The Brewers are back at American Family Field on Friday, July 17, and the second half opens with a pretty serious test: the Miami Marlins, a team that has spent much of the summer looking every bit like a playoff contender.
Milwaukee enters at 59-37 after getting swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the record still puts the Brewers second-best in baseball. Miami arrives at 52-45 and, despite a three-game losing streak, is sitting in third place in the National League East with a wild-card spot if the season ended today.
The Marlins are one game ahead of St. Louis for that final berth and two behind Philadelphia.
The pitching matchup gets things rolling Friday night with Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara (10-5, 3.99 ERA) against Brewers right-hander Logan Henderson (3-1, 3.18 ERA) at 6:40 p.m. CT.
Saturday brings another strong arm: Miami’s Max Meyer (9-1, 2.58 ERA) versus Brewers left-hander Shane Drohan (4-3, 3.09 ERA) at 3:10 p.m. CT.
Miami’s recent run hasn’t been a fluke. The Marlins were 20-6 in June, then ripped off six straight wins early in July before the offense cooled off in a sweep by Cleveland, when they scored five runs in three games. Even in that series, the pitching held up, allowing just 12 runs.
That staff is the real deal. Eury Pérez, 23, threw seven perfect innings July 5 and hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any of his last six starts, a stretch that goes back to mid-May after he worked through injury.
He owns a 3.78 ERA and 1.144 WHIP. Meyer has piled up 116 strikeouts in 108 innings and has gone seven straight outings allowing two or fewer runs.
Alcantara, the 30-year-old former Cy Young winner, has delivered 131 innings with his usual deep outings and a 3.99 ERA.
The Marlins have paired that pitching with an offense that has 20 home runs in July, second-most in MLB, and has struck out less this month than every team except Toronto. That combination has Miami squarely in the playoff chase.
One of the biggest reasons is Otto Lopez. The 27-year-old second baseman, claimed off waivers in 2024, has become a major piece for Miami.
His 4.7 WAR leads the team and ranks sixth in baseball. He also leads the National League with 127 hits and 26 doubles, while batting .334.
Add six triples, nine homers and 17 steals, and the profile is easy to see.
Milwaukee already saw this club once earlier in the year and took two of three in Miami. The Brewers needed 10 innings to win the opener on April 17, when Garrett Mitchell came through with a key two-run double after the Marlins dropped a potential out at the plate. Brandon Woodruff then helped Milwaukee to a 5-2 win in Game 2, before Jacob Misiorowski took the loss in a 5-3 defeat in the finale.
The weekend at home also comes with some promotions. Friday is Niche de Cerveceros at American Family Field.
Saturday features a Brandon Woodruff “trading-card” bobblehead for the first 25,000 fans. Sunday is Paw Patrol Day.
There are a few other Marlins notes worth keeping in mind. Esteury Ruiz, who was part of Milwaukee’s deal to acquire William Contreras before 2023, has put together a solid year with an .836 OPS in 58 games and a team-high 20 steals, while being thrown out just three times.
Miami is second in MLB in stolen bases. Jakob Marsee has struggled to a .615 OPS, though he has 19 steals and has been caught a league-high 10 times.
He also has five homers. Catcher Agustín Ramírez and former Cubs prospect Owen Caissie are not on the active roster.
On the mound, only one Marlins pitcher has more than two saves, and that’s Milwaukee-born Pete Fairbanks, who has 13 saves despite a 6.83 ERA and seven home runs allowed in 29 innings. University of Wisconsin-Whitewater alumnus Lake Bachar has also been part of the mix, appearing in 32 games with a 3.58 ERA and 1.073 WHIP.
After Miami, the Brewers stay home for a July 20-22 series against the New York Mets, and likely former Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta. Milwaukee then gets the Colorado Rockies from July 24-26 before heading out on a two-city West Coast trip to close the month.
Peralta is tentatively lined up to return to American Family Field on Monday, July 20, and he could wind up facing Misiorowski.
As for the standings, Milwaukee’s magic number is 62 to win the National League Central and 59 to clinch a playoff spot. Any combination of Brewers wins and losses by the first team on the outside looking in - the Chicago Cubs for the division and the St. Louis Cardinals for the playoff spot - that adds up to those numbers will get it done.
In Other News...
Brewers Just Got Another Big Reminder They Nailed The Andrew Vaughn Trade
More than a year after Milwaukee sent Aaron Civale to the White Sox for Andrew Vaughn, the trade keeps looking better for the Brewers. Vaughn has settled in at first base and given the lineup the kind of steady production the club was hoping for, with his offensive work showing both consistency and real value in the middle of the order.
Civale, meanwhile, has kept trending the other way, which only sharpens the contrast in what was once a straightforward swap. Milwaukee does not need a reminder that Vaughn has been the more dependable piece, but the latest turn in Civales career makes the return look even stronger and leaves the Brewers with another example of a deal that has aged well in their favor. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Just Got A Costly New Reality On Jacob Misiorowski
Chase Burns new deal in Cincinnati has quietly changed the conversation for Milwaukee, because it gives the Brewers a fresh measuring stick if they want to lock up Jacob Misiorowski. The right-hander has been one of the most electric arms in the game this season, and his emergence has only sharpened the question of how aggressive the Brewers will need to be to keep him in place long term.
Misiorowskis rise has put him in a different class of extension candidate, and the timing matters because the market for young pitchers keeps moving. Milwaukee has not yet gotten into extension talks with him, but the Burns contract makes clear that any serious effort to buy out Misiorowskis future is going to come with a hefty price tag and a lot more urgency than it might have just a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Civale's Exit From Milwaukee Keeps Looking Worse
Aaron Civales path since asking out of Milwaukee last June has only gotten bumpier. The right-hander was designated for assignment by the Athletics after 16 appearances and a 5.82 ERA, another rough stop for a pitcher who once looked like a useful rotation piece and has instead spent the last year bouncing from one roster crunch to the next.
The latest move also brings back an uncomfortable pattern for the Brewers to watch from afar. Civale was DFAd by the White Sox last summer after the trade out of Milwaukee, and this is the third time in a little over a year that he has landed in DFA limbo, a striking turn for a veteran who has already worn six big league uniforms in eight seasons. [Read more 🡒]