One of baseball’s hottest teams and offenses will look to continue a torrid stretch on Monday as the visiting Milwaukee Brewers take on the Atlanta Braves in the opener of a three-game series.
Winners in six of seven games, Milwaukee (67-44) owns Major League Baseball’s best record.
In a sweep of Washington, the Brewers outscored the Nationals 38-14, setting a franchise record with 56 hits across the three-game series. Brice Turang hit two home runs and drove in four on Sunday, while Christian Yelich went 7-for-13 with four RBIs over the weekend.
The Brewers are tied for second in the majors in batting average (.257) and fifth with 555 runs.
On the mound, Quinn Priester (10-2, 3.27 ERA) will make his 21st appearance (16th start) for the Brewers on Monday. The 24-year-old is 4-0 with a 3.07 ERA in July, and hasn’t suffered a loss since May 13 at Cleveland.
“That kid has just been getting better and better. It’s a credit to the front office,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said of Priester. “He’s great, has poise, toughness, all the things you want.”
Last time out, Priester gave up two runs in 5 2/3 innings in a 9-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Priester is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in two career starts against the Braves. He threw six innings of one-run ball in a 4-1 win over Atlanta on June 10.
Suffering through a disappointing season, the Braves enter Monday on the heels of a rare series win. Atlanta beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 on Sunday in the Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway, earning its first series victory since July 11-13. After a four-city road trip saw the Braves drop six of nine games, the club will return to Truist Park for the first time since July 23.
In a season that’s seen all five of the Braves’ season-opening starting pitchers wind up on the 60-day injured list, the situation went from bad to worse last week, when the club put superstar right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. on the 15-day IL with a right calf strain. Acuna, who was activated in May after tearing his ACL in May 2024, is batting .306 with 14 home runs and 26 RBIs.
Eli White has stepped in to try and fill the void, doing just that on Sunday. White clubbed a pair of home runs and drove in four to propel the Braves to their first Sunday win since May 18.
Fitting for the injury-riddled campaign, third baseman Austin Riley left the game after making a diving play and was replaced by Luke Williams, who later made a run-saving stop at third.
“Any time Eli does good, I feel good,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s just like when Luke made that great play in the eighth. You root for the good guys, and they’re both two of the best. … As far as the IL for Riley, I don’t know until we get in there and evaluate him more.”
Making his second start in an Atlanta uniform, veteran right-hander Erick Fedde (3-11, 5.33) will look to earn his first victory since May 9.
After the St. Louis Cardinals designated Fedde for assignment and subsequently traded him for cash, the 32-year-old allowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings in his Braves debut last Tuesday in a 9-6 loss at Kansas City.
In eight career appearances (seven starts) against Milwaukee, Fedde is 2-4 with a 5.77 ERA. Fedde has lost to the Brewers twice this season, most recently allowing three runs in 5 1/3 innings in a 3-2 defeat on June 13.
–Field Level Media
