Brewers news: Cooper Pratt reinstated, Brandon Lockridge optioned, Jacob Misiorowski vs. Chris Sale

How does a team follow up a game in which they set a new franchise record for the largest margin of victory? Milwaukee Brewers fans will find out tonight as their team takes on Logan Gilbert and the Seattle Mariners for the second game of a three-game series that began with a 22-0 win for the Brew Crew.

With Gilbert on the bump, and trade deadline acquisition Dustin May opposing him for the Brewers, expect a much lower-scoring game tonight. Gilbert, an All-Star in 2024, has a stellar ERA of 3.38 in 146 starts dating back to the 2022 season. In a talented Mariners' rotation, the 29-year-old Gilbert is the ace. He's rocking a 3.28 ERA this season with a solid 26.6% strikeout rate.

Meanwhile, the Brewers' middle infield group will return to full strength just in time to face the Mariners' ace, though their 22 runs last night don't necessarily indicate they are in need of a boost to their offense. Regardless, after star second baseman Brice Turang rejoined the lineup last night following his bout of knee soreness, rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt was reinstated from the IL earlier today after missing just 10 days with a hamstring strain.

Cooper Pratt reinstated after minimum stint on 10-day IL due to hamstring strain

Back on Sunday, August 9, ahead of the Brewers' series finale against the Minnesota Twins, Pratt was placed on the injured list with what was believed to be a minor hamstring strain. At the time, fellow infielder Joey Ortiz was dealing with a neck injury, causing chaos in the Brewers' infield group. Andrew Vaughn earned three starts at third base during the stretch, the Brewers signed former Pittsburgh Pirates' utility man Jihwan Bae, and then replaced him with trade addition Jonathan Ornelas from the Athletics less than a week later. Thankfully, that period of "piecing things together" is now over.

Pratt reportedly went through a great number of drills and testing during the Brewers' most recent West Coast road trip, which indicated that he would need just a brief rehab assignment with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers once he and the team returned to Milwaukee. That rehab assignment ended up being just one game, on Tuesday night, during which Pratt played just seven innings and collected three at-bats. He drove a single to right field, collected a sacrifice fly, and proved he was ready to return to the Brewers' lineup in those three at-bats.

In 44 games before landing on the IL, Pratt posted a .272/.352/.368 slash line, good for an exactly league-average OPS+ of 100. Paired with his excellent defense at shortstop, Pratt already racked up 1.2 fWAR in the small sample size, boding well for his future as the Brewers' shortstop.

Brewers option Brandon Lockridge to Triple-A to open roster spot for Cooper Pratt

Upon Pratt's return to the Brewers' lineup, many were expecting the Brewers to designate Jonathan Ornelas for assignment. Ornelas was brought in as temporary infield depth with Pratt out, and has a difficult path to playing time now that he is back and Turang has retuned to the lineup.

However, rather than DFA Ornelas, the Brewers elected to option outfielder Brandon Lockridge to Triple-A, giving them two infielders and just one true outfielder on their bench. That said, Jake Bauers' defensive versatility ensures that the Brewers' outfield depth remains strong even after Lockridge's demotion to Triple-A.

It's been a frustrating season for Lockridge, who was off to a strong start before a freak knee injury caused him to miss nearly three months. In the time while Lockridge was on the IL, Bauers emerged as a true outfield option and Luis Lara was both given a long-term contract extension and promoted to the big-league roster. Therefore, Lockridge, who is slashing .273/.345/.313 on the season, struggled to find opportunities since returning from the IL and will now head to Triple-A, where he will serve as important outfield depth for the stretch run.

Jacob Misiorowski to face Atlanta Braves' ace in marquee matchup on Friday night

Ahead of their matchup against the Mariners tonight, the Brewers announced their probables for their upcoming series against the Atlanta Braves, who currently sit two games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second-best record in the National League. The Brewers will turn to Jacob Misiorowski on Friday night, Logan Henderson on Saturday, and, notably, Shane Drohan in the series finale, which will take place in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, as this year's Little League classic.

Drohan pitched in relief last night, but the outing is essentially being treated as his mid-week "bullpen session," and he will return to the starting rotation on Sunday. Therefore, the Brewers are honoring their commitment to the six-man rotation for one more turn as they said they would.

The matchup that most baseball fans have circled is Misiorowski vs. Braves' ace Chris Sale on Friday night. As things currently stand, Misiorowski and Sale have the best and second-best odds to win the NL Cy Young Award this year, respectively. The Braves pushed Sale back a game to ensure he would start against Miz and the Brewers, and the result is one of the best pitching matchups of the year.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow