The Braves and Milwaukee Brewers will begin to add more of their newly acquired players to the lineup on Saturday as they continue their three-game series in Atlanta.
The Brewers posted a 9-5 victory on Friday to square the season series against the Braves at two wins apiece. Milwaukee has won four straight games, during which it has tallied 37 runs and not scored fewer than seven in a contest.
Saturday’s starting pitchers will be Milwaukee’s Brandon Woodruff (7-5, 2.14 ERA) against Atlanta rookie Kyle Muller (2-3, 2.55).
Both teams made numerous transactions at the trade deadline. The new faces are expected to start arriving this weekend.
The Brewers obtained infielder Eduardo Escobar from the Arizona Diamondbacks, right-hander John Curtiss from the Miami Marlins and left-hander Daniel Norris from the Detroit Tigers. Escobar started at third base on Friday and belted his first homer with his new club.
“We were trying to stay engaged with as many players as we possibly could, as many players as we thought could make our team better, make our organization better,” said David Stearns, Milwaukee’s president of baseball operations.
Norris and Curtiss deepen an already solid Milwaukee bullpen. Curtiss has a 2.48 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 40 innings this season. Over his past 12 outings, Norris has a .184 opponents’ average and a 3.48 ERA and hasn’t allowed a hit in his past six appearances.
“I think they’re both talented guys,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. “That’s what you’re eager to add.”
The Braves acquired outfielder Adam Duvall from Miami, outfielder Eddie Rosario from the Cleveland Indians, 2019 American League home run champion Jorge Soler from the Kansas City Royals and right-hander Richard Rodriguez from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Duvall was in the starting lineup on Friday and produced an RBI single. Rosario is on the injured list with an abdominal strain and is expected to miss a couple more weeks.
“It’s wild how fast it all happened,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “Alex (Anthopoulos, president of baseball operations) called me a couple times today to just kind of let me know what was going on. I’m excited about getting all those guys.”
The Braves have been looking for an infusion of power since Ronald Acuna Jr. sustained a season-ending knee injury. Duvall has 22 home runs and Soler has 13.
The Braves picked up Joc Pederson from the Chicago Cubs on July 15 and he has been starting in right field. It leaves in question the roles of outfielders Guillermo Heredia, Abraham Almonte and Orlando Arcia.
“We haven’t had a chance to digest it yet and see what everybody thinks, but we definitely have options,” Snitker said.
Woodruff will make his 21st start of the season and his first against the Braves on Saturday.
He took a 3-1 loss in his most recent start on Sunday against the Chicago White Sox. Woodruff has 15 quality starts and opponents are batting .170 against him.
Woodruff is 1-0 with a 1.94 ERA in two career starts against Atlanta, both coming in 2019.
Muller will be making his first career start against Milwaukee.
The left-hander’s success allowed the team the flexibility to deal starter Bryse Wilson to the Pirates at the deadline. In his most recent start on Monday, Muller scattered four hits in five shutout innings in a win over the New York Mets.