Retooling Padres, Brewers collide shortly
Two National League clubs with eyes shifted to the future kick off the final two months of 2016 tonight.
Milwaukee visits San Diego in the opener of a three-game set, with a 10:10 p.m. ET first pitch out West. Handicappers at online sports book Bovada.lv lean toward Craig Counsell’s group, while the Padres enter their own park as +110 underdogs. The over/under run figure sits at eight.
Now that the non-waiver trade deadline is in the rearview mirror, we have a clearer idea of how these organizations plan to finish the campaign. Established veterans (Jonathan Lucroy, Will Smith and Matt Kemp, to name a few) are out, replaced by a flurry of developmental projects. That doesn’t exactly apply to this evening’s hurlers, though, as the 27-year-old Jimmy Nelson and Jarred Cosart (58 MLB appearances) square off.
Where Cosart just arrived in the NL West, Nelson’s been a fixture in Counsell’s rotation since April. The burly righty boasts 11 quality starts in 21 outings overall. July provided a mixed bag of results, however, with Nelson going 1-3 with a 2.83 ERA.
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On the other side, Andy Green needs Cosart to come through with innings. San Diego sacrificed Andrew Cashner and Colin Rea in the last week alone, and every turn henceforth doubles as an audition for next season. Yet there’s a problem: Cosart only went 3-4 with a 4.09 ERA in the Pacific Coast League, logging 50 2/3 frames for Miami’s AAA affiliate in New Orleans. Inefficiency prevented him from venturing beyond the fifth in five of those 10 assignments.
Considering the Brewers’ lack of bombers, perhaps Cosart can make a successful return to the majors. But we’re particularly interested to watch him handle the scorching Hernan Perez. Milwaukee’s super-utility stud carries a .370 batting average with 11 runs, three doubles, three homers and 14 RBIs over his past 15 contests.
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