This story was originally published by Dead Spin
A day off came at a good time for the Milwaukee Brewers, who ventured into extra innings in three of their past four games.
Presumably refreshed despite losing all three of those contests, the Brewers (81-59) bid to get back on track Friday when they play the opener of a three-game series against the visiting Colorado Rockies (52-89).
“It’s just very, very frustrating,” said Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy, whose team went 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position in a 3-2, 10-inning loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.
“We haven’t had this stretch of that frustration. The Yankees came in and beat the tar out of us twice (in April), but that’s different. When you lose like this, it hurts a lot more — especially for a young group.”
Milwaukee second baseman Brice Turang is 7-for-19 with three doubles during a four-game hitting streak. He went 5-for-18 with two doubles as the Brewers recorded a four-game series split against the Rockies in Denver from July 1-4.
Brewers rookie Jackson Chourio extended his hitting streak to nine games with a double on Wednesday. He is 13-for-37 (.351) with four homers, 12 RBIs and eight runs during that stretch. Chourio went 4-for-9 with three RBIs and two runs in three games vs. Colorado in July.
Milwaukee shortstop Willy Adames went 16-for-50 (.320) with seven homers and 15 RBIs during a 12-game hitting streak that ended on Wednesday. Adames went 5-for-15 during the previous series against the Rockies.
The Brewers will turn to Frankie Montas (6-9, 4.70 ERA) to start Friday while the Rockies will counter with right-hander Ryan Feltner (1-10, 5.11).
Montas, 31, allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings during a no-decision against the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.
He is 2-3 with a 4.13 ERA in five career appearances (all starts) against the Rockies.
While pitching for the Reds, Montas took a loss vs. Colorado on July 10. He allowed five runs on eight hits — including two homers — in seven innings during a 6-5 setback.
Montas would be wise to keep an eye on Michael Toglia and Ezequiel Tovar, who each homered on Thursday as Colorado snapped a three-game skid with a 3-1 win over the Atlanta Braves. Toglia, Tovar and Brenton Doyle each have a team-leading 22 homers on the season.
“It’s competitive,” Toglia told Rockies.TV. “Me, Tovar and Doyle have this footrace going in the home run department. It’s great when someone pushes the bar higher.”
Doyle went 7-for-11 with three homers, five RBIs and four runs in three games during the previous series against Milwaukee.
Feltner recorded his fifth straight no-decision on Saturday after yielding five runs on six hits — including two homers — in 4 2/3 innings against the Baltimore Orioles.
He is 0-1 with a 4.02 ERA in three career appearances (all starts) vs. Milwaukee. Feltner received a no-decision against the Brewers on July 2 after allowing one run on six hits in five innings.
–Field Level Media
