Milwaukee Brewers: Studs and Duds from the Pirates Series Sweep

Led by excellent starts from Eric Lauer, Corbin Burnes, and Brandon Woodruff, The Milwaukee Brewers secured their first series sweep of the season against the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier this week at American Family Field. Feels good, doesn’t it?

As always, there were overperformers and underperformers over the course of the series. Let’s take a look at which players shined for the Brewers during this three-game set, as well as ones who struggled.

Here are two Brewers studs and two Brewers duds from the recently finished series against the Pirates.

Brewers Stud #1: 1B Rowdy Tellez

First baseman Rowdy Tellez hit a big fly on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Those were his only two hits of the series, but for a ballclub that has struggled to see the ball clear the fence so far in 2022, it was a welcome sight. The first one was a missile off Pirates lefty JT Brubaker that went 424 feet into the right field bleachers, and the second was no cheap one either.

Rowdy is looking more and more like an everyday first baseman rather than a platoon guy, based on how well he’s looked against lefties. With Keston Hiura, Mike Brosseau, and others still as backup options at first base, the Crew is in a good spot with their first base depth.

Brewers Dud #1: SS Willy Adames

This won’t be breaking news to most, but Willy Adames isn’t seeing the ball particularly well in the early going of the 2022 season. Against Pittsburgh, he was 1-for-11 with five strikeouts across the three games.

While he did make several great plays on defense, the Brewers are going to need more production at the plate from their two-hole hitter when the schedule gets tougher. Everyone knows what he’s capable of, so now is no time to start doubting him.

Brewers Stud #2: RHP Corbin Burnes

The reigning Cy Young award winner is locked in, and it’s a sight to behold. In his start on Tuesday night, Burnes looked the best he has all year, going seven strong innings, allowing just two earned runs and striking out 10 on 107 pitches.

Corbin Burnes has set such a high standard for himself by now that this is what Brewers fans expect from him every time he toes the rubber. Combine that with other strong performances from starters in recent days, and the rotation is starting to look dangerous once again.

Brewers Dud #2: 3B Jace Peterson

The Brewers need Luis Urias back in the worst way. The offense has been able to tread water without him, but Jace Peterson has struggled mightily at the plate this year, especially in the latest series against the Pirates.

Peterson had just two hits, both singles, in three starts. Jace is at his best when he is wearing the opposing pitcher down with long at-bats and working them for walks, and while he’s tallied six of them on the year so far, only one came against Pittsburgh.

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Overall, it was a good series for the Crew that saw their two aces look like their best selves and saw the offense awake from its slumber. Now they will head to Philadelphia to take on a talented Phillies team over the weekend.