Neither one of these clubs had a May that they want to remember, so the Milwaukee Brewers (28-26) and the Toronto Blue Jays (29-26) will wrap up this series with higher ambitions for June. Toronto took the first game of the series, with game two on Wednesday night. This Thursday afternoon tilt will be the final meeting between these franchises until 2024, pending a World Series battle. The first pitch is set for 1:07 p.m. EDT, from Toronto's Rogers Centre.
Well, Tuesday's loss was Milwaukee's fourth over their past five games. They're stuck in another rut, and the NL Central continues to get tighter. Before Wednesday's MLB games unfolded, the Brewers were one game ahead of the second-place Pirates and 4.5 games ahead of the last-place Cardinals. The Brewers are one bad week away from being stuck in an NL Central mosh pit, and the offense is mostly to blame. Only five teams are scoring fewer runs per game than the Brewers this season. Their lineup has the 25th-ranked batting average, 25th-ranked OBP, 27th-best slugging percentage, and is ranked 27th in strikeout rate. Stolen bases and home runs save this team from complete ineptitude.
Freddy Peralta is the pitcher tasked with masking the team's offensive woes, and he didn't do that well in May. Peralta finished the month allowing 22 runs (16 earned) in 25.2 innings of work. Pitching on the road ha sn't been his forte either, as he has a 6.45 ERA in 22.1 road innings. His walk, hit, and home run numbers have all spiked in away games so far. If Peralta can get the ball to the bullpen with a lead, the Brewers will be in good shape. That's a lot to ask from him in this game though, especially with how he's been pitching lately.