Milwaukee Brewers cool off red hot Houston Astros in series win

The Milwaukee Brewers bounced back nicely after getting blown out by the Houston Astros in Game 1 of a three-game series.

Houston pummeled Corbin Burnes and the Crew’s bullpen for 12 runs on Monday at American Family Field. The Astros tagged Burnes for four home runs.

That Monday night win was Houston’s eighth consecutive victory.

The Milwaukee Brewers showed some resiliency when they won Games 2 and 3. They did it by shutting out the Astros in both games.

Colin Rea and the pen silenced the Astros’ bat on Tuesday. Rea pitched five-and-one-third innings where he allowed just four hits and two walks. Rea has been serviceable as a fill-in for the starting rotation that has been decimated by injuries.

Brandon Woodruff, Wade Miley, and Eric Lauer are all on the IL, and it will be a bit before they return.

That is one reason Adrian Houser was the starting pitcher on Wednesday. He pitched a gem, giving up just two hits, and struck out three in five-and-one-third innings. Getting him back from the injured list has helped soften the blow of losing three starting pitchers.

The Brewers’ offense put up 10 runs in those victories. The Crew had scored just 16 runs in seven games before winning Game 2 on Tuesday.

Owen Miller crushed the ball in this series.

Miller blasted home runs in consecutive games.

He was 4-11 with three RBI and three runs scored in the series. Miller has been on a tear this month at the plate.

Good hitting and pitching allowed the Milwaukee Brewers to win just their second series this month.

May has been rough for the Brewers since getting off to a good start in April.

The Brewers went 18-10 in April and won six series. Winning in May has been tough for the Crew.

The Milwaukee Brewers are 9-12 this month. They lost a series to their division rivals St. Louis Cardinals. They dropped a series to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays. It was beginning to look like the Brewers were pretenders instead of contenders.

It did not help that Miley and Lauer were put on the injured list. The rotation was already down Woodruff and Aaron Ashby, so their pitching depth was being tested.

Thankfully they play in the mediocre NL Central. Winning the series against the Astros keeps the Crew five games above .500 and still in first place in the division.

The Brewers signed Julio Teheran to help eat up some innings and keep the rotation afloat until Miley and Woodruff come back.

The Milwaukee Brewers face a challenging 14-game stretch. They have a four-game homestead against the San Francisco Giants who took two of three from the Crew earlier this month. Then they have to go to Toronto to face the Blue Jays. They get a bit of reprieve with a four-game set at the Cincinnati Reds, but then they come home to host the Baltimore Orioles for three games.

Hopefully, the pitching and hitting can complement each other to win a couple more of these upcoming series.