The second game on the Memorial Day schedule is the Boston Red Sox traveling to Milwaukee to face the Brewers.
Boston just completed a 12-game home stand and goes on the road to face Milwaukee and Atlanta. Milwaukee just completed a four-game series in Pittsburgh and returns for one series at home before going back on the road again.
Boston is 27-28 on the season and 11-14 on the road. Milwaukee is 26-28 and 15-10 at home.
Garrett Crochet will pitch for Boston while Chad Patrick gets the nod for Milwaukee.
Red Sox at Brewers prediction, preview
Crochet is one of the best pitchers in MLB. The strikeout rate is a robust 28.7% while the K-BB% is 20.6%, the 17th-best mark in MLB. He’s allowed only five home runs in 68.1 innings and, while the 1.98 ERA isn’t supported by the FIP, that number is still a more-than-respectable 2.71.
Crochet has allowed more than two earned runs only once in 11 starts. He’s allowed fewer than two earned runs seven times!
The Brewers are middle-of-the-pack in terms of striking out against left-handed pitching, but they are only 28th in ISO and 23rd in wOBA.
Patrick has made 10 starts this season and thrown 53 innings. The 3.23 ERA is supported by the 3.43 FIP. He’s done a good job keeping the ball in the yard, yielding only four home runs, but he’s not missing bats. The swinging strike rate is 8.7% while the chase rate is 28.6%. As a result, the strikeout rate is only 20.3% and the K-BB% is 13.1%. Patrick has been solid at home and has not allowed more than three earned runs in any game this season. He’s allowed fewer than two earned runs four times.
As for bullpens, Boston has the fifth-lowest FIP while Milwaukee is 18th.
Red Sox at Brewers pick, best bet
Crochet is one of the best pitchers in all of baseball and the Brewers have difficulty against left-handed pitching, so I’m not expecting many runs from the Milwaukee side. Patrick isn’t a household name and doesn’t strike out many batters, but he doesn’t beat himself. The BB/9 is 2.72 while no team has scored more than three runs against him. Finally, both bullpens are relatively good, so I’m expecting a low-scoring, pitching duel.
