Nationals at Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers welcomed two important players back to the lineup and may have received the spark they needed with a 5-4, 10-inning victory on Tuesday to clinch the series win against the struggling Washington Nationals. The Brewers look to complete the sweep and solidify their National League wild-card spot when they host the Nationals for the finale on Wednesday afternoon.
Eric Thames notched an RBI in his return from the disabled list and All-Star Jesus Aguilar (hamstring) was back from a two-game absence while Christian Yelich extended his hitting streak to eight games, a stretch during which he is 17-for-33 with eight RBIs. Rookie Freddy Peralta will try to help the Brewers finish the sweep on Wednesday while Washington hopes to begin turning around its fortunes with Tanner Roark on the mound. The Nationals have dropped five of their last seven contests as they fade further out of contention in the NL East and wild-card races. Former MVP Bryce Harper was relegated to a pinch-hitting role due to the stomach flu on Tuesday while Anthony Rendon extended his hitting streak to 12 games.
TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, MASN (Washington), FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Tanner Roark (3-12, 4.87 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Freddy Peralta (4-1, 2.65)
Roark has recorded just one victory since the beginning of May and is 0-3 with a 9.56 ERA while allowing 28 hits over 16 innings in three starts this month. The 31-year-old Illinois product gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks over five frames in a loss to the New York Mets in his last outing. Brad Miller is 5-for-6 with a pair of doubles against Roark, who is 3-1 with a 2.72 ERA in six career appearances (five starts) versus Milwaukee.
Peralta looks to rebound from his shortest appearance in the majors last time out at Miami, where he was touched for three runs in 3 2/3 innings. The 22-year-old Dominican had posted three quality starts in his previous four outings, with three wins and a loss in which he gave up three runs over five frames. Peralta has been dominant in his first two starts at home this season, going 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 13 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Washington OF Adam Eaton is 16-for-39 with six runs scored over his last 10 contests.
2. Milwaukee optioned RHP Brandon Woodruff and INF Nate Orf to Triple-A Colorado Springs while activating Thames (hamstring) and RHP Junior Guerra (forearm) from the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday.
3. Nationals 1B Ryan Zimmerman (oblique) recorded three hits and an RBI on Tuesday after going 0-for-4 in his first two games since spending two months on the DL.