Fresh off a dominant shutout, the San Francisco Giants must brace for a Milwaukee Brewers counterattack.
The San Francisco Giants improved to 45-61 thanks to a stellar 3-0 victory over the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
Milwaukee has won each of their first three series since coming back from the All-Star break, but it's worth noting all nine of those games were at American Family Field.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy mentioned the team being stuck on the runway for five hours prior to coming to San Francisco, so it's entirely possible the team didn't have the right mindset going into this series opener.
That said, it's still a big win for the Giants, but they can't get overconfident. This Brewers team has the second-best record in all of baseball for a reason, and they aren't about to lose this series without putting up a fight.
Giants allowed just three hits in the opener
Whether or not the Giants' pitching stays this hot remains to be seen, but it was a stellar start to the series, specifically for Tyler Mahle. Obviously, this is the only time the Brewers will have to face him, but he improved to 3-9 and was arguably the Giants' weakest starter when the probables were announced for this series.
Mahle has had his share of struggles this season, but he allowed those three hits to come in his six innings of work. He only struck out three players, and did allow the Giants only two walks, but it was still as impressive a bounce-back performance as the team could've expected, especially knowing he did so against a Brewers team that is 26 games over .500.
The Giants thought Mahle looked good, but they had no idea this bullpen would somehow look ten times better. Milwaukee simply looked lost, specifically late in the game. The Brewers love to rally and spark a late comeback, but the trio of Sam Hentges, Dylan Smith, and Erik Miller made sure that didn't happen. Together, they combined for four strikeouts without allowing a walk or hit.
Brewers won't stay cold forever
Coming off a 7-2 homestand, it's worth noting the Brewers responded to a 4-0 loss to the New York Mets with a 4-3 win the very next day. When the Brewers lose, it tends to be in an ugly fashion. Now that Milwaukee has gotten their loss out of the way, it'll be interesting to see how they respond.
For what it's worth, the Colorado Rockies took the series opener against the Brewers on Friday, July 24, 5-2, and then the Brewers outscored them 19-7 in the final two games of the series.
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