Next Tuesday, the Brewers get their first of three remaining chances to hand St. Louis some losses. To that end, skipper Ken Macha probably wants his best three starters to go. Right now, his rotation is aligned as follows:
T 8/25 Jeff Suppan, 5-8, 5.27 vs. Cincy
W 8/26 Braden Looper, 11-6, 4.95 vs. Cincy
R 8/27 Dave Bush, 3-4, 5.67 vs. Cincy
F 8/28 Manny Parra, 8-10, 6.54 vs. Pittsburgh
S 8/29 Yovani Gallardo, 12-10, 3.51 vs. Pittsburgh
S 8/30 Suppan vs. Pittsburgh
M 8/31 off day
T 9/01 Looper or Bush at St. Louis
W 9/02 Bush or Parra at St. Louis
R 9/03 Parra or Gallardo at St. Louis
…with the first name shown being if Macha sticks with the rotation as it is and gives every starter a day off, and the second option being if he skips Looper and sticks with an every 5th day rotation.
The second option is the only one where Gallardo gets a start against the Cardinals, so it would seem wise to keep that in tact…and would enable Macha to choose two of three from Looper, Bush and Parra.
Both Looper and Parra have faced the Cards this year and been successful against them–Parra is 1-1, 2.29 in 3 starts with 16K’s to 10 BB’s, while Looper is 1-0, 1.50 in one start but 0 K’s to 2 BB’s. The Redbirds have not seen Dave Bush this year, which may actually give him an edge.
I suspect the choice will come down to how effective Parra is on Friday versus the Pirates, or, perhaps, how effective Bush is Thursday night against the Reds. Either way, Ken Macha has a tough decision to make. If the Cards sweep the Brewers, there is a good chance that Macha will be let go…so his decisions as to who to start will be the most important ones he makes this season.
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