2021 Milwaukee Brewers: Home Series Preview with the Cubs

2021 Milwaukee Brewers: Roster News

With Kolten Wong placed on the 10-day IL, the Brewers will look at Jace Peterson to resume duties at second base. Other than the loss of Orlando Arcia to the Atlanta Braves, and Bobby Wahl put on the 60-day IL, the roster hasn"t changed much over the course of the first few series of the season. There will, however, be some sweating on the health of Christian Yelich after he left the game early yesterday.

2021 Milwaukee Brewers: Opposition News

The Chicago Cubs head into the series on the back of two heavy losses to the Pittsburgh Pirates, losing the series 2-1. Another 2-1 series loss to the Brewers came just before that, whilst their series opener saw them win 2-1 in Chicago against the Pirates.

Apart from Austin Romine being placed on the 10-day IL back on April 1st, there has not been much in terms of changes with the roster.

2021 Milwaukee Brewers: Mound Matchups

Monday: RHP Freddy Peralta vs RHP Adbert Alzolay. Game time 6:40 PM CDT; Fox Sports 1, MLB Network, and MLB TV

The opening game of the series sees an intriguing clash between Peralta and Alzolay. The Cubs" Venezuelan starter was impressive in 2020, but his only appearance so far saw him lose against the Brewers at Wrigley Field. His current ERA of 7.20 was an indication of the Brewers" ability to pick out his bad pitches.

The Brewers, on the other hand, hand the start to Peralta. He was solid in his first starting role this year, whilst also proving to be just as impressive in his relief role just five days prior.

With 14 strikeouts from his seven innings pitched, it is easy to see why with the video above (plus any videos with the PitchingNinja is big). He is yet to allow a run, with only three hits given up so far.

Tuesday: RHP Brandon Woodruff vs RHP Kyle Hendricks. Game time 6:40 PM CDT; FSWI, MLB Network, and MLB TV

The second game of the series sees Kyle Hendricks come back in after his strong outing against the Brewers in Chicago. Although the team got the loss, he was runless in six innings, whilst also striking out six. His previous appearance saw his sole loss so far this campaign, giving up four hits and three runs from just three innings against the Pirates. The game against the Brewers showed a bounce-back appearance that will have the Cubs hoping for more come Tuesday.

Brandon Woodruff looked a little shaky in his opening appearance. He allowed six hits, and three runs, in just four innings against the Minnesota Twins. He came back to look strong in the next appearance in Chicago has he allowed just one hit in seven innings. He looked more comfortable on the mound, plus he pitched less in that game (74) than he did in the game before (78).

He has some nice pitches in his arsenal, like the changeup above, so will be looking to match his previous outing against the Cubs, and hopefully pick up that first win.

Wednesday: RHP Corbin Burnes vs RHP Jake Arrieta. Game time 12:40 PM CDT; FSWI, MLB Network, and MLB TV

One of the standout pitchers so far for the Cubs, Arrieta has been solid in his first two outings this season. Both wins against the Pirates, he saw six innings in each game, plus an overall nine strikeouts in his 12 innings pitched. Although he hasn"t blown pitchers away, he has only allowed three runs in his two appearances, allowing the hitters to go and do their job without pressure.

Corbin Burnes has been an interesting one. Although he lost his opening appearance, plus the Brewers going on to lose the second appearance, he has an ERA of 0.73 and has given up just one run in 12.1 innings. He has struck out 20 hitters and allowed just two hits so far.

His pitching arsenal has been nasty. This back door cutter follows a filthy curveball and sinker that has hitters swinging and missing regularly. One of the most exciting pitchers in the game right now, Burnes is certainly deserving of all plaudits so far. Last year was his breakout year in terms of being a starter, and he has done nothing but excel in the role.

2021 Milwaukee Brewers: Series Prediction

The Brewers will want to be optimistic after their previous series win against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Cubs were poor against the Pirates and were heavily beaten twice in a row. Will it be a bounce-back series for the Cubs or will the Brewers take advantage of a poor couple of series from the Cubs? It certainly may be optimistic but a 3-0 series win could be on the cards for the Brewers.

Brewers 3 Cubs 0

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Main image credit: Embed from Getty Images