In a matchup of former NL Central foes, the Milwaukee Brewers are set to wrap up their six-game homestand with a three-game set against the Houston Astros. The Brewers are 17-18 this year after dropping two of three to the Cubs over the weekend, while the Astros sit at 17-16 after dropping two of three to the White Sox in Chicago.
Milwaukee’s injuries remain primarily on the pitching side, with Brandon Woodruff and Aaron Ashby the closest to returning. Outfielders Garrett Mitchell and Blake Perkins are also shelved, while Sal Frelick could join them depending on the result of an MRI, as he was pulled with left knee discomfort in the series finale Sunday in Milwaukee.
Houston’s injuries are also primarily on the pitching side. Cristian Javier and Luis Garcia are both recovering from Tommy John surgery, J.P. France is out for most of the season with a right shoulder injury, and the trio of Spencer Arrighetti, Shawn Dubin, and Forrest Whitley could all return in the coming weeks. Yordan Alvarez is currently listed as day to day with hand inflammation after missing Saturday and Sunday’s games, and outfielders Pedro León and Taylor Trammell are both on the IL with leg injuries.
The Brewers’ offense went stagnant for a few days to begin May, but they snuck away with a 4-0 win on Sunday. Jackson Chourio is hitting .255/.268/.470 with six homers, 24 RBIs, 23 runs, 12 doubles, and two steals. Brice Turang remains a bright spot in the lineup, hitting .315/.372/.400 with three homers, 16 RBIs, 28 runs, and eight steals. Rhys Hoskins and William Contreras are also hitting right around .250 so far. As a team, the offense has 28 homers (tied for 23rd), 165 runs (10th), a .238/.316/.356 line (.672 OPS ranks 23rd), and 41 steals (third).
Four players are tied for the team lead with four homers, while only Jake Meyers (.303/.357/.449) is hitting over .300 among regulars. Jose Altuve is hitting .260/.305/.374, Jeremy Peña is hitting .282/.348/.419, Christian Walker is hitting .200/.273/.350, and Alvarez is hitting .210/.306/.340. I think that’s below average for just about all of them, so hopefully they don’t heat up while in town. As a team, the offense has 29 homers (tied for 21st), 132 runs (19th), a .243/.314/.370 line (.684 OPS ranks 19th), and 21 steals (21st).
The Brewers’ bullpen combination of Jared Koenig, Abner Uribe, Nick Mears, Grant Anderson, and Trevor Megill has kept them close in plenty of games this year. Mears leads that group with a 0.73 ERA, allowing just one earned run across 12 1⁄3 innings. Anderson leads all relievers with 20 strikeouts across 19 innings. As a staff, the Brewers have a 4.32 ERA (22nd), including a 3.88 starter ERA (13th) and a 4.87 reliever ERA (27th). They rank 16th with 281 strikeouts over 306 innings.
Houston’s bullpen is led by Bryan King, Bryan Abreu, Steven Okert, and closer Josh Hader. All four of those guys have an ERA between 1.69 and 1.93 over a total of 60 2⁄3 innings. Abreu and Hader are tied for the lead with 20 strikeouts out of the bullpen. As a staff, the Astros have a 3.34 ERA (fifth), including a 3.67 starter ERA (ninth) and a 2.84 reliever ERA (fourth). They rank eighth with 303 strikeouts over 290 2⁄3 innings.
Probable Pitchers
Monday, May 5 @ 6:40 p.m.: Tobias Myers (5.14 ERA, 6.63 FIP) vs. Ronel Blanco (5.08 ERA, 5.00 FIP)
Myers has not had a great start to his 2025. After missing a good chunk of spring training and most of the first month of the season, he’s now made three appearances (two starts), spanning seven innings. After going four innings and allowing two runs in his season debut against the Giants, he went just two innings against the White Sox before being pulled with two earned runs. He pitched a scoreless inning in relief on Friday against the Cubs but returns to the rotation for his scheduled spot Monday. This is Myers’ first career start against Houston.
Blanco had a strong 2024 for the Astros, pitching to a 2.80 ERA with 166 strikeouts across 167 1⁄3 innings, though he outpaced his 4.15 FIP by a wide margin. He hasn’t had much success this year, allowing 16 runs and striking out 26 over 28 1⁄3 innings across six starts. He’s allowed at least three runs in four of his six starts, including his last time out against the Tigers, when he allowed three runs over five frames. This is Blanco’s first career start against Milwaukee.
Tuesday, May 6 @ 6:40 p.m.: Chad Patrick (2.87 ERA, 3.69 FIP) vs. Hayden Wesneski (3.86 ERA, 4.52 FIP)
Milwaukee’s rookie righty has been a bright spot thus far, making seven appearances (six starts) spanning 31 1⁄3 innings. He’s struck out 26 and allowed 10 runs on 29 hits and 11 walks. He’s lost each of his last three starts, though he hasn’t been particularly bad in any of them. His last time out against the White Sox, he allowed three runs on six hits with four strikeouts over 5 2⁄3 innings. Being a rookie, this is Patrick’s first career start against the Astros.
Wesneski, acquired with Isaac Paredes and Cam Smith in the Kyle Tucker trade, has had a solid start to his Houston tenure. Over five starts, he’s spanned 28 innings with 26 strikeouts and 12 runs allowed. His last start came back on April 25 against the Royals. He took the loss, allowing two runs on eight hits and just one strikeout across five innings. The former Cub has made five appearances (one start) against the Brewers, with a 1.86 ERA and 14 strikeouts over 9 2⁄3 innings.
Wednesday, May 7 @ 12:10 p.m.: Quinn Priester (5.79 ERA, 5.33 FIP) vs. Framber Valdez (4.39 ERA, 3.76 FIP)
Priester had a solid start to his Brewers career, allowing just three runs over his first three starts spanning 14 innings. In his last two appearances against the Cardinals and Cubs, however, he’s been, shall we say, not good. He allowed five runs in five innings against St. Louis before allowing seven runs in 4 1⁄3 innings against Chicago, though all of those runs came in his first inning of work. This marks Priester’s first career start against Houston.
Valdez, an All-Star in 2022 and 2023 and a recipient of votes for AL Cy Young in four of the last five seasons, is having his worst year since early in his career. Through seven starts, Valdez has pitched 41 innings, striking out 37 while allowing 20 runs on 37 hits and 15 walks. He’s had two scoreless starts against the Mets and Giants (totaling 13 innings), but he’s allowed at least two runs in each of his other five starts. His last start was a four-run outing against the White Sox, as he took the loss but struck out six over five frames. Despite being an eight-year vet, this is Valdez’s first career start against Milwaukee.
How to Watch
Monday, May 5: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Tuesday, May 6: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Wednesday, May 7: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin, MLB Network (out-of-market viewers), and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Prediction
The perennial World Series contenders from Houston have started slow the last couple of years, but you can count on them to make another postseason push in 2025. This is another tough home test for the Brewers, but I think they wrap up the homestand at 3-3 as they take two of three from the Astros.
