This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Colin Rea and Blake Snell should be well rested when they go head-to-head Wednesday night as the Milwaukee Brewers and San Francisco Giants continue their three-game series.
The Brewers (83-61) got a jump on the hosts with a 3-2 victory in Tuesday’s series opener, a game in which Aaron Civale and three relievers combined on a four-hitter.
The Brewers have taken three of four meetings with the Giants (71-74) this season. San Francisco won the opener in Milwaukee last month before the Brewers grabbed the next two.
Both teams have had success whenever Rea and Snell have taken the mound this season.
Rea (12-4, 3.72 ERA) has appeared in 27 games for the Brewers, with 24 starts and three bulk-innings relief appearances. Milwaukee has gone 19-8 in those games.
The right-hander has been limited to just four innings apiece in his two most recent starts against the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals, during which he has allowed six runs (five earned) and 10 hits. The Brewers split the games.
The 34-year-old will be making his fourth career start against the Giants, having gone 1-2 with a 5.29 ERA in the first three.
He will be facing a Giants team that has struggled to score runs at home of late. They’ve dropped 10 of their past 15 home games, a stretch in which they’ve scored four runs or fewer 10 times.
Snell (2-3, 3.62), a two-time Cy Young Award winner, doesn’t have Milwaukee among the 26 teams he’s beaten in his major-league career. He’s faced the Brewers just twice, going 0-2 with an 8.00 ERA.
The left-hander was pulled after just one inning in his most recent start last Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, having thrown 42 pitches.
The Giants went on to win 3-2, their fourth straight victory in games started by Snell. The 31-year-old hasn’t gotten a decision in any of them, with his most recent win coming Aug. 7 in a 7-4 win over the Washington Nationals.
San Francisco is 11-6 in his starts this season.
Snell could be motivated by the embarrassment of having recorded just three outs against the Diamondbacks. He admitted he agreed with the decision to pull him, even though Arizona scored just two runs (one earned). Two walks and two strikeouts helped to up his pitch count.
“Just too many pitches,” he noted. “It’s not smart to go back out. I’ve done it before, but I’ve never felt good after. It’s a lot of risk and not a lot of reward.”
One Brewers player with whom Snell won’t be familiar is outfielder Isaac Collins, who celebrated his major-league debut Sunday against the Colorado Rockies with his first big-league hit.
The switch-hitter said he enjoyed batting eighth in his debut because it put him in a position to score runs when the top of the order came back around.
“I consider myself as a glue guy,” the rookie said. “I try to get on base and let the big dogs knock me in.”
Collins did not play in the series opener Tuesday. There were only 13 hits in the game, nine by the Brewers.
Neither Rea nor Snell pitched when the Brewers and Giants met last month in Milwaukee.
-Field Level Media
