The Milwaukee Brewers will look to bounce back from a pair of road losses behind right-hander Chad Patrick when they return home to face the Washington Nationals on Friday in the opener of a three-game series.
Patrick (1-0, 0.96 ERA) will be opposed by right-hander Jake Irvin (1-1, 8.00) as the Brewers face a National League opponent for the first time after opening with 12 games against American League teams.
The Brewers, who were idle Thursday, dropped the final two games in Boston, including a 5-0 defeat on Wednesday to lose their first series of the season. Milwaukee managed just four hits off veteran Sonny Gray and three relievers.
Washington, which also was off Thursday, lost at St. Louis 6-1 on Wednesday for its seventh loss in eight games.
Patrick has been effective in each of his first two starts, allowing one run on five hits in 4 1/3 innings his first time out as Milwaukee beat the visiting Chicago White Sox 6-1 on March 28. That was followed by four hits over five scoreless innings in his last start, a 5-2 win on Saturday at Kansas City.
“Five innings … he’ll be the first to admit he did not have his best location, he didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said following Patrick’s last start. “It’s more of a positive than anybody could know when you don’t have your best stuff and get through it.”
Patrick has struck out seven and walked four in 9 1/3 innings, allowing one home run.
Brewers veteran Christian Yelich is off to a hot start, hitting a team-leading .372 with two doubles, one triple, one homer and 10 RBIs. Speedy outfielder Garrett Mitchell, who missed almost all of last season with a left oblique strain, is hitting .310 with a team-high 13 RBI.
The Brewers also lead the majors with 23 stolen bases in 27 attempts.
Brewers second baseman Brice Turang missed the final two games of the Red Sox series with left ankle tendinitis.
“We’re just trying to get me off my feet for a couple days,” Turang said on Wednesday. “This rolls into an off day, so it will be three days and then I’ll be ready to roll on Friday. Just trying to get it knocked out, get it out of the foot.”
After a solid first start in defeating the host Chicago Cubs on March 29, Irvin struggled his last time out, allowing six runs on eight hits in four innings in a 10-5 home loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.
“Overall, these guys were jumping on him pretty early in counts,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said following Irvin’s last start. “He never seemed to be comfortable out there.”
Irvin has had little success against the Brewers, going 0-5 with a 6.59 ERA in six career starts against them, allowing five homers and 15 walks in 28 2/3 innings.
The Nationals have the worst team ERA in the majors at 6.06 over 12 games. On the offensive side, the Nationals are tied for third with 16 homers and fourth in team batting average at .266 as of Thursday afternoon.
Shortstop CJ Abrams is hitting .286 and leads Washington with four homers and 14 RBI. James Wood also has four homers with 10 RBI, but the outfielder is hitting just .216 with 18 strikeouts in 51 at-bats.
–Field Level Media
