Houston Astros vs. Milwaukee Brewers Series Preview

After playing in freezing temperatures in the Big Apple, the Houston Astros travel westward to Milwaukee to face their old NL Central foe.

The Brewers began their season hosting the Giants, winning the final game of the series to avoid getting swept.  Milwaukee will have familiar faces in their dugout stemming from last season’s mid-year trade.  Jonathan Villar, Domingo Santana, and Chris Carter will no doubt look to cause distress to the club that parted ways with them.

Milwaukee is in a rebuilding phase.  Last year the Brew Crew went 68-94, good enough for fourth place in their division.  Craig Counsell took over as manager early last year and begins this year as a first-time opening day skipper.  Along with trading Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers to Houston, the 2015 season saw departures of Yovani Gallardo, Jonathan Broxton, Gerardo Parra, and Aramis Ramirez, leaving Milwaukee with only one mainstay of talent in Ryan Braun.

In return, Milwaukee got several young prospects, and a few have been immediately inserted into their starting lineups.  In their opening series, 2B Scooter Gennett hit the ball well and showed patience at the plate, batting .400 with three walks.  Gennett, Villar, and Carter all hit home runs in the opening series.

Milwaukee’s lineup surrounds the All-Star Braun with a mixture of veterans and prospects, including Santana at the leadoff spot.  On paper, this team could definitely struggle to hit for average this year, but have players that can hammer pitcher’s mistakes over the fence.  The starting rotation is average at best, but if they can get through five or six innings, the bullpen is respectable.  It’s worth noting that SP Matt Garza is currently on the DL and will be out until May.

The Astros won game one against the Yankees in epic fashion, thanks to Dallas Keuchel battling through control issues, and the Houston offense getting some timely hits and taking advantage of defensive miscues.  Game two was an utter catastrophe from a pitching standpoint.  Carlos Correa did have a multi-home run game, and George Springer delivered a grand slam.  In the rubber match, the Astros jumped on Nathan Eovaldi early with second inning home runs from Tyler White and Preston Tucker.  Then Mike Fiers gave up five runs, and Ken Giles gave up a three-run blast to Mark Teixeira to seal the series for the Yankees.

The Astros starting pitching minus Keuchel was horrendous, and Ken Giles has given up two home runs in two appearances.  It’s only been three games, but hopefully, the Astros starters can calm down and pitch more efficiently in the weekend matchup ahead.

Next: GAME 1 – Scott Feldman vs Chase Anderson

GAME 1 – Scott Feldman vs. Chase Anderson

The veteran Feldman will get his first start of the year in the series opener.  He does not have much history versus Milwaukee batters, with exception Aaron Hill whom he has fared well against them.  Feldman definitely fared better away from Minute Maid Park last year, compiling a 2.36 road ERA opposed to 5.40 at home, so he will look to continue that trend.  Lance McCullers should be back from the DL mid-late April, so this start will be important for Feldman to prove himself worthy of the fifth spot.

Chase Anderson spent the last two seasons with Arizona.  He was included in an off-season trade which sent Jean Segura to the Diamondbacks.  Anderson earned a record of 15-13 and an ERA of 4.18.  He is slotted as the team’s number five starter and looks to improve as he will enter his first year of arbitration next season.  The scouting report on this right-hander is an average fastball, with above average off-speed pitches.  Houston hitters have never faced Anderson at the major league level.
Prediction:  Astros – 4  Brewers – 3

Next: GAME 2 – Doug Fister vs Wily Peralta

GAME 3 – Dallas Keuchel vs. Jimmy Nelson

Keuchel struggled with his control in the season opener but managed to grind out a win.  Keuchel walked four batters in seven innings, while all last season, he had one game of four walks.  He had five strikeouts and managed to work out of some jams to earn the victory.  Keuchel has minimal appearances versus current Brewers, but Hill, Braun and Jonathan Lucroy all have had success hitting him.  Expect the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner to focus more on the strike zone and shut down the opposing lineup.

Jimmy Nelson enters this season as the number three starter.  He had a decent season in 2015, which was his first full year, earning 11 wins and compiling a serviceable 4.11 ERA.  If he is to take the next stride in his development, he will need to improve performance against left-handed hitters, which last year batted .302 against hit pitching.  To combat this issue, he has developed a curveball to use instead of a changeup.  However, his lone mistake in his season debut was a changeup knocked out of the park by Brandon Crawford.  He pitched well against Houston in an exhibition game this spring but look for the Astros’ left-handed batters to get some good swings off of Nelson.
Prediction:  Astros – 4  Brewers – 1

Next: KUDOS & CALL-OUTS

KUDOS & CALL-OUTS

Kudos to Carlos Correa and Tyler White.  Correa jumped out of the gates with three home runs in the opening series, including one 462-foot bomb to dead center.  What a story Tyler White is becoming.  After winning a spot on the active roster due to a fantastic spring, and then getting drilled in the hand on a cold day by a Masahiro Tanaka fastball, he hits his first MLB home run in Yankee Stadium.  On the series, he batted .667 and continues to be a fan favorite.

Next: Houston Astros: Chris Devenski Called Up to Replace Michael Feliz

Carlos Gomez is getting called out.  He looks completely lost at the plate.  The only object he finds in the batter’s box is his helmet after it falls to the dirt, every time he swings.  Finally, in game three, he got two hits.  You would have thought the Astros clinched the division by his celebration after hitting….a double.  I get it, and Gomez is an electric personality, and the Astros knew that when they traded for him.  However, take a look how Tyler White rounded the bases after hitting his first major league home run in Yankee Stadium, and then look at Gomez “dabbing” on second base.  Gomez might want to tame it down until he is hitting the baseball a bit more consistent.

**Statistics provided by Baseball-Reference**