The Brewers will go for a rare four-game sweep this afternoon as they wrap up their series with the Reds, but that’s not the headline. This game will feature one of the most exciting pitching matchups of the season, when Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski faces off against Cincinnati’s Chase Burns.
Misiorowski and Burns are two of the most exciting young players in the game. They’re both flamethrowers; Misiorowski’s fastball is untouchable at an average of 100.3 mph, but Burns is in the 93rd percentile at 97.9. Miz, at 24 years old, is a year older than Burns. Both have some of the nastiest stuff in the league; in FanGraphs’ Stuff+ metric, Misiorowski and Burns rank first and fourth, respectively. They’re first and sixth in ERA. They’re both in the top eight in pitching WAR via Baseball Reference and the top six via FanGraphs. Simply, they are two of the most thrilling young pitchers the game has seen in some time, and given that they’re division rivals, this will likely be the first matchup in what could become a real rivalry.
The teams, though, are going in opposite directions. The Brewers, at 53-31 on the season, have won eight of their last 10 — a stretch that includes a 6-0 record against the Reds. Cincinnati, on the other hand, is floundering: they’ve won just two of their last nine games and are just 9-18 since June 1.
After a day off yesterday, Christian Yelich is back in the leadoff spot for the Brewers. Garrett Mitchell is also back in the lineup after his big day yesterday. Sal Frelick and Jackson Chourio join Mitchell in the outfield, while David Hamilton, Cooper Pratt, Brice Turang, and Jake Bauers make up the infield. William Contreras is doing the catching.
First pitch is at 1:10 p.m. on Brewers TV and the Brewers Radio Network. The Brewers then jump on a plane to Phoenix, where they’ll start a series with the Diamondbacks tomorrow night.
