Brewers at Rays
The Milwaukee Brewers showed some signs of life by taking two of three from the National League Central-rival St. Louis Cardinals to start the week and hope to ride that momentum when they visit the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday to start a three-game interleague set. The Brewers had lost 11 of 14 contests before edging the Cardinals twice in the last three days, capped by Thursday’s 2-1 triumph.
Ryan Braun owns a four-game hitting streak (6-for-15) and should be back in the lineup after resting Thursday for Milwaukee, which moved within 1 ½ games of the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. The Brewers, who are 9-4 in interleague play, will send Brandon Woodruff to the mound for his major-league debut in the series opener while the Rays counter with rookie Jacob Faria. Tampa Bay has recovered after a rough 2-8 stretch by winning four of its last five and trails Kansas City by one-half game for the American League’s second wild card with the next nine contests slated for its home park. Steven Souza Jr. returned after missing two games with a sore foot to belt a homer and knock in three runs in Thursday’s 5-3 victory at AL-best Houston - the Rays’ third straight win.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FSN Sun (Tampa Bay)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Brandon Woodruff (NR) vs. Rays RH Jacob Faria (5-1, 2.93)
Zach Davies was pushed back to Saturday to give Woodruff his first chance in the majors after going 6-5 with a 4.46 ERA in 15 starts at Triple-A Colorado Springs. The 24-year-old Mississippi State product struck out 70 and walked 24 in 72 2/3 frames in his first season at Triple-A. Woodruff, an 11th-round draft pick in 2014, won 14 games at two levels of the minors in 2016 and is 25-23 with a 3.31 ERA over four seasons in the Milwaukee system.
Faria comes in off the shortest outing of his rookie season when he permitted three runs over four innings with a career-high five walks across 92 pitches at the New York Yankees on Sunday. The 24-year-old Californian had posted eight quality starts in the first nine of his career, losing the only time he did not achieve the feat July 19 at Oakland. Faria faces a NL team for the first time and is 3-0 with a 2.81 ERA in four starts at home.
WALK-OFFS
1. Tampa Bay LF/DH Corey Dickerson made a game-saving catch Thursday and went 5-for-10 in the last two games.
2. The Brewers have scored a major league-high 89 runs in the first inning while the Rays have posted 69 - second-most in the AL.
3. The Rays won two of three games at home in 2014 when they last met Milwaukee.