Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Kyle Lohse was not scheduled to face the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, but a rainout against the Chicago Cubs changed all of that. The Cardinals are excited to face their former pitcher, as long as they come away with the victory.
Lohse posted a 55-35 record with a 3.90 earned run average in 137 games over a five-year span with St. Louis. His numbers improve at Busch Stadium where he is 30-17 with a 3.40 ERA in 73 starts. St. Louis is hoping Lohse has no such magic when he comes to town.
Lohse will ironically be going up against the starting pitcher that replaced him on the Cardinals. St. Louis believed Shelby Miller could handle a role in the starting rotation, and therefore, felt comfortable allowing Lohse to sign with another team in the offseason.
Miller is widely regarded as the top-ranked pitcher in the Cardinals organization. In his first, and only start so far this season, the 22-year-old gave up just two earned runs on four hits while striking out four batters in 5 1/3 innings. He was able to walk away with the victory against the San Francisco Giants, the second of his career.
Lohse has also only made one start this season, an outstanding one at that. The 34-year-old allowed only one earned run on five hits while striking out five batters in six innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks last Friday. He certainly pitched well enough for the win, but Milwaukee’s bullpen faltered in the later innings.
There is no doubt Lohse will give a top notch performance when he takes the mound in St. Louis. Whether the Brewers will be able to supply him with enough run support is the question. Milwaukee has been good at getting on the scoreboard in the early innings as of late, but getting shutdown in the later part of the game is not a recipe for success.
It will be interesting to see if Lohse’s detailed scouting report on his former team will be enough for the Brewers to be victorious. On the contrary, the Cardinals’ batters have waited a long time to see if they could have success against their former ace in a legitimate game.
Michael Terrill is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelTerrill, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
