The Brewers welcome the Rays to town beginning Monday evening, as Milwaukee takes on yet another AL East opponent after battling the Yankees over the weekend. The Brewers, who have struggled to manage the injury bug this season, still sit atop the NL Central, just ahead of the Cubs. On the other side, the Rays are sitting in last in a deep AL East with a 13-16 record, although they’ve lost three consecutive series, including a sweep at the hands of the White Sox — MLB’s second-worst team at 6 -22 — over the weekend.
Both Lowes are out for the Rays, as outfielder Josh Lowe (right oblique strain and right hamstring tightness) and second baseman Brandon Lowe (right oblique strain) are on the injured list. Tampa Bay is also without infielder Jonathan Aranda and several pitchers, including ace Shane McClanahan, who is expected to miss all of 2024 after Tommy John surgery.
Milwaukee’s injured pitchers include Wade Miley, JB Bukauskas, Jakob Junis, DL Hall, Brandon Woodruff, Taylor Clarke, and Devin Williams. Offensively, Milwaukee is without outfielders Christian Yelich and Garrett Mitchell.
The Rays’ offense is led by Isaac Paredes, who leads the team with seven homers and 17 RBIs this season. Amed Rosario is hitting .320/.340/.454 with two homers, 13 RBIs, and a team-high 31 hits, while Jose Caballero leads the team with nine stolen bases. Randy Arozarena has struggled this season (.152/.226/.257) but has still shown flashes of power with three homers, while Yandy Diaz, Harold Ramirez, and Jose Siri are also mainstays in the lineup.
Milwaukee’s offense is led by Rhys Hoskins and William Contreras. Hoskins leads the team with six homers and is hitting .228/.314/.467, while Contreras leads the team with a .988 OPS, collecting five homers and 22 RBIs. Brice Turang continues to get on base, with a .310/.371/.437 slash line and 13 steals. Other key players include Willy Adames, Jackson Chourio, Blake Perkins, Gary Sanchez, Joey Ortiz, and Sal Frelick.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Monday, April 29 @ 6:40 pm: Bryse Wilson (2-0) vs. Ryan Pepiot (2-2)
Wilson has made eight appearances this season, including two starts, totaling 18 innings and allowing seven earned runs (3.50 ERA) on 13 hits and five walks while striking out 15. In his two starts, he’s spanned eight innings, allowing two runs on five hits and four walks with five strikeouts. In one relief appearance against the Rays, he went three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out one.
Pepiot has started five games for the Rays this season, allowing 12 earned runs (3.77 ERA) on 18 hits and 10 walks with 31 strikeouts in 28 2⁄3 innings. His last time out against the Tigers, he allowed one earned run on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts across six innings. He’s made one career start against the Brewers, allowing three runs on three hits and five walks with six strikeouts in 4 2⁄3 innings of work.
Tuesday, April 30 @ 6:40 pm: Freddy Peralta (2-0) vs. TBD
Peralta has had a strong 2024 thus far despite a rough start last time out. He’s got a 3.18 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 28 1⁄3 innings of work this season, but he went just 4 2⁄3 innings against the Pirates on Thursday, allowing five runs on five hits and five walks with five strikeouts. In two starts against the Rays, he’s 2-0 with a 4.09 ERA and eight strikeouts across 11 innings.
The Rays have not yet announced a starter for the second game of the series. This spot was filled with an opener in Shawn Armstrong last time around. Tyler Alexander got the bulk of the work in that game, going four innings after Armstrong took the first.
Wednesday, May 1 @ 12:10 pm: Colin Rea (2-0) vs. Zach Eflin (1-3)
Through five starts, Rea is 2-0 with a 3.25 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 27 2⁄3 innings this season. He also is coming off a rough game against the Yankees on Friday night, allowing five runs on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts across six frames. He’s never made an appearance against the Rays prior to this scheduled start.
Eflin is coming off the best season of his career, where he went 16-8 with a 3.50 ERA and 186 strikeouts across 31 starts. In six games this season, he’s 1-3 with a 4.08 ERA and 30 strikeouts across 35 1⁄3 innings. He got hit hard against the White Sox on Friday, allowing four runs on nine hits and two walks with four strikeouts in six innings of work. In six starts against the Brewers, he’s 3-2 with a 4.11 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 30 2⁄3 innings.
Prediction
The Rays are scuffling as they come off a sweep at the hands of the White Sox. I’ll take the Brewers to win two of three as they fend off the Cubs for the division lead heading into a weekend battle with their rivals.
