Atlanta @ Milwaukee preview
American Family Field
Last Meeting ( May 14, 2021 ) Atlanta 6, Milwaukee 3
The Atlanta Braves hope to get injured slugger Ronald Acuna Jr. back in the lineup Saturday when they play the second game of a three-game set at the Milwaukee Brewers.
Acuna injured his left ankle Thursday afternoon against the Toronto Blue Jays. Acuna was trying to beat out an infield grounder when he appeared to catch the bag with his right toe and landed awkwardly on his left leg. Acuna left the game on his own power, but the ankle was too sore for him to play on Friday.
"The training staff will treat him and see where he's at," Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said Friday. "They said there's a chance he could get all the swelling out and be good to go (on Saturday). ... He jammed it pretty good. It's just hard to put a lot of weight on it."
Acuna is hitting .302 and leads the major leagues with 12 home runs.
Saturday's pitching matchup features Milwaukee left-hander Brett Anderson (2-2, 3.54 ERA) against Atlanta right-hander Ian Anderson (2-1, 3.46).
Brett Anderson will make his sixth start of the season. He last pitched on May 9 at Miami and received no decision in his first appearance since coming off the injured list with a strained right hamstring. He worked three scoreless innings and allowed two hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
"Couldn't have asked for anything more," Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. "His stuff was crisp. I didn't want to let him get tired really. I wanted him to do what he could and build on it."
Brett Anderson has made two career starts against the Braves, both in 2015 when he was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is 0-0 with a 2.79 ERA.
Atlanta's Ian Anderson bounced back from a poor outing in a loss to Toronto on May 2 to work six solid innings against Philadelphia last Saturday. He allowed three runs on six hits, three walks and seven strikeouts. He will be making his first appearance against Milwaukee.
The Brewers continue to struggle at the plate, as they had eight hits -- three of them coming in the ninth inning -- in Friday's 6-3 loss. They left eight runners on base and went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Milwaukee is last in batting average and next-to-last in OPS in the National League. The Brewers haven't scored more than four runs in any of their past five games.
There may be good news on the horizon. The Brewers are closer to getting former MVP Christian Yelich back in the lineup. He had two at-bats for Triple-A Nashville on Friday, his first game since May 3 against the Phillies. Yelich has been dealing with lingering stiffness and lower back pain.
"We're hoping we've turned the corner here," Counsell said. "There are little signs and the most important thing we're going to find out is how he feels after the game and when he wakes up in the morning, and as we move forward here playing back-to-back games. But I think we're in a really good place right now."
Atlanta placed outfield Cristian Pache on the injured list with a strained right hamstring and activated Ender Inciarte, who had been out since April 16 with a strained left hamstring.
--Field Level Media