The Brewers open a six-game road trip tonight with the first of three in Tampa against the Rays at George Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees’ spring training park. (If you want to know why Tampa under normal circumstances would play in a dome, check the weather for the weekend, and cross your fingers that the Brewers get all of these games in.) Check out our series preview here.
A couple of roster moves were made since the Brewers played on Wednesday. The first is that Elvin Rodríguez was sent back to Triple-A Nashville after throwing 3 1⁄3 innings on Wednesday; he was replaced on the roster by Bryan Hudson, who is still looking to regain the form he flashed for half of last season. The second move is to address the dire infield situation, and a move that many fans have been calling for for some time: Vinny Capra was designated for assignment, and Andruw Monasterio was recalled. (All the best to Capra as his baseball journey continues, with Milwaukee’s system or elsewhere.) Monasterio hasn’t exactly been lighting it up in the minors this season, but Capra’s performance was such that something, anything, needed to be done.
Tonight, the Brewers will send Jose Quintana to the mound to face Tampa’s Zack Littell. Littel, who was slightly better than league average in 29 starts last season, but it’s been a rougher go through seven starts this year. In 41 innings, Littell has a 4.61 ERA and 5.64 FIP and he’s struck out only 5.5 batters per nine innings, over two strikeouts below his career average.
Quintana came back to Earth a bit in his last start, but he’s still been far better than expected over the course of his five starts this season. In those games he is 4-1 with a 2.83 ERA (147 ERA+), though a 4.40 FIP—due mainly to a fairly low strikeout rate—suggests he’s been lucky.
Jake Bauers is back in left field today, with Christian Yelich serving as the DH. William Contreras, despite increasing calls to give him some time off to let his broken finger heal, will catch and bat third. Monasterio is not in the lineup in his return to the big leagues. Appleton West High School graduate Danny Jansen bats fifth for the Rays.
First pitch is at 6:05 p.m. on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network.