Milwaukee Brewers look to regain the top spot in the NL Central this week

The Milwaukee Brewers are holding their own in the NL Central standings through the season's first month of play. Despite some annoying injuries, the new baby Brew Crew is solid from top to bottom. They are sitting in second place in the division behind the Pittsburgh Pirates by just one and a half games.

With two favorable matchups ahead, the Brewers should be atop the Central by the end of next week. Milwaukee was able to take two of three from Angels to finish out their tough homestand.

The Pirates' winning streak will be coming to an end once they leave Washington, DC. The Pirates are hot, going 9-1 in their last ten games and jumping the Brewers in the standings, but they will be cooling off later next week with two very difficult series upcoming. First, the Pirates must travel to Tropicana for three games against the blazing-hot Tampa Bay Rays, then host the Blue Jays at PNC Park for another troublesome series. Going 3-3 in those two matchups would be best case scenario for the Pirates, but highly unlikely.

Milwaukee Brewers and a fresh breath of thin air

Meanwhile, the Brew Crew is headed to the thin air of Denver, Col., for three against the NL West bottom-dwelling Rockies. This series is just what the Brewers need to start off hot in May and slide back into the top of the Central. They will enjoy the trip while boosting their offensive stats and gaining more confidence.

Next, the Crew is headed off to Oracle Park to dump some balls into McCovey Cove as they look to terrorize the Giants for three games. The Giants have an abysmal win percentage of .440 and a -11 run differential. A prime target for a Brewers sweep.

Rowdy Tellez should feast in Colorado, and his swing is excellent for the Giants’ Oracle Park. The Rockies have allowed 16 homers to left-handed power hitters this season, while the Giants have given up the most home runs in the league to opposing sluggers at home with 22. So it would not surprise me to see Rowdy lead the NL Home Run boards by the end of next week. He sits in 5th place right now with eight dingers on the season, watch this one in Oracle Park last season.

I like both series for the Brewers; pitching matchups are favorable, and the boys' bats are quietly warming up for the summer. We should see Wade Miley take the mound and probably have a quality outing against the Giants. Against the Rockies, Freddy Peralta is slated to take the mound one of those games and he's had a ton of success in Denver in his career.

Who would have thought just a month ago The Brewers and Pirates would be battling it out for the central and the Cardinals would be cellar-dwellers? Certainly not me. So cheers a brew to the Brewers' start and a what will be a fantastic month of May.