The Milwaukee Brewers begin a crucial 10-game stretch of contests facing National League Central rivals on Monday against the Cincinnati Reds. After the three-game set against the Reds, the Brew Crew returns home to play three against the Chicago Cubs and another four against the Reds.
Milwaukee broke a three-game losing streak by beating the Atlanta Braves, 9-4, on Sunday to avoid a road sweep. The Brewers, who now stand at 46-29, will begin the new week with a five-game edge on the second-place St. Louis Cardinals.
Here are the probable pitching matchups and key players the Brewers will need to control to leave the Great American Ball Park with their divisional lead intact.
Monday, June 22, 6:10 pm CT: Brandon Woodruff (MIL) vs. Brady Singer (CIN)
Tuesday, June 23, 6:10 pm CT: Shane Drohan (MIL) vs. Nick Lodolo (CIN)
Wednesday, June 24, 6:10 pm CT: Jacob Misiorowski (MIL) vs. Rhett Lowder (CIN)
Milwaukee split the six games it played last week, which included the rare series loss to the Braves. Before heading to Atlanta, the Brew Crew took two of three from the Cleveland Guardians at home.
The Brewers had every opportunity not only to win the series in Atlanta, but also to sweep the Braves had a couple of plays gone their way.
In the series opener on Friday, Milwaukee trailed 3-1 headed into the ninth inning. The Crew mounted a rally, and they had runners at second and third with just one out. Brice Turang singled to right, scoring Christian Yelich from third. The runner on second, Jackson Chourio, was thrown out at home by Braves’ rightfielder Eli White by mere inches to preserve the 3-2 Atlanta win.
On Saturday afternoon, the Brewers were the ones clinging to a 3-2 lead in the ninth inning. With one out, Milwaukee reliever Aaron Ashby surrendered a single to Matt Olson. The next batter, Ozzie Albies, wrapped an Ashby offering just inside the right-field foul pole to give Atlanta a dramatic 4-3 win.
The Brewers removed the competitive phase of Sunday’s game very early. After the Braves struck first with a run in the opening inning, Milwaukee exploded for eight runs in its half of the second inning, highlighted by a three-run bomb courtesy of William Contreras. From there, the Crew coasted to a 9-4 triumph and left Atlanta with a bit of momentum en route to Cincinnati.
The Brewers’ pitching rotation will receive a boost on Monday with the return of Woodruff, who has not pitched since exiting his April 30 start against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Big Woo was forced to leave the mound after just 1.1 innings, and his stint on the injured list lasted over seven weeks.
Shortstop Cooper Pratt completed the first week of his MLB career, and he is looking like he is fitting in just fine. The 21-year-old went 7-for-19 (.368) in his first six games as a big leaguer to go along with three stolen bases and a .409 on-base percentage.
Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy knew exactly what to expect from his new phenom, and Pratt did not disappoint his boss’s high hopes.
“He (Pratt) is not going to come into his power until later on in his career, in my opinion, but I think right now we can expect him to be an on-base guy, a guy that can do some things offensively for us,” Murphy said.
Cincinnati enters this week’s series on a high note. After taking two of three from the New York Mets at home, the Reds did the same in the Bronx against the New York Yankees.
The good news for the Brewers is that they will not have to face Cincinnati’s top two starters this week. Both Chase Burns and Andrew Abbott shut down the Yankees over the weekend.
Burns is as hot as any pitcher in all of baseball, and he registered his eighth straight winning decision in Sunday’s 4-1 victory over the Yankees. Burns leads the team with nine wins, and he owns minuscule numbers in ERA (2.00) and WHIP (1.05).
Abbott allowed just one run in five-plus innings in Saturday’s 10-2 rout, which bumped his overall record to 5-4.
At the plate, the Reds are led by rookie first baseman Sal Stewart, who paces Cincinnati in the power statistics with 14 homers and 53 RBI. Stewart tied a career-high on Saturday with six runs batted in.
Outfielder JJ Bleday has crushed 13 home runs this season, and Spencer Steer and shortstop Elly De La Cruz each have 12 dingers.
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The road to a third divisional title is far from calm and smooth, and the comfort of the ride between now and the All-Star break will be determined by the Brewers’ pitching rotation. This week’s scheduled starters will be leaned on heavily, especially during this stretch of NL Central games.
One of Milwaukee’s legitimate Cy Young Award contenders, Misiorowski, must continue to shove and take pressure off of his offense. Drohan has become a diamond in the rough with his strong first half of the season, and his continued progress will correlate with his team’s success.
The key to this week, and for the rest of 2026, is Woodruff. If he can find his groove after his extended time off, the Brewers will have a trusted and reliable arm ready to roll every five days. With the season nearly half over, the Brew Crew must rely on their front line of arms to keep the rest of their divisional rivals at bay.
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