After dropping two straight to the National League-leading San Francisco Giants, the Brewers hit the road for an 11-game road trip Monday starting with the first of four games against the new-look Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Here are three storylines to watch as the Brewers try to protect and possibly extend their lead over the NL Central:
THINNED BULLPEN
BEN MARGOT, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Prior to Saturday, when Avisail Garcia misplayed a fly ball that would have been the final out of the game, the Brewers were 52-0 when taking a lead into the ninth inning. Josh Hader (above) has been a big reason for that success, converting all but one of his 23 save opportunities while holding opposing batters to a paltry .135 batting average.
Hader, though, remains unavailable after testing positive for COVID-19, which has wreaked havoc on Milwaukee's bullpen over the last two weeks. Along with Hader, right-handers Jake Cousins, Jandel Gustave and Hunter Strickland have all been sidelined after testing positive for the virus, leaving manager Craig Counsell with limited late-inning options.
The virus' spread hasn't been limited to the relief corps. Two starters, left-hander Eric Lauer and right-hander Adrian Houser, were added to the IL over the last week leaving two big holes in a starting rotation that has been the backbone of Milwaukee's success this season.
Because of that, right-hander Freddy Peralta (above) will start the series opener in Chicago Monday — his first outing of the season coming on the traditional five days' rest — but starters for the rest of the series have yet to be announced.
Milwaukee's closest challenger in the NL Central, Cincinnati, has been playing very good baseball since the All-Star break but hadn't been able to gain any ground on Milwaukee until this weekend.
While the Brewers dropped two of three to the Giants, the Reds swept Pittsburgh to trim Milwaukee's lead to five games in the division and move 2 1/2 games back of the Padres for the second NL Wild Card spot.
