The Milwaukee Brewers opened a three-game home series against the Washington Nationals on Friday evening, and they did it in their new City Connect uniforms. The matchup brought together two clubs heading in opposite directions: Milwaukee came home from a 3-3 road trip at 8-4, tied atop the NL Central with the Reds, while Washington arrived at 4-8 after losing seven of its last eight.
The numbers framed the series as much as the records did. The Brewers entered with a.253/.356/.395 team batting line, 10 home runs, 70 runs scored and 23 stolen bases. The Nationals were hitting.266/.339/.431 with 16 home runs, 71 runs scored and 14 stolen bases, a profile boosted by CJ Abrams and James Wood, who each had four homers. Former Brewer Joey Wiemer was also off to a fast start, batting.440/.533/.760 through eight games played.
Milwaukee’s lineup remained short-handed. Andrew Vaughn was out for a few weeks with a hand injury, Jackson Chourio was also out for a few weeks with a hand injury, and Brice Turang missed the last two games in Boston with left ankle tendinitis. Turang was not expected to need an injured list stint and should be back for the series, giving the Brewers at least one piece of good news after the trip through Kansas City and Boston.
Read Also: Brewers - Red Sox: Gray faces former club as Boston seeks first series win
Washington’s injury list was built entirely around pitchers. Josiah Gray, DJ Herz and Trevor Williams were on the 60-day injured list, while Jarlin Susana was also sidelined and Travis Sykora was out for the season with a return expected in 2027. That left the Nationals trying to piece together a rotation and bullpen while the offense tried to keep pace with a Milwaukee team that has already shown it can win in different ways, even with injuries of its own. The Brewers’ new uniforms, unveiled Thursday and worn through all three games, gave the series a fresh look. The more consequential question is whether Milwaukee can keep the pace that has put it at the top of the division in mid-April, or whether Washington can use a road stop in Milwaukee to slow a skid that has already put it at the bottom of the NL East.
