oakland Athletics four hits and zero walks while striking out seven on 104 pitches. Martin Maldonado was the only Houston player to finish with multiple hits, and nobody went deep in the 2-0 Astros victory.

Milwaukee has started their season in streaky fashion. Six times they’ve either won or lost three or more games in a row. They just completed a six-game road trip at 2-4, winning the finale against the Tampa Bay Rays, 6-4. Freddy Peralta (5-3, 4.15) earned the win, striking out four and allowing three runs over six innings. Owen Miller, Cristian Yelich, and William Contreras finished with two hits each.

All Time Head to Head

Houston owns a 130-116 all-time record against Milwaukee, a .528 winning percentage. The two clubs used to play each other all the time when both were American League teams. The two clubs also have an interesting and unique thing in common in that they’re the only two clubs to change from one league to the other.

Standings

Houston Astros: 27-19, .587, 2 GB, in final wildcard spot, second in the AL West, fifth in the AL, seventh in MLB, last 10: WWLWWWWWWW, on pace for 95-67 record, playoff odds: 95.5 percent B/R, 81.9 percent F/G.

Milwaukee Brewers: 25-21, .543, first in the NL Central, fourth in the NL, 10th in MLB, last 10: LWWWLWLLLW, on pace for 88-74, playoff odds: 68.4 percent B/R, 65.3 percent F/G

Combined Team Leaders

AVG: Mauricio Dubon .309, Yordan Alvarez .293, Kyle Tucker .276, Christian Yelich .258, William Contreras .252

OBP: Yordan Alvarez .387, Kyle Tucker .358, Rowdy Tellez .344, William Contreras .342, Christian Yelich .339

SLG: Yordan Alvarez .571, Rowdy Tellez .522, Kyle Tucker .460, Brian Anderson .427, Christian Yelich .417

OPS: Yordan Alvarez .958, Rowdy Tellez .866, Kyle Tucker .818, Brian Anderson .764, Christian Yelich .756

HR: Rowdy Tellez 11, Yordan Alvarez 10, Willy Adames 8, Kyle Tucker, Brian Anderson & Christian Yelich 7

RBI: Yordan Alvarez 41, Kyle Tucker 33, Willy Adames, Brian Anderson & Rowdy Tellez 25

BB: Alex Bregman 27, Kyle Tucker 23, Willy Adames 22, Brian Anderson & Rowdy Tellez 21

SB: Christian Yelich 10, Brice Turang & Kyle Tucker 7, Jeremy Peña 6, Joey Wiemer & Corey Julks 5

ERA: Framber Valdez 2.45, Hunter Brown 3.20, Cristian Javier 3,25, Corbin Burnes 3.48, Freddy Peralta 4.15

WHIP: Cristian Javier 0.97, Framber Valdez 1.03, Corbin Burnes 1.16, Hunter Brown 1.26, Freddy Peralta 1.31

SO: Framber Valdez 72, Cristian Javier 59, Hunter Brown 56, Freddy Peralta 54, Corbin Burnes 46

Injury report

Luis Garcia is out for the season for Tommy John surgery and recovery. Jose Urquidy is expected back around the all-star break with a hopefully healed-up sore shoulder. Lance McCullers Jr.’s return was recently pushed back to sometime near the all-star break as well. Michael Brantley...could be back at some point, maybe.

Gametime & Starting Pitchers

Tonight at 6:40 PM CT: Cristian Javier (4-1, 3.25) vs. Corbin Burnes (4-3, 3.48)

Tuesday at 6:40 PM CT: JP France (1-0, 4.11) vs. TBD

Wednesday at 12:10 PM CT: Brandon Bielak (1-1, 2.89) vs. Adrian Houser (0-0, 3.07)

Who’s hot (highest WPA vs. A’s)

Framber Valdez (.563)

Yordan Alvarez (.421)

Kyle Tucker (.372)

Ryan Pressly (.170)

Brandon Bielak (.160)

Who’s not (lowest WPA vs. Cubs)

Jose Abreu (-.005)

Chas McCormick (-.107)

Corey Julks (-.185)

Jeremy Peña (-.233)

Alex Bregman (-.240)