Right-hander Frankie Montas gets the call for Milwaukee against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, with the Brewers having a chance to clinch the National League Central title.
Montas (7-10, 4.49 ERA) will be opposed by right-hander Zack Wheeler (15-6, 2.60), who ranks second in the NL in both ERA and wins.
Milwaukee’s magic number to clinch the NL Central dropped to two with a 6-2 victory over Philadelphia in the series opener on Monday. William Contreras and Joey Ortiz each drove in two runs, and Brewers starter Aaron Civale allowed one run over five-plus innings.
Contreras is hitting .400 (10-for-25) over his past eight games with two homers, three doubles and 10 RBIs.
“They’re a dangerous offensive club,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “They’re very dynamic and they can beat you in a lot of ways. They bunt, they hit-and-run, they steal bases.”
The Brewers (87-63) remained 10 games in front of the second-place Chicago Cubs (77-73), who topped the Oakland A’s 9-2 on Monday. Milwaukee could clinch its second consecutive division title and fourth in seven seasons with a win on Tuesday and a Cubs loss.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy was asked if he saw the possibility of this type of success back at the start of the season.
“I heard about what people were saying,” Murphy said. “A lot of people laughed at us and said this was a rebuild and things like that. We haven’t accomplished anything yet. So we’re staying with our nose down, keep playing, and be competitive every game like we have been.”
Philadelphia (90-60) leads the NL East by eight games over the New York Mets (82-68) and is one game in front of the Dodgers (89-61) for the best record in the league. Milwaukee is two games back of Los Angeles in the chase for the second of two first-round byes in the NL playoffs.
Montas is 3-2 with a 3.40 ERA in eight starts with Milwaukee since being acquired from the Cincinnati Reds in late July. In his latest outing, he allowed just two hits over six scoreless innings for the win in a 3-0 victory at San Francisco on Thursday.
Montas is 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA in two career starts against the Phillies. He pitched Cincinnati to a 4-1 win over Philadelphia on April 3, when he threw 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball.
Wheeler has been on a roll the past two months.
In six August starts, he went 3-1 with a 1.62 ERA, striking out 44 and walking just five in 39 innings. Wheeler is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in two September starts, having fanned 16 and walked four in 12 innings.
Wheeler is 4-2 with a 2.53 ERA in 10 career starts vs. Milwaukee. He has faced the Brewers once this season, when he allowed one run in seven innings for a 3-1 home win on June 3.
Phillies sluggers Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber each had two hits on Monday. Harper is hitting .376 (32-for-85) over his past 23 games with 13 doubles, two homers and nine RBIs. Over his past 12 games, Schwarber is hitting .378 (17-for-45) with seven homers and 14 RBIs.
–Field Level Media