Hader, Brewers thrive in one-run games

Yes, the Milwaukee Brewers have had their share of troubles this season.

Milwaukee has the worst batting average among MLB teams (.213), third-worst on-base percentage (.301) and sits in third place in the NL Central division with a 16-18 record.

But one thing the Crew has done well is win their tight ball games.

The Brewers have won a league-high eight of 11 contests decided by one run this summer. It should come as no surprise, as Milwaukee boasted MLB’s best record in one-run games from 2017-19 with an 85-59 record.

It’s no coincidence that reliever Josh Hader debuted in 2017.

Aside from his strange five-walk outing Saturday against Pittsburgh, Hader has been lights out again this season. Through 10 2/3 innings pitched, Hader has faced 43 batters and has fanned 17 of them, walked 10 and has yet to allow a single hit. His 14.3 K/9 ranks ninth among relievers.

Opponents are hitting the ball hard just 26.7% of the time off Hader, significantly down from his career mark of 34.2%. The 0-for-32 start for batters against the two-time All-Star is the longest streak of hitless at-bats against a pitcher to start a season since 1998, when hitters went 0-for-35 off of Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Brad Clontz.

And with two strikes against Hader, good luck. Since the 2018 campaign, Josh Hader has logged a 66% strikeout rate with two strikes in the count. That leads all MLB relievers and is well above the league average of 46%.

As a staff in 2020, Milwaukee has tallied the second-best K/9 at 10.6, trailing only division rival Cincinnati (11.4). The Brewers bullpen ranks sixth in the big leagues limiting opposing hitters to a .216 batting average.

The bullpen will be put to the test this week as Milwaukee begins a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers, who are playing .500 ball at 16-16 and are coming off a sweep of Minnesota.

NOTABLES

— Since he debuted with Milwaukee in 2018, outfielder Christian Yelich has the second-best slugging percentage in the big leagues (.614), only trailing three-time MVP Mike Trout (.633). The league average in that span is .467.

— Detroit slumped to an 11-29 record in interleague play from 2018-19, but Ron Gardenhire’s club has turned things around this summer. The Tigers have registered an 8-4 record, good for the fifth-best interleague winning percentage (.667) in MLB.

Statistics courtesy Sportradar, Inside Edge, Fangraphs