The Brewers have a chance to tighten their grip on the NL Central again Tuesday night, and they’re handing the ball to the arm they trust most.
Milwaukee beat the Cubs in a dramatic Labor Day finish, and now the math is starting to get real. The Brewers’ magic number to clinch the division sits at 10, and a win would push it into single digits. They already locked up the season series over Chicago with Monday night’s victory, and another win would knock that number down to eight as they chase a fourth straight division title.
Jacob Misiorowski gets the assignment for Milwaukee, even after one of his roughest outings of the year. Last week against the Cubs, he gave up five runs in four innings, which bumped his season ERA to 1.97. Even with that hiccup, the Brewers still came away with a 9-5 win thanks to help from the bullpen and the offense.
This time, Milwaukee is hoping for a cleaner night from Misiorowski with better weather and mound conditions in play. Chicago counters with left-hander David Peterson, who has struggled all season with a 5.39 ERA and had a tough go of it in the same matchup last week. Peterson allowed six earned runs in 3.2 innings against Misiorowski and the Brewers.
Milwaukee’s lineup will again be missing Jake Bauers, who remains sidelined with a collection of bumps and bruises. Christian Yelich is also out of the starting lineup against the lefty.
The Brewers are rolling out Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang and Andrew Vaughn at the top, with William Contreras in the cleanup spot and behind the plate. Gary Sanchez is next as the designated hitter. Luis Lara hits sixth, followed by Joey Ortiz, Garrett Mitchell and Cooper Pratt.
For the Cubs, the offense starts with Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki and Alex Bregman. Michael Busch is at first base and batting cleanup, with Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ behind him. Matt Shaw is moving to second base, Tyrone Taylor is down in the eighth spot, and Miguel Amaya fills out the order for Craig Counsell.
Milwaukee also had a couple of injury notes before first pitch. Left-hander Rob Zastryzny is set to start a new rehab assignment with Triple-A Nashville tomorrow and will throw one inning.
He has not appeared in a big league game this season after dealing with shoulder and back injuries, plus setbacks during previous rehab work. Reliever Bryse Wilson is throwing from 90 feet without any issues and is on track for a mid-to-late September return.
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