The Braves, who have scored two runs or fewer in seven of their past 11 games, will face one of MLB’s best pitching staffs this weekend at Truist Park.
The Milwaukee Brewers have the second-best staff ERA (3.29) among the 30 teams, trailing only the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Brewers have four pitchers who were named to the National League team for this summer’s All-Star game in Denver.
Two of those All-Stars are scheduled to start against the Braves in the first two games of the series: right-hander Corbin Burnes on Friday and right-hander Brandon Woodruff on Saturday.
Burnes, who finished sixth in last year’s NL Cy Young Award voting, is 6-4 with a 2.12 ERA this season, including 4-0 with a 1.94 ERA over his past nine starts. He has struck out 146 batters and walked just 18 in 102 innings. Opponents are batting .198 against him.
Woodruff is 7-5 with a 2.14 ERA this season and has struck out 146 batters in 126 innings. He has held opponents to a .170 batting average.
The Brewers’ other All-Star pitchers are closer Josh Hader, who has 65 strikeouts in 38-1/3 innings this season, and starter Freddy Peralta, who won’t face the Braves because he started at Pittsburgh on Thursday night (and threw six scoreless innings).
Left-hander Brett Anderson (3-5, 3.86 ERA) is scheduled to start for Milwaukee in Sunday afternoon’s series finale.
“We’ve got a tough next three days against that pitching staff Milwaukee has,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said Thursday.
The NL Central-leading Brewers have a 61-42 record, including 32-18 on the road. They’ll bring a seven-game road winning streak to Truist Park, dating to July 7.
The Braves will start young pitchers who have been extremely impressive of late in the series’ first two games: Touki Toussaint (1-1, 1.32) on Friday and Kyle Muller (2-3, 2.55) on Saturday. Veteran Charlie Morton (10-3, 3.72) will pitch for the Braves on Sunday.
