Brewers' Guerra thrives despite lack of run support
With a 3.09 ERA and a 1.219 WHIP so far this season, Milwaukee Brewers starter Junior Guerra should probably have more than two wins to his name in his six starts.
He allowed no more than one run in each of his first four starts, and was dealing once again in his most recent start apart from a four-run misstep in the fourth innings, fanning nine batters while inducing 20 swinging strikeouts.
Unfortunately, he isn't getting much help.
The Brewers' offense has supported Guerra with just six total runs in his six starts this season, an average of just 1.69 runs per nine innings. That's the smallest such figure in the majors amongst pitchers with at least 30 innings pitched this season.
Lowest Run Support per 9 innings – 2018
| Player | Team | Runs/9 IP |
| Junior Guerra | Brewers | 1.69 |
| Alex Wood | Dodgers | 2.40 |
| Marcus Stroman | Blue Jays | 2.41 |
| Matthew Boyd | Tigers | 2.57 |
| Jose Urena | Marlins | 2.63 |
Fortunately, the struggling Diamondbacks shouldn't give him much trouble.
Arizona's offense has been among the worst in the league this month. The Diamondbacks are hitting just .201 as a team in May -- the worst mark in the league -- down from .235 in March and April, and just .157 with runners in scoring position.
Meanwhile, one of the Brewers' biggest acquisitions in recent years, outfielder Christian Yelich, has been a solid bellwether for the state of their offense.
Yelich is hitting .385 in Brewers wins this season and just .081 in losses, the second-largest such differential in the majors this season. Yelich is slashing .282/.355/.418 this season.
Other notes:
-- This series features two of the league's best bullpens. Milwaukee's relievers lead the league with a 2.41 ERA, while the Diamondbacks rank second with a 2.67 ERA.
-- Yelich and Lorenzo Cain are thriving in Milwaukee, but the Diamondbacks' outfield has the league's fourth-highest combined slugging percentage this season at .462, led by center fielder A.J. Pollock (.637).
-- The Brewers had a combined 47 hits in their four-game series win over the Colorado Rockies, their most of any four-game span this season.
Statistics courtesy of STATS
