Brewers at Giants
The Milwaukee Brewers and San Francisco Giants cannot afford to be spinning their wheels but that is what they have done coming out of the All-Star break as they begin a four-game series Thursday in California. The stakes are a bit higher for San Francisco, which sits 4 1/2 games out of a wild-card spot with four teams to pass in the crowded National League playoff race after a 3-2 loss at Seattle on Wednesday gave it three setbacks in its last four contests.
Milwaukee, which trails the Chicago Cubs by 2 1/2 games in the NL Central but is 1 1/2 clear while leading the wild-card race, is 3-3 since the break after Wednesday's 7-3 loss to Washington. "We won the series against the Nationals. We'll take that," Brewers third baseman Travis Shaw told reporters. "Going forward, we just have to continue to get more consistent. We have to try to get going again." Milwaukee, which begins an eight-game road trip that includes four at Dodger Stadium, led the Cubs by 1 1/2 games July 10 before losing six straight entering the break. Giants' rookie Dereck Rodriguez owns a four-game winning streak and opposes Wade Miley, who has been sharp in two outings since returning from his second stint on the disabled list this season.
TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, MLB Network; FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), NBCS Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers LH Wade Miley (1-1, 1.56 ERA) vs. Giants RH Dereck Rodriguez (5-1, 2.72)
Miley earned a no-decision in his 200th career start after allowing an unearned run, four hits and two walks while striking out two over six innings of Milwaukee's 6-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday. “He did a heck of a job,'' Brewers manager Craig Counsell told reporters about the 31-year-old Louisiana native, who has missed time this season with groin and oblique injuries and will be making his fifth start of the campaign. "He pitched really well. It was an outstanding outing.” Brandon Belt is 5-for-10 with a home run against Miley, who is 4-4 with a 3.90 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) versus San Francisco.
Rodriguez yielded one run and three hits with five strikeouts across 6 1/3 innings of a 5-1 victory at Oakland on Friday. The 26-year-old son of Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez, who has never faced Milwaukee or any of its players, is 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA in his last seven games (six starts) - all Giants victories. "The kid's just did a great job since he's been up here," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy told reporters. "It's been a pleasure watching how this guy's handled everything that's thrown at him."
WALK-OFFS
1. Belt (.278, team highs of 14 home runs and 43 RBIs) left Wednesday's game, limping off the field after reaching on an infield hit in the seventh inning.
2. Brewers CF Christian Yelich (.310, 13 homers, 52 RBIs) is 19-for-37 during a nine-game hitting streak after going 2-for-4 on Wednesday.
3. The Giants have won the last four season series and are 16-9 versus Milwaukee during that span.