Brewers must win Tuesday to remain in playoffs

The Milwaukee Brewers are facing a must-win situation Tuesday.

They’ll take on the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the National League Division Series. The Braves lead the best-of-five series, 2-1. Tuesday’s game will take place in Atlanta.

Milwaukee won the NL Central this season, nearly tying the franchise record for regular-season wins. It’s the fourth straight year the Brewers have reached the playoffs. But the team’s offense struggled down the stretch, and its woes have continued into the postseason. In fact, the Brewers were shut out in each of the last two games.

On Tuesday, the Braves will return Game 1 starter Charlie Morton — the only pitcher Milwaukee has managed to crack these playoffs. He’s on short rest, but it’ll still be a tough test for the Brewers, who’ve gone 20 innings without scoring a run.

“I thought we swung the bats better today,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Monday. “Luck wasn’t on our side today with some balls in some key spots.”

Milwaukee needs to put more pressure on Atlanta’s starting pitcher the first time through the lineup, he said.

“Some good starting pitching is making it tough on us,” he said. “And we’ve got to catch a break, frankly.”

Meanwhile, pitching has been a strength for the Brewers this season. Lefty Eric Lauer is scheduled to start Game 4 for Milwaukee.

.@e_lauer10 will start Game 4 of NLDS in Atlanta today. pic.twitter.com/iIfFoG7W37

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) October 12, 2021

The teams played Game 3 in Atlanta on Monday. Despite a strong start from pitcher Freddy Peralta, he was pulled after four innings in hopes of getting on the board. The Brewers had runners on second and third with no outs.

“We needed to score, and it was a good opportunity to score,” said Counsell, who said Peralta could have probably gone two more innings.

“I want to keep pitching in the game, but in that situation, I had to understand that we had the opportunity to score some runs in that moment,” Peralta said.

In the next inning, pitcher Adrian Houser gave up a 3-run homer to Atlanta’s Joc Pederson that ended up being the difference-maker.

Milwaukee’s offensive struggles are getting frustrating, catcher Omar Narvaez said after Monday’s game.

“It feels like we get men on bases almost every inning,” he said. “Hopefully everything changes tomorrow, and we’ll be able to come back and make it even.”

Should the Brewers force a Game 5, it’ll be played at American Family Field in Milwaukee. Cy Young candidate Corbin Burnes would likely be available to start if Milwaukee wins Tuesday. He led the Brewers to a victory in Game 1.

The winner of this series will face the San Francisco Giants or Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS.