'Road warrior' Davies on verge of setting Brewers franchise record
The Milwaukee Brewers already saw a franchise record fall earlier in the year when closer Corey Knebel whiffed at least one hitter in 45 consecutive appearances to start the season.
Another record is at stake Monday night when Zach Davies toes the rubber against the San Francisco Giants.
Davies could become the first Brewers pitcher in franchise history to have a road record of 8-0 if he's able to defeat the Giants and qualify for the win as the visiting pitcher.
Davies became the second Brewers pitcher to start a season 7-0 on the road when he shut out the Tampa Bay Rays in seven innings at Tropicana Field Aug. 5.
Monday's outing against the Giants will be Davies' first crack at the record since then.
Victor Santos, who pitched for the Brewers from 2004-05, won his first seven road decisions in 2004, although he finished the year with a 7-4 record as a visiting starter.
Needless to say, Davies has been dominant on the road, especially lately. He holds the lowest road ERA (0.52) in the major leagues since June 21, ranking him ahead of Boston’s Chris Sale (1.07), and Gio Gonzalez (1.26) and Max Scherzer (1.67), a pair of Washington Nationals.
Success on the road has come relatively easy for the 24-year-old in his major-league career that spans three seasons.
Zach Davies' career as visiting pitcher
| YEAR | GS | W-L | ERA | BB | K | WHIP |
| 2015 | 4 | 3-1 | 2.66 | 8 | 17 | 1.056 |
| 2016 | 10 | 4-2 | 4.39 | 15 | 40 | 1.428 |
| 2017 | 12 | 7-0 | 2.52 | 20 | 39 | 1.150 |
The Brewers have won 17 of the 26 games that Davies has started on the road in his career.
It doesn't stop there for the Brewers, however. Their bullpen has been on a tear in the last month.
Milwaukee relievers' 1.92 ERA ranks second in the big leagues in August, just trailing the Houston Astros (1.82).
A big part of that has been Knebel, who represented the Brewers at the 2017 All-Star Game in Miami. Knebel hasn't allowed a run since July 19th, and he's fanned at least one hitter in 12 of his last 14 appearances.
NOTABLE
-- The Brewers have hit 184 home runs this season, tied for the most in the National League. San Francisco, meanwhile, has only 99 homers on the year, 20 fewer than any other team.
-- Milwaukee is 6-16 against the Giants since 2014.
-- Brewers slugger Travis Shaw is one of five left-handed hitters to have at least 25 doubles and 25 home runs on the season.
Statistics courtesy STATS
