Brewers at Marlins
The Milwaukee Brewers took it upon themselves to tighten the race for the second wild card in the National League by winning three straight against the team that currently holds that spot. The Brewers look to continue their good fortune on Monday when they open a four-game road series versus the team that resides in the league's cellar: the Miami Marlins.
Christian Yelich has keyed the winning streak by going 6-for-8 with a homer, four RBIs and three runs scored for the Brewers, who posted an 8-5 win over the Cubs on Sunday to move within two games of Chicago for the second wild card. The reigning NL MVP went 6-for-9 with a homer and two RBIs against his former team when the clubs met in early June, although Miami won two of those contests. Starlin Castro went deep and drove in two runs in the Marlins' 9-0 win over Kansas City on Sunday, putting him three homers shy of his career-high 21 set in 2016 with the New York Yankees. The 29-year-old went deep in Miami's 16-0 romp over Milwaukee on June 4 to highlight his five-RBI series.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FS Florida (Miami)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Jordan Lyles (10-8, 4.46 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Robert Dugger (0-1, 4.00)
A change of scenery has done wonders for Lyles, who answered an 0-5 record with a 10.00 ERA in his final seven starts with Pittsburgh by registering a 5-1 mark with a 2.56 ERA in his first seven with Milwaukee. The 28-year-old won his third straight start on Tuesday after allowing two runs while striking out two over 6 1/3 innings of a 4-2 victory versus Houston. Castro is 2-for-20 with seven strikeouts against Lyles, who sports a 2-1 record with a 5.76 ERA in six career appearances (four starts) versus Miami.
Dugger will bid for his first career win on Monday when he makes his fourth overall start and first against Milwaukee. The 24-year-old has answered a disastrous major-league debut on Aug. 5 with a pair of strong showings, yielding just two earned runs total over 13 innings. Dugger has fared significantly better versus right-handed batters (.176, 10 strikeouts) as opposed to left-handed batters (.273).
WALK-OFFS
1. Milwaukee C Yasmani Grandal went hitless on Sunday after collecting four homers, five RBIs and six runs scored in his previous five games.
2. Miami RF Garrett Cooper is 10-for-23 with five extra-base hits (three doubles, two homers), six RBIs and three runs scored during his five-game hitting streak.
3. The Brewers own a 17-11 mark against the NL East despite losing the previous series against the Marlins.