Milwaukee will try to bounce back from a tough loss to Chicago when the teams square off in the second game of a three-game series on Saturday afternoon. The Brewers held a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning and a 7-6 lead in the sixth inning before ultimately conceding in an 8-7 setback. Chicago has now won four consecutive games for the first time since July 26.
Milwaukee got off to a strong start to the second half of the season, winning seven of its first eight games back from the All-Star break. However, the Brewers have lost 11 of their 17 games since then. They were swept by Pittsburgh and lost a series to Cincinnati during that stretch, so it has certainly been a disappointment. Milwaukee has not won a series of at least three games since taking two out of three at Boston at the end of July. The Brewers are sitting three games back of St. Louis in the National League Central standings, and they are 1.5 games back of San Diego for the final NL Wild Card spot.
Took the lead back pic.twitter.com/aWHRECKYaw
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 19, 2022
Their offense has not been great this season, ranked No. 22 in team batting average (.236). Left fielder Christian Yelich leads the way with 105 hits, while designated hitter Andrew McCutchen has 99 base knocks. They will be facing a Chicago pitching staff that is No. 23 with an ERA of 4.23. Right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta is going to be on the mound for Milwaukee on Saturday afternoon. He allowed one run on two hits and four walks across four innings against the Dodgers in his last outing. Peralta tied a season-high in walks, but the lone run came on a solo home run. He is still working his way back from a lengthy absence due to a lat strain, and he has now allowed five runs across 12.2 innings since returning to the rotation earlier this month.