Blue Jays at Brewers
The Toronto Blue Jays would be happy just to get through their next series without losing another starting pitcher. The Blue Jays had three starters hit the disabled list last week as a promising season took a darker turn. The Milwaukee Brewers spent 5 1/2 hours playing a series finale at Minnesota on Sunday and ended up losing in the 15th inning, so fatigue could be a factor as they make their way back to Milwaukee.
Toronto had Brandon Morrow (oblique), Kyle Drabek (elbow) and Drew Hutchinson (elbow) go down last week but managed to overcome those losses in a series sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies over the weekend. Now is when things get interesting, as the Blue Jays shuffle the roster this week to find replacements. The Brewers got eight innings from Zack Greinke on Sunday and still needed seven innings from the bullpen. Ryan Braun extended his hitting streak to 12 games in the 5-4 loss but had his three-game home run streak end.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, RSN (Toronto), FSWI (Milwaukee)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays RH Henderson Alvarez (3-6, 3.87 ERA) vs. Brewers LH Randy Wolf (2-5, 5.06 ERA)
Henderson is one of two original rotation members left standing along
with ace Ricky Romero, but he has been on the decline recently with losses
in four straight decisions. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed three
home runs in a loss to the Washington Nationals last week and has
surrendered 16 homers in 13 starts this season.
Wolf has not won since April 30 but has been strong in his last two turns, allowing a total of one earned run and 10 hits in 13 2/3 innings. The veteran left-hander has not gotten more than four runs of support in any of his last six turns. Wolf has made two career starts against the Blue Jays, going 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA.
WALK-OFFS:
1. Toronto 3B Brett Lawrie was drafted by the Brewers and came up through their system before going to the Blue Jays in the Shaun Marcum deal prior to the 2011 season.
2. Marcum is set to pitch against his former team on Tuesday.
3. Brewers 2B Rickie Weeks has had back-to-back multi-hit games, bringing his season average up to .177.