Series Preview: Milwaukee Brewers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

The Milwaukee Brewers are set to host the Arizona Diamondbacks for a three-game set beginning Tuesday evening to wrap up their homestand. Milwaukee is coming off a series loss to the Pirates to begin the homestand, though they did pick up their first shutout win on Sunday, taking that one 5-0 behind a strong 12-strikeout showing from Kyle Harrison.

On the other side, Arizona is returning from their series split with the Padres in Mexico City, as they dropped Saturday’s game 6-4 before a comeback win on Sunday. They sit at 15-12 on the season, one game better than the 14-13 Brewers.

Milwaukee’s injured list (luckily) hasn’t grown much, but it also hasn’t shrunk. First baseman Andrew Vaughn and outfielder Jackson Chourio are both on the verge of rehab assignments as they recover from hand injuries, while Quinn Priester made his second rehab outing with Nashville over the weekend. He’s hoping for an early to mid-May return. Relievers Jared Koenig and Rob Zastryzny are both hoping to return in May, too, while outfielder/DH Christian Yelich is still shelved with a groin strain.

The Diamondbacks are missing a whole bunch of players, so let’s split them up into pitchers and position players. For the pitching staff, Blake Walston (midseason), Andrew Saalfrank (out for the season), Justin Martinez (second half), old friend Corbin Burnes (midseason), A.J. Puk (midseason), and Cristian Mena (TBD) are all out. Offensively, Arizona is without Pavin Smith (TBD), fellow former friend Carlos Santana (TBD), Jordan Lawlar (June), Tyler Locklear (mid-May/early June), and Gabriel Moreno, who is expected to rejoin the team for this series after missing the last couple of weeks with an oblique strain. Right-hander Zac Gallen and shortstop Geraldo Perdomo are also considered day to day with minor injuries, though Gallen is not lined up to pitch in this series.

Offensively, the Brewers haven’t homered in the last week, and they’ve struggled with inconsistency throughout the early going of the season. Brice Turang had a rough week but still led the team with four RBIs, as he’s now hitting .258/.391/.462 with four homers, 18 RBIs, 20 runs, and seven steals this season. Gary Sánchez and Jake Bauers lead the team with five homers. Garrett Mitchell has also shown flashes of his potential, and William Contreras remains a team leader. Beyond that, there isn’t much to say about the Brewer offense. As a team, Milwaukee is hitting .231/.329/.349 (.678 OPS ranks 26th), with 19 homers (tied for last), 132 runs (tied for ninth), and 36 steals (first).

Much as Perdomo did a season ago, Ildemaro Vargas has quietly turned into one of the best hitters in baseball this year with Arizona. Over 20 games, he’s hitting .367/.383/.722 with a team-high six homers, 20 RBIs, and 18 runs scored. Nolan Arenado and Ketel Marte each have four homers, while Corbin Carroll has three homers, four triples, and four steals. Jose Fernandez also has three homers and a .342 batting average thus far. Adrian Del Castillo, Aramis Garcia, James McCann, Tim Tawa, Jorge Barrosa, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and Alek Thomas round out the roster (note: the team also added Jesus Valdez as the 27th man for the Mexico City Series). As a team, Arizona is hitting .255/.310/.426 (.736 OPS ranks seventh), with 27 homers (tied for 20th), 132 runs (tied for ninth), and 16 steals (tied for 21st).

Aaron Ashby and Grant Anderson still lead Milwaukee’s bullpen in appearances, with DL Hall turning in a solid 2.31 ERA over 11 outings. Abner Uribe has had some bumps this season, but he looked good over the weekend against Pittsburgh. After a hot start, Angel Zerpa has struggled in recent weeks, while Trevor Megill has had a reverse trajectory. Jake Woodford and Shane Drohan round out the current bullpen depth chart. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.82 team ERA (eighth), including a 3.59 starter ERA (fifth) and a 4.09 bullpen ERA (15th). They’ve struck out 250 batters (ninth) over 240 1/3 innings.

The Arizona bullpen is led by Juan Morillo, who has a 1.98 ERA with 16 strikeouts over 13 2/3 innings. Closer Paul Sewald is a perfect 7-for-7 in save opportunities, but he has a 4.50 ERA and three losses. Former Brewer minor leaguer Taylor Clarke and Jonathan Loáisiga have matching 3.29 ERAs over 13 2/3 innings. Ryan Thompson, Kevin Ginkel, Andrew Hoffman, and swingman Brandon Pfaadt (five appearances, three starts) round out the bullpen. As a staff, the D-backs have a 4.53 team ERA (24th), including a 4.62 starter ERA (25th) and a 4.67 bullpen ERA (22nd). They’ve struck out 204 batters (29th) over 240 1/3 innings.

Tuesday, April 28 @ 6:40 p.m.: RHP Chad Patrick (1-1, 2.35 ERA, 4.37 FIP) vs. RHP Merrill Kelly (1-1, 9.31 ERA, 9.02 FIP)

Patrick has had a solid season thus far, even if the underlying numbers don’t back that up. He has a 2.35 ERA, with six earned runs on 21 hits and eight walks over 23 innings, striking out just 11. After DL Hall opened for him on Wednesday night in Detroit, he went four innings, getting roughed up for four runs on six hits and a walk, striking out two. A fourth-round pick by these D-backs back in 2021, he made one start against them last season, spanning 4 1/3 innings with no runs allowed on five hits and two walks, striking out three in a no-decision.

Kelly, 37, is in his eighth MLB season. A former three-time draft pick (in 2007, 2009, and 2010), Kelly spent four seasons in Korea before breaking through with Arizona in 2019. He spent his first six full seasons with the D-backs before being traded at last year’s deadline to the Rangers. He returned to Arizona this offseason and, after starting the season on the IL, has made two starts this year. His first start against the Orioles resulted in a win as he allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings with three strikeouts, but his last time out, he got roughed up by the White Sox, allowing eight runs and striking out five over 4 1/3 innings. For the season, he’s totaled 9 2/3 innings with 10 runs allowed on 15 hits (four homers) and seven walks with eight strikeouts. Kelly has made 10 career appearances against the Brewers, with a 5-2 record, a 2.95 ERA, and 60 strikeouts over 61 innings. His only start last season came while with Texas, when he picked up the win despite allowing three runs on 10 hits, striking out six over 5 2/3 innings.

Wednesday, April 29 @ 6:40 p.m.: RHP Brandon Sproat (0-1, 6.45 ERA, 6.02 FIP) vs. LHP Eduardo Rodríguez (2-0, 2.89 ERA, 4.98 FIP)

Sproat, who got out to a horrid start in his first two outings, has looked much better in his last three appearances. He took a no-decision on Thursday in Detroit, as he went 5 1/3 innings with three runs allowed on four hits and two walks, striking out four on 76 pitches. The former second-round pick has never faced the D-backs before.

Rodríguez, 33, is in his third season with the D-backs after signing a four-year, $80 million contract that runs through 2027. While his ERA hovered just over 5.00 in each of his first two seasons in the desert, he’s had more statistical success this season. Even though his 4.98 FIP is near that 5.00 mark, he has a 2.89 ERA with 10 runs allowed (nine earned) and 18 strikeouts over 28 innings through five starts. He’s allowed four runs in each of his last two starts (against the Orioles and White Sox), spanning 10 innings with seven strikeouts. Rodríguez has made four career starts against Milwaukee, with an 0-3 record, a 4.58 ERA, and 16 strikeouts over 19 2/3 innings. That includes a pair of starts last season — both losses — in which he totaled 8 2/3 innings with eight runs allowed (seven earned) and four strikeouts.

Thursday, April 30 @ 12:40 p.m.: RHP Brandon Woodruff (2-1, 3.77 ERA, 4.09 FIP) vs. RHP Michael Soroka (4-0, 2.60 ERA, 2.69 FIP)

Woodruff just took his first loss of the season on Friday night against Pittsburgh, as he had the tall task of going head-to-head with Paul Skenes, who has his A-plus-plus stuff in a 6-0 Pirate win. Woodruff allowed three runs in that one, giving up five hits and two walks while striking out three. For the season, he’s totaled 28 2/3 innings with a 3.77 ERA, 4.09 FIP, and 23 strikeouts. Woodruff has made eight career appearances (seven starts) against Arizona, with a 3-1 record, a 4.81 ERA, and 49 strikeouts over 39 1/3 innings. One of those wins came in his lone appearance against them last August, when he allowed five runs over 5 2/3 innings but picked up eight strikeouts in a 7-5 Brewer win.

Soroka, 28, is in his seventh MLB season and with his fifth team. After agreeing to a one-year, $7.5 million deal this offseason, he’s been a bright spot for Arizona early this season. Through five starts, he’s a perfect 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA, 2.69 FIP, and 34 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings. His last start was his lone no-decision of the year, though he still went five innings with one run allowed and six strikeouts in a game the D-backs ultimately lost late. Soroka has made two career appearances against Milwaukee, one with the Braves (2023) and one with the White Sox (2024). In those two appearances, he went 1-1 with seven runs allowed over seven innings, striking out six.

Tuesday, April 28: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Wednesday, April 29: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Thursday, April 30: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

I think I’m going to start writing these predictions with the caveat that it really just depends on which Brewer offense shows up. I’ll bet on the Crew, though, and predict they take two of three this week.

Source link

House Resources Committee revises governor’s Alaska LNG bill, seeking more revenue

An Alaska House committee has made significant changes to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s bill for the Alaska LNG megaproject, proposing a smaller tax break designed to generate more revenue for local communities and the state.

The new measure in the House Resources Committee, which passed Monday without objection, comes after the Senate Resources Committee last week adopted its own substitute bill that seeks to raise the most revenue of the three proposals.

Dunleavy introduced his measure in March, seeking to support the project by replacing state and local property taxes with a much smaller “alternative volumetric tax” based on the amount of gas flow.

Resources committees in both chambers have spent weeks studying Dunleavy’s bill before presenting their substitutes, with the idea that a break on property taxes could help quickly bring the project to fruition. Project officials have said they could start laying pipe this year, though there has no been final investment decision approving construction.

Alaska LNG is the latest version of several projects that over the last half-century have tried to tap the state’s vast stores of natural gas on the remote North Slope.

The project’s high cost has always been a barrier. It’s currently estimated at $46 billion, though critics believe it will be far more expensive.

The project proposes shipping natural gas in an 800-mile pipeline for use in Southcentral Alaska starting in 2029.

Project backers say a gas treatment plant and a gas liquefaction plant would be built next so gas can also be exported overseas to big Asian buyers, starting in 2031.

Alaska leaders consider the project important for the state’s future economic growth.

Lawmakers are grappling with finding the right balance to support the project while still ensuring that Alaska communities can earn enough revenue to deal with impacts from the potential influx of thousands of workers.

Jeff Turner, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, said the project could save Alaska households $1,450 per year on energy bills, versus anticipated costs for imported gas. The administration and House Resources are “working productively on streamlining the bill,” he said.

“There are only three weeks left for lawmakers to pass a clean, straightforward LNG volumetric tax bill that incentivizes the project’s finances,” he said. “Weighing the bill down with conditions and additional taxes make the pipeline far less likely to happen. If lawmakers want the project to go forward they need to focus on fixing the state’s existing property tax which has some of the highest rates in the world.”

Larry Persily, an oil and gas analyst and former Alaska deputy commissioner of revenue, said the House and Senate versions are similar enough that even with just three weeks left in the session, lawmakers have time to pass a single version.

“It’s a lot of work, but they are on a similar path in that the governor’s proposal is inadequate in the eyes of the Legislature and the communities,” he said. “But three weeks is an eternity when you want to accomplish something.”

The committee’s co-chair, Rep. Robyn Niayuq Frier, D-Utqiagvik, said during the hearing that the substitute is a “working document” that will receive its next hearing on Wednesday, and possible amendments.

Like the proposal in the Senate, the new House substitute would retain the governor’s proposed volumetric tax.

Dunleavy had proposed taxing the gas flowing through the full project at 6 cents for every 1,000 cubic feet, which would bring in about $75 million annually for state and local revenues. That’s far below the $1 billion annually the project could receive in property taxes under existing state law.

The House substitute proposes taxing gas flowing through the pipe at 5 cents for every 1,000 cubic feet, generating about $65 million a year for local and state revenues.

But separately, it also would tax the gas flow through the gas treatment plant at 5 cents per 1,000 cubic feet, and the liquefied natural gas plant at 10 cents per 1,000 cubic feet, generating more revenue to Alaska communities, according to a summary of the bill.

The House substitute sets a quicker timeline for that revenue to start, compared to the governor’s bill.

The House substitute also gives the North Slope and Kenai Peninsula boroughs the option to replace the volumetric tax with an equity stake in the project.

The North Slope Borough would be home to the gas treatment plant.

The Kenai Peninsula Borough would be home to the large plant that makes liquefied natural gas, or LNG, so the gas could be exported overseas to large Asian buyers.

In addition to those significant additions, both those boroughs would also have a portion of the pipeline in their backyard.

The amount of revenue the substitute might generate for the state and local communities was not presented in the hearing Monday.

Officials with the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., a minority partner in the project alongside 75% owner Glenfarne, said in the hearing that the substitute bill has some positive attributes for the project and represents progress toward a final investment decision.

But they added that it poses some challenges due to its higher take on the project than the governor has proposed.

“It will create more of a challenge in terms of the economics of the project as more taxes are placed on project,” said Frank Richards, head of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., at the hearing.

Richards also urged the Legislature to act quickly, saying the state faces an energy crisis as locally produced gas from Cook Inlet wanes.

“The timeline is very, very short,” he said.

Source link

Post Malone ends Stagecoach 2026 set with fiery pro-war anthem

This certainly wasn’t Post Malone’s first Indio rodeo.

The rapper-turned-country-star has been no stranger to our fair valley’s mega music festivals in (very) recent years. He first played a popular cover- (and guest-) filled set that served as his country coming out party at Stagecoach 2024, only to return for Coachella to play a set of headlining gigs that felt less unanimously well-received.

So, when this year’s Stagecoach lineup dropped with Post Malone’s name prominently displayed as the Sunday headliner, there was more than a little grumbling from some who seem to have grown tired of our heavily-tattooed frequent house guest and would’ve preferred to have spent the last evening of festival season with anyone else.

But while I still can’t necessarily endorse what I believe was an unprecedented decision to have Malone headline both festivals in back-to-back years , I can say this: I think old Posty finally found a festival groove that really works for him during his fourth weekend as a festival performer at the polo grounds.

While Malone’s Coachella show provoked criticism for everything from the country fried twang with which he delivered some of his rap hits to a stage presence that sometimes felt over-the-top in its aw shucks humbleness, the musician packaged his schtick Sunday, April 26, in a way that seemed perfectly pitched to Stagecoach’s country loving crowd.

That crowd, in turn, seemed to eat up a show that seemed to fully embrace much of what worked about Malone’s beloved first Stagecoach show — the casual, even intimate vibe and Post’s inability to resist covering his favorite country tunes — while dispensing with some of the aspects that made the Coachella show less successful.

Among the latter was that show’s comparatively elaborate set and truck stop theme, which, for Stagecoach 2026, were jettisoned in favor of a simple setup that used pyrotechnics and occasional fireworks to generate a more old-fashioned spectacle that felt appropriately Stagecoach.

Then there was the music itself. The Coachella crowd seemed more interested in the bangers like “White Iverson” and “Circles” that made Malone one of America’s most streamed artists — and are part of the reason many became uninterested, even annoyed by, Malone’s country evolution.

Somehow, Malone seems to have found a way to effectively merge all sides of the Post experience here — or at least an audience that was more sufficiently open to them. I felt this was particularly illustrated by one section near the end of the set that saw Malone play three songs in succession that felt like an ideal sampling of his many sides and earlier polo ground shows (and that delivered an experience that was uniquely Post Malone, of course).

First up was the cover of a modern country classic, Kenny Chesney’s “How Forever Feels.” Then came the immortal Post Malone rap banger “Sunflower,” and finally, the country anthem that feels so perfectly Stagecoach, “I Had Some Help,” which he memorably debuted with Morgan Wallen during the latter’s headlining set in 2024.

There was no Wallen this time — let’s not forget that Ella Langley told us during her Friday Mane Stage set that he was on “dad duty” this weekend and couldn’t come — but it was no matter, the crowd seemed plenty happy to belt out the words along with Post.

In a way, even Malone’s choice to mainly highlight lower-billed Stagecoach artists (Jake Worthington and Braxton Keith) as special guests rather than one of the many superstar collaborators from his country album “F-1 Trillion” felt oh-so-Stagecoach given that the festival more typically eschews eye-popping guest surprises in favor of having the billed artists join one another on stage.

There did seem to be one attempt at adding some higher star wattage when Shaboozey suddenly joined Malone on stage and danced around (but didn’t appear to sing much or at all) during “I Had Some Help.” But even that brief appearance felt highly casual (perhaps too much so) — though Malone did seem to mutter something about him and Shaboozey working on something together.

Heck, even Malone’s rather aggressive product placement of his Post-branded mini Bud Light cans (which have been heavily marketed at the festival, from plane banners overhead to a mini pop-up bar only selling that one item) seemed to land well enough with the Bud Light loving crowd.

But if Malone’s Stagecoach debut in 2024 marked the start of his transformation into a country artist, this seemed to be the one where he fully assumed all the trappings of a country star.

Those would include the symbolic and political ones, as Malone pointedly ended his show with a cover of Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.”

That fist-pumping, unapologetically militant anthem was famously released by Keith in the wake of 9/11, and has become among the more polarizing country songs in recent memory because of its vengeful, jingoistic message. The song’s notoriety only seemed to grow during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars that would follow, when some would come to see it as the ultimate patriotic anthem while others came to regard it as summarizing everything that was wrong with the thinking that led the US into those wars in the first place.

So, for Malone to not only end the set by playing the song, but to pause for dramatic effect in the middle to loudly bellow its most contentious and memorable lyric, “and you’ll be sorry you messed with the US of A ‘cause we’ll put a boot in your ass, it’s the American way” — in a moment that felt like an exclamation point — was an unmistakably pointed choice at a time when the US finds itself in another war in the Middle East.

It was an unsubtle choice that felt especially notable given that Post Malone had never, until now, struck me as a very political artist. But I don’t think anyone would say that now, as Malone beamed from ear to ear and, with the US again in a controversial war, declared “and the eagle will fly and it’s gonna be hell when you hear mother freedom start ringin’ her bell and it’ll feel like the whole world is raining down on you.”

If nothing else, it was definitely the kind of message you won’t usually get at Coachella, delivered by a star who now seems fully at home both in the world of country music and its biggest festival.

Source link

Live Between the Hedges brings live music back to Sanford Stadium | Arts & Culture

For the first time in 13 years, live music returned to the stage at Sanford Stadium on April 25 at 6 p.m. Georgia natives Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan were joined by fellow award-winning artists Zach Top and Lauren Alaina for the first Live Between the Hedges concert, presented by PruittHealth.

Bryan and Aldean first played Sanford Stadium in 2013 as part of Aldean’s “Night Train” tour, which marked the only concert ever held at the venue. Georgia Athletics partnered with Dugas-Jackson Consulting and Does Entertainment to bring them back to the stage once again.

Fans with pit tickets waited at the gates hours before the concert began with hopes of making it to the front row.

Lauren Alaina opened the concert with “Thicc As Thieves,” drawing a wave of cheers and excitement from the crowd.

During her set, she performed “Little Things” as a meaningful tribute to her father who unexpectedly died in July 2024.

“If you’re here tonight and you’ve lost someone, you know what I mean,” Alania said during her set. “Life is so short and life is so precious. Call your family. Make sure that you focus on the things that matter.”

Taylee Hixon, an attendee of the concert, traveled from Charlotte, North Carolina, to come to the show. She said she was most looking forward to seeing Jason Aldean perform.

“I’ve loved Jason Aldean for so many years and it was my birthday week last week … we [made] a four hour drive,” Hixton said.

Co-headliners Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan took the stage together, opening their set with “My Kinda Party” by Aldean.

Noah Jordan, a sophomore mechanical engineering student at the University of Georgia and longtime fan of Aldean, said he was most looking forward to hearing him perform “Why.”

“It’s a great time getting to be in Sanford with the second concert,” Jordan said. “I think they should do it more in Sanford, other SEC schools get it a lot.”

As the night began to come to a close, Aldean and Bryan welcomed Kirby Smart to the stage to call the Dawgs and give his request: “She’s Country” by Aldean.

Aldean and Bryan concluded the concert side by side, and the packed stadium made it clear that live music is welcome back between the hedges.

Source link