Game Discussion: Milwaukee Brewers (80-49) vs. Atlanta Braves (75-54)

Yesterday, the Milwaukee Brewers became the first team to reach 80 wins with a 2-1 series-opening victory over the Braves and ace Chris Sale.

Things will get a little easier — although not quite easy — against Atlanta‘s starting pitcher for today’s game, Martín Pérez. The 35-year-old Pérez doesn’t throw hard (89.3 mph average fastball velocity this year), but he’s hung around in the majors since 2012 thanks to his ability to limit barrels and induce ground balls. He’s having the second-best season of his career, with a 3.15 ERA and 133 ERA+, although — as you might expect from someone with that profile — his 4.14 FIP is quite a bit worse.

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On the mound for Milwaukee will be rookie right-hander Logan Henderson, who has a 2.44 ERA through 17 career starts with the Brewers. Henderson has missed some time due to injury in each of the last couple of seasons, but when healthy, he’s been a revelation. He’s made 12 starts this year, pitching to a 2.70 ERA and an even-more-impressive 0.87 WHIP.

Before we get into today’s lineup, I wanted to share some news for those of you who haven’t seen it. When right-hander Brandon Woodruff left Milwaukee in late July, his plan was to undergo shoulder surgery, but his shoulder has reportedly shown remarkably unexpected healing, and his surgeon, Dr. Keith Meister, is no longer recommending surgery. Given the way Woodruff’s season has gone, it’s hard to fault anyone for not getting too optimistic just yet, but you never know. Even seeing him pitch out of the bullpen before the end of the year would be an unexpected — but pretty great — way for his season to end.