The Milwaukee Brewers are back on the road, and this time, they won’t have to travel too far. Beginning this weekend, the Brewers are on a two-series trip through the Twin Cities and Chicago, as they’ll take on a pair of rivals in the Twins and Cubs. First up is Minnesota, as the Brewers will face the Twins for three games beginning Friday night.
The Crew is coming off a 5-1 homestand that featured a three-game sweep of the Yankees and a 2-1 series against the Padres — the only loss of the series came on a go-ahead three-run homer in the ninth inning of a 3-1 Padre win. Milwaukee is now 24-17 on the season, tied with the Cardinals for second in the NL Central.
On the opposite side, the Twins are 20-24 on the year, right in the middle of what has been a weak AL Central thus far. They took two of three from the Marlins this week, giving them four wins in their last five games after taking the final two games in Cleveland over the weekend.
In terms of injuries, the Brewers currently have a few players shelved and a few who are considered day-to-day. The day-to-day group includes Christian Yelich and Jacob Misiorowski. Yelich has been held out of the lineup for the last two games as he deals with minor back tightness, a lingering issue that has affected him for the last few years, while Misiorowski exited his start on Wednesday night after only the seventh inning as he once again dealt with cramps. He’s reportedly set to make his next start on schedule. Outfielders Brandon Lockridge and Akil Baddoo are both out with leg injuries, with Baddoo scheduled to begin a rehab assignment this weekend and Lockridge expected to be out until at least mid-June. On the pitching side, Rob Zastryzny (late May), Brandon Woodruff (late May), Jared Koenig (late May/early June), Quinn Priester (early June), and Angel Zerpa (out for the season) are all on the IL.
The Twins IL several key players, so I’ll give the quick-ish rundown. The list includes starting pitcher Pablo López, who is out for the season with a torn UCL, as well as Garrett Acton, Cody Laweryson, David Festa, Mick Abel, Cole Sands, and Taj Bradley. Outfielder Byron Buxton is day-to-day with hip soreness, while Wisconsin-native Alan Roden is on the IL with Triple-A St. Paul. Top prospects Walker Jenkins (team No. 1, MLB No. 12), Emmanuel Rodriguez (team No. 4, MLB No. 54), and Charlee Soto (team No. 9) are all on the IL in the minors.
Offensively, the Brewers are led by Brice Turang, who seemingly gets better every game. He’s hitting .298/.422/.511 with six homers, 10 doubles, 27 RBIs, 33 runs, and eight steals this season. Jake Bauers adds six homers, and Gary Sánchez has five. Other key contributors include William Contreras, Andrew Vaughn, Jackson Chourio, and Yelich (when healthy). Rounding out the position player group, those guys are joined by Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, Joey Ortiz, David Hamilton, Luis Rengifo, and Blake Perkins. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .245/.336/.359 (.695 OPS ranks 19th), with 27 homers (last), 209 runs (eighth), and 43 steals (fifth).
Buxton leads Minnesota’s offense with 15 homers this year, and he’s hitting .260/.319/.580 over 40 games. Ryan Jeffers has added six homers, while Brooks Lee ranks third with five. Austin Martin has quietly been one of the better hitters for the Twins, hitting .333/.454/.429 over 38 games, and Luke Keaschall leads the team with 10 steals this year. Victor Caratini, Kody Clemens, Royce Lewis, Tristan Gray, Josh Bell, Ryan Keidler, Trevor Larnach, and James Outman round out the Minnesota offense. As a team, the Twins are hitting .236/.325/.385 (.710 OPS ranks 13th), with 49 homers (tied for 12th), 211 runs (seventh), and 40 steals (tied for sixth).
The Brewers bullpen is anchored by the fireman duo of Aaron Ashby and DL Hall, as Ashby leads the majors with a perfect 7-0 record across 20 appearances, with a 2.00 ERA and 43 strikeouts across 27 innings. Hall has a 1.80 ERA with 22 strikeouts over 20 innings. Grant Anderson hasn’t appeared as often recently, though he still ranks second on the team with 19 appearances. Abner Uribe has now blown two saves with a 4.96 ERA, though he’s still one of the best pitchers on the team when he’s playing well. Trevor Megill has bounced back after an ice-cold start, allowing just two earned runs over his last 10 innings (1.80 ERA). Jake Woodford, Shane Drohan, and Brian Fitzpatrick round things out. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.35 team ERA (third), including a 3.27 starter ERA (fourth) and a 3.44 bullpen ERA (seventh). They’ve struck out 402 batters (fourth) over 365 1/3 innings.
As you’ll see with the team stats below, the Twins’ bullpen hasn’t been great this season. Former Brewer Justin Topa leads the team with 21 appearances, and Anthony Banda is right behind him with 20 appearances, though both have ERAs over 7.00. Kody Funderburk (who is now at Triple-A, thanks to some control issues) was probably the best pitcher, at least statistically, with a 2.81 ERA over 16 innings. The current group of Eric Orze (4.26 ERA), Taylor Rogers (4.41 ERA), Andrew Morris (4.67 ERA), and Luis García (10.57 ERA) has all had their share of troubles this season. The newest bullpen edition, Kendry Rojas, has been solid through three appearances, with a 2.45 ERA over 7 1/3 innings. As a staff, the Twins have a 4.49 team ERA (23rd), including a 3.88 starter ERA (ninth) and a 5.38 bullpen ERA (29th). They’ve struck out 332 batters (26th) over 387 innings.
Friday, May 15 @ 6:10 p.m.: TBD vs. RHP Joe Ryan (2-3, 3.43 ERA, 3.04 FIP)
The Brewers have not yet announced a starter for game 1 or game 3 of this series. Friday night’s starter would be lined up as Chad Patrick, but the Brewers have used him in a bit more of a bullpen role lately, as he went three innings in relief against the Yankees on Saturday before tossing a perfect inning against the Padres on Tuesday. I’d expect that whether or not he’s the starter, we’ll see him at some point in this one, and likely for multiple innings. The 27-year-old righty has a 3.06 ERA, 3.81 FIP, and 26 strikeouts over 35 1/3 innings this season. Patrick made a start against the Twins last May, taking the loss as he allowed three runs on eight hits and a walk with two strikeouts over six frames.
Ryan, 30 in June, is in his sixth MLB season, all with the Twins. An All-Star last season, Ryan has a similar stat line so far in 2026, with a 3.43 ERA, a 3.04 FIP, and 45 strikeouts over 44 2/3 innings. The former seventh-round pick went six innings against the Guardians in his last appearance, allowing one run on two hits and three walks while striking out five in a no-decision. Ryan has made four appearances against Milwaukee in his career, with a 1-1 record, 3.18 ERA, and 25 strikeouts over 22 2/3 innings. He went 1-1 against Milwaukee last season, with the win coming in the same game that Patrick lost.
Saturday, May 16 @ 6:10 p.m.: RHP Logan Henderson (0-1, 4.15 ERA, 2.11 FIP) vs. LHP Connor Prielipp (1-1, 3.32 ERA, 4.37 FIP)
The only officially announced starter for Milwaukee, this will mark Henderson’s fourth start of 2026. He’s allowed exactly two runs in all three of his starts this year, including two runs over five innings against the Yankees on Mother’s Day, striking out five and taking the no-decision as Brice Turang ultimately played hero. One thing of note: each of Henderson’s last two starts ended before the 80-pitch mark (76 on May 3 against the Nationals, 74 on Sunday). This marks Henderson’s first career appearance against Minnesota.
Prielipp, 25, was born and raised in Tomah, Wisconsin. A second-round pick out of the University of Alabama in 2022, he made his MLB debut just a few weeks ago, as this will mark his fifth career start. Ranked as Minnesota’s No. 5 team prospect by MLB Pipeline, he has a 3.32 ERA, 4.37 FIP, and 21 strikeouts over 19 innings this year. He went five innings against the Guardians in his last appearance, allowing four runs (just one earned) on four hits and two walks, striking out six in his first loss. This marks Prielipp’s first career appearance against Milwaukee.
Sunday, May 17 @ 1:10 p.m.: TBD vs. RHP Bailey Ober (4-2, 3.46 ERA, 3.84 FIP)
Rookie right-hander Brandon Sproat would be lined up to take the ball in the series finale if the last turn through the rotation holds. Sproat is coming off a decent start on Tuesday night against the Padres, earning his first MLB win in appearance No. 12 as he went 5 1/3 innings with three runs allowed on six hits and two walks, striking out six. For the season, he has a 5.75 ERA, 5.74 FIP, and 36 strikeouts over 36 innings. This would mark Sproat’s first career appearance against Minnesota.
Like Ryan, Ober, 30, is in his sixth MLB season, all with Minnesota. The former 12th-round pick has turned in a few solid seasons during his career, but he’s coming off his worst season to date, as he had a 5.10 ERA and 4.90 FIP over 146 1/3 innings in 2025. He’s looked better thus far in 2026, though, with a 3.46 ERA, 3.84 FIP, and 39 strikeouts over 52 innings. He’s coming off a complete game shutout performance against the Marlins, in which he threw just 89 pitches and allowed just two hits (no walks) with seven strikeouts in a 3-0 win. This marks Ober’s third career start against the Brewers. Both of his previous starts came in 2023, when he totaled 11 innings with four runs allowed (3.27 ERA) and 10 strikeouts, picking up a win and a no-decision.
Friday, May 8: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Saturday, May 9: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Sunday, May 10: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Despite entering the season predicted to finish at the bottom of the AL Central (and possibly the entire AL or even MLB), the Twins have held their own thus far, as they’re just a few games under .500. Still, the Brewers seem to be playing some of their best baseball right now, which makes me confident they can take two of three here.