MLB game Of The Week: Milwaukee Brewers at San Francisco Giants

The Brewers will take on the Giants Wednesday at Oracle Park, where the fog is cold and the kayakers are plentiful. The Giants have the best record in baseball, but have lost four out of their last five. They've now dropped two straight to the Brewers, and three overall to them this season. I'm not saying the Brewers have the Giants figured out, but this could be a problem for San Francisco as these two teams will likely see one another in October. 

Milwaukee's All-Star right-hander Brandon Woodruff got the win Tuesday, dishing out eight strikeouts in six innings, while left fielder Christian Yelich extended his hitting streak to 10 with two singles. Johnny Cueto (7-7) got the loss for SF. He's 8-2 against Milwaukee since 2016, but struggled Tuesday, allowing six runs on 10 hits. The 35-year-old Cueto had been scratched from his scheduled start on Monday due to flu-like symptoms, and this may have played a factor in his struggles. Cueto tested negative twice for COVID-19 leading up to the start.  

Milwaukee will return to Oracle Wednesday with 45 road wins, two shy of their franchise record of 47 in 1982. When one talks about the Brewers offense, one must talk about Avail Garcia, who is hitting .270 this season with 109 hits, 24 home runs and 77 RBIs, all tops on the team. Giants fans can at least take comfort in that he's hitting just .185 against them this season, including one-for-seven in the two games the clubs have played this week. Somehow I don't expect that to continue. 

The Brewers have had their own struggles with COVID-19 this season. Adrian Houser, Eric Lauer, Jake Cousins, Jandel Gustave, Hunter Strickland, Keston Hiuran and the 2018 MVP Yelich have all missed games after testing positive. Yelich, who is vaccinated, got off the list earlier this month after missing 10 days. He was hitting .235 at the time, but is .385 during a hitting streak that has saved his season, bringing it more in line with the team's success. Yelich apparently bought an acoustic guitar and watched a lot of Yellowstone during his quarantine period. Take note aspiring MLB stars, the secret to a successful 10 game (or maybe more!) hitting streak is Kevin Costner on a ranch and a sweet steel string. 

The Giants have hit a rough patch. No big deal. It's been a great season. The team has exceeded all expectations. Nothing to worry about here. But they want to win this one. Milwaukee is good. They will probably face Milwaukee in the playoffs. It feels good to beat good teams. Wins feel good. Home runs feel great. Wins good. Losses bad. Sorry, I haven't had lunch yet. Point is, the Giants need this one. Losing three straight to the Brewers is not how they want to slide into early September. 

Mike Yastremski (21 home runs) Brandon Crawford (.289) (74 RBIs) and Buster Posey (.304) (24 doubles) are just a few of he Giants who need to get hot to get them out of this losing streak. SF remains in first in the NL West, but the Dodgers are only a half game back. While they're battling Milwaukee tonight, the Giants can feel LA's presence, just to the south. The Dodgers went 21-6 in August, and have won 16 of their last 18. The entire team just might be watching a lot of Yellowstone. 

I think the Giants bounce back and get this one. It starts with the pitching. Kevin Gausman, (12-5 2.49 176 Ks) will be on the mound for SF. Gausman went 4-1 with a 3.11 ERA in August, giving up just one home run that month. Dude was DEFINITELY watching Yellowstone. Gausman is 6-3 at Oracle this season with 11Ks. 

Brett Anderson (4-8 4.27 54Ks) will get the start for the Brewers. Brandon Crawford will be especially happy to see Anderson. Crawford is .389 in his career against the lefty with a .476 OBP. Anderson struggled in August, finishing 1-4 with a 5.40 ERA. He faced SF in early August and pitch five innings in a 5-4 loss. 

My prediction: Giants 5-2. The Giants have come to far and watched too much Yellowstone to let the Dodgers catch them in the NL West.