The Milwaukee Brewers play host to the Colorado Rockies in a National League showdown on Wednesday afternoon from American Family Field. The Brewers continue to sit atop the NL Central, with their eyes set on a playoff run, while the Rockies seem destined to be unable to do anything except play the role of spoiler. In the first three-game series between these two this season, the Rockies were able to sweep all three games, while Milwaukee knows that they can't afford to drop a single game like Wednesday's. As one of the few afternoon matchups with a playoff team, this is one fans will want to tune in for.
The Rockies might sit in last place in the NL West and have the fewest wins in the National League but they've shown that they won't back down. They've gone 4-6 over their last ten games and even though they swept Milwaukee earlier this season, they might be hard-pressed to close out the series strong. The road has been trouble for them, where their 19-38 record is one of the worst marks in baseball, while playing in Milwaukee is a challenge for even the top teams. The schedule doesn't get much easier for Colorado over the next few weeks and with the playoffs out of reach, they'll be reserved to try to ruin the last few months for their opposition.
According to MLB.com, Chris Flexen will get the ball for the Rockies in this one. The righty brings a 1-5 record and 7.82 ERA into this one, both numbers which don't give off a ton of confidence for Colorado fans. He's m ainly come out of the bullpen over the last few months and has only gone over 4.0 innings once since May 22nd, which happened to be the last time out. Against the Cardinals in that one, he allowed ten hits and three runs, though Milwaukee is sure to be more of a challenge.
The pitching seems to be what has hurt the Rockies this season, as the hitting continues to at least be respectable. The recent rash of injuries has been difficult for them to navigate and will only make things more difficult in this one. Charlie Blackmon (hand) and Kris Bryant (finger) remain two of the biggest names in the NL West who will be missing time and without them, Colorado could struggle with run production on the road. Elias Diaz (.271 average) has been instrumental atop the order, while Ryan McMahon (19 home runs, 58 RBI, .340 OBP) will be needed to continue providing the power.