Welcome back for game two of today’s doubleheader. The Brewers won a tight game one behind 11 strikeouts from Jacob Misiorowski and three hits each from Christian Yelich and Joey Ortiz. In game two this evening, Robert Gasser — who is designated as today’s 27th man via MLB’s doubleheader rules — will make the start for Milwaukee, while 26-year-old Hunter Dobbins takes the hill for the Cardinals.
Gasser last pitched for the Brewers on June 29, when he went 5 2/3 innings and allowed three runs in a 5-3 win over the Reds. He was optioned to the minors after that, but that seems like more of a flexibility thing than anything else — Milwaukee knew they could use him as the 27th man today, and the 15-day window required before he can be recalled (except in case of an injury) will be up after the All-Star break. Overall for the Brewers this season, Gasser has a 4.54 ERA in seven starts that cover 35 2/3 innings. Milwaukee will hope to get some length from him today; Aaron Ashby and Abner Uribe have already pitched today, and Milwaukee hasn’t had a day off since June 25, so they’ll need as much as they can get from Ashby.
Dobbins, a right-hander, debuted last season when he was with the Red Sox — he came to St. Louis in the Willson Contreras trade — and has pitched reasonably well in his limited time as a big-leaguer. This season, he’s only made four appearances (two starts), but holds a 3.63 ERA and 4.38 FIP in 17 1/3 innings. Last year, Dobbins pitched to a 4.13 ERA in 61 innings for Boston.
Earlier today, the Brewers made a couple of other roster moves. To recap, Luis Lara has been promoted, with Blake Perkins headed back down to Triple-A Nashville, and in a separate move later on, Greg Jones was recalled with David Hamilton heading to the injured list with a strained hamstring. Brewers fans aren’t going to be thrilled about Jones coming back, as he struggled badly in his first stint in Milwaukee, but it’s important to note that Jones — who the Brewers have listed as “INF/OF” — is at least hypothetically capable of playing the infield in a pinch. Jones was a college shortstop, and while he’s played almost exclusively outfield positions since becoming a pro, Jones has played in 32 Triple-A games as a shortstop and 21 more (including five this season) at second base. It’s a stretch, but Jones is surely a better emergency defensive option than either Andrew Vaughn or Sal Frelick is.
Jones is not in tonight’s lineup, but Lara is in center field (and batting second!) for his major league debut. Expect Cooper Pratt, Ortiz, and Brice Turang to make up the non-first-base infield for every game until the All-Star break, as they do tonight. Andrew Vaughn will man first base with Jake Bauers in left field, while Gary Sánchez will catch, Sal Frelick will play right, and Yelich, after his big game this afternoon, remains in the leadoff spot.
First pitch is at 6:45 p.m. on Brewers TV and the Brewers Radio Network.
