Houston Astros vs. Milwaukee Brewers Pick & Prediction MAY 24th 2023
The visiting Houston Astros will be looking for a happy offensive medium against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday in the rubber game of the three-game series at American Family Field.
Milwaukee right-hander Adrian Houser (0-0, 3.07 ERA) will start opposite Astros righty Brandon Bielak (1-1, 2.89).
The Astros were blanked 6-0 on Tuesday to snap their eight-game winning streak after pounding out five homers the day before in a 12-2 win in the series opener.
William Taylor
"I've seen it a bunch like that," Astros manager Dusty Baker said. "You end up scoring a lot of runs one night, and you wish you could cut them up and spread them over two or three games. But that's what happens. The ball is in the court of the pitcher."
Colin Rea and four relievers combined on a five-hitter Tuesday night for the Brewers. Rea, recalled five days after being sent to Triple-A because of injuries in the rotation, allowed four hits over 5/13 scoreless innings for his first major league victory since August 2020 when he was with the Cubs.
Owen Miller had a two-run homer and rookie Joey Wiemer added a solo shot for the Brewers.
Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, playing in his fourth game since coming off the IL, left in the sixth inning and his status is uncertain for Wednesday.
"He was feeling sick," Baker said. "So, that's why he called us out there. We just took him out because we thought it was the best thing to do for precautionary reasons. Like I said, he was feeling sick and you could sort of see it. He's being evaluated by doctors and we'll let you know tomorrow."
Bielak got the win in his last start, a 5-1 victory over Oakland on Friday, giving up one run in five innings with a career-high nine strikeouts.
Bielak made one relief appearance after a call-up from Triple-A Sugar Land, on May 1. In three starts since, he has allowed five runs, four earned, in 14 2/3 innings.
Miller also had a pair of singles Tuesday, raising his average to .347. It was the third three-hit game in the last 12 days for Miller, a Wisconsin native who played at Ozaukee High School, about 35 miles from the Brewers' ballpark.
"He didn't have a great offensive season last year, but he got a ton of at-bats, kind of stockpiled and under his belt, and I think that's so necessary for a young hitter in this league," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said of Miller, acquired from Cleveland during the offseason. "I think that experience and those struggles, you learn, you make adjustments, you adapt, and you combine that with the talent that he has as a hitter and he's got a good little streak going here."
Houser will be making his fourth start since coming off the injured list May 7. He allowed four hits in six scoreless innings in his last start but did not get the decision in a 1-0 loss at Tampa Bay on Friday.
Houser is looking to regain his form from 2021, when he was 10-6 with a 3.22 ERA, before dipping last season to 6-10 with a 4.73 ERA.
Houser is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in two career appearances, including one start, against the Astros, allowing one earned run in 6 1/3 innings.
With starters Brandon Woodruff, Wade Miley and Eric Lauer on the injured list, the Brewers reportedly are signing 32-year-old right-hander Julio Teheran, who last pitched in the majors in 2021.
Teheran, an All-Star with Atlanta in 2014 and 2016, was 4-2 with a 5.63 ERA in eight starts for the San Diego Padres' Triple-A affiliate El Paso, before opting out of his minor league deal Monday.
--Field Level Media
Houston Astros vs. Milwaukee Brewers Recap MAY 24TH 2023
Adrian Houser allowed two hits over 5 1/3 shutout innings to help the Milwaukee Brewers to a 4-0 win against the visiting Houston Astros in the rubber game of their three-game series on Wednesday afternoon.
Houser (1-0) struck out three and walked one before Joel Payamps relieved him in the sixth and pitched out of a jam. Bryse Wilson followed with a 1-2-3 seventh inning, Jake Cousins a scoreless eighth and Hoby Milner closed the ninth for the Brewers.
Willy Adames, Owen Miller and Brian Anderson homered for Milwaukee, which ended Houston's eight-game winning streak on Tuesday.
Astros starter Brandon Bielak (1-2) allowed four runs and five hits in a season-high 6 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked one.
Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich led off with an opposite-field double in the first inning. Adames then stepped up and clubbed his ninth home run of the season over the centerfield fence for a 2-0 lead.
Houser, who tossed six shutout innings last Friday, gave up a two-out single to Kyle Tucker in the first inning and then retired the next 14 in a row. Mauricio Dubon reached on an error with one out in the sixth. Alex Bregman then doubled to left to put runners on second and third and end the day for Houser.
Payamps came in and struck out Yordan Alvarez before getting Tucker to line out to end the inning.
Bielak, who had allowed one run and five hits over five innings in his last outing, retired 11 in a row following the home run by Adames. That streak ended with a two-out walk to William Contreras in the fourth, but he got Jesse Winker to foul out to third two pitches later.
Miller homered to lead off the seventh and stretch the lead to 3-0. Anderson homered two outs later to make it 4-0.
The teams combined for just nine hits.
--Field Level Media