Cleveland @ Milwaukee preview
American Family Field
Last Meeting ( Mar 19, 2024 ) Milwaukee 8, Cleveland 5
August has been kind to Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez.
Gimenez is 16-for-48 (.333) through 13 games this month, and he will attempt to help Cleveland record its sixth straight win when the Guardians open a three-game set with the host Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night.
Cleveland had Thursday off after getting three hits and three RBIs from Gimenez in a 6-1 victory over the visiting Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. It was Gimenez's fifth multi-hit performance of August.
"He's trying to drive the ball right now," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. "When he's at his best, he's trying to drive the ball. He's been huge for us. Two very clutch hits for us (on Wednesday). That was the ballgame."
Thanks in large part to Gimenez, Cleveland has averaged 4.8 runs over the course of its five-game streak.
Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams (2-4, 4.38 ERA) would gladly welcome some more run support when he makes his ninth start of the season on Friday.
In his most recent outing, Williams earned a 2-1 win against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday after giving up one run on four hits in six innings.
"The way he walked in, I could tell he was ready," Vogt said of Williams' attitude ahead of his start against Minnesota. "The way he got on the bus, the way he got here, it just seemed like a different demeanor out of him. ... Man, he was special."
Williams has never faced Milwaukee.
The Brewers will turn to right-hander Aaron Civale (3-8, 5.02 ERA), who is coming off an 8-3 win against the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 9. Civale yielded two runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings in that outing.
Civale spent his first 4 1/2 major league seasons with the Guardians until he was traded to Tampa Bay in July 2023. The Rays dealt him to Milwaukee last month, and he is 1-2 with a 4.88 ERA in six starts for the Brewers.
In his only previous start against the Guardians, Civale allowed two runs on seven hits in five innings on Aug. 11, 2023. He did not factor into the decision.
Like Cleveland, Milwaukee has reason to be optimistic. The Brewers are coming off a come-from-behind, 6-4 win over the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. Milwaukee scored three runs in the eighth inning to come away with a split of a four-game series.
Jackson Chourio stayed hot for Milwaukee, going 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and a double. He is batting .365 (35-for-96) with six home runs, 18 RBIs and 17 runs since the All-Star break and is riding a modest four-game hitting streak.
The Brewers enter play on Friday with a nine-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals, who are tied for second in the National League Central.
With just 41 games left in the regular season, Milwaukee will soon need to start turning its attention to the playoffs, but Brewers hitting coach Ozzie Timmons insists the club isn't getting ahead of itself.
"I don't think these guys are paying attention to (the standings)," Timmons said.
Milwaukee has been resilient as of late, rallying twice to take the final two games of the series vs. Los Angeles. The Brewers overcame a 3-0, first-inning deficit in a 5-4 win on Wednesday.
"That's the name of the game, just keep going," Brewers first baseman/designated hitter Jake Bauers said Wednesday. "As cliche as it sounds, it's really big."
--Field Level Media