Going up against a rookie right-hander is probably one of the last things the Milwaukee Brewers want to do when they open a three-game series with the visiting Washington Nationals on Friday night.
Milwaukee was no-hit through seven innings by Paul Skenes in a 1-0 home loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday. Skenes, making his 11th big-league start, was pulled after throwing 99 pitches and striking out 11.
“He competes,” Brewers catcher William Contreras said of Skenes. “We have to compete, too.”
Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell had singles in the eighth — the first two Brewers to bat after Skenes left the game — to account for Milwaukee’s only two hits.
Luckily for the Brewers, the Nationals’ Friday starter, Jackson Rutledge (0-0, 9.00 ERA), hasn’t been nearly as dominant as the hard-throwing Skenes throughout his limited time in the majors.
After going 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in four starts last year, Rutledge has only pitched one inning this season, giving up one run and two hits during a relief outing against the Chicago White Sox on May 14. He is set to be called up from Triple-A Rochester to take the mound on Friday.
Rutledge has never faced Milwaukee.
The Brewers will counter with Freddy Peralta (6-4, 3.95 ERA), who is coming off a no-decision against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. The right-hander lasted four innings in that outing, giving up three runs on four hits.
In six career appearances (four starts) against Washington, Peralta is 3-2 with a 6.67 ERA.
Much like the Brewers, the Nationals found themselves on the wrong end of a shutout on Thursday, losing 7-0 to the Mets. New York completed a three-game series sweep with the victory.
Washington has averaged two runs during an active five-game skid.
“Just no offense,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “We had our chances (on Thursday). We just couldn’t score any runs. The at-bats just got to get better with runners in scoring position. … I know we’re young, but we’re just pressing just too much and just trying to make things happen.”
James Wood, who hit out of the three-hole on Thursday, is looking to break out of his first major league slump.
Wood had his contract selected from Rochester on July 1 and hit safely in six of his first seven games with Washington. However, he has since gone 2-for-16 (.125) across four games, including a 1-for-5 outing with two strikeouts on Thursday.
“He’s adjusting to the league,” Martinez said of Wood. “The league is adjusting to him. What I like is he’s seeing pitches. But he’s going to be fine. All I know is, when he hits the ball, it’s hard.”
Meanwhile, Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich is trying to make sure 0-for-4 performance against Pittsburgh on Thursday doesn’t lead to a prolonged slump.
Yelich was hitting .424 (14-for-33) in the month of July heading into the series finale against the Pirates.
“I wish we could have had (Brewers starter Aaron Civale’s) back a little bit more (Thursday),” Yelich said. “That’s baseball. It’s going to happen. You’re going to get ‘got’ some days.”
–Field Level Media
