Brewers push distractions aside ahead of rematch vs. Astros

Milwaukee reliever Abner Uribe made news for the right reasons Friday night in the Brewers' 5-4 win against the Houston Astros.

In the opener of a three-game interleague series, which will continue Saturday afternoon in Houston, Uribe escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning that allowed the Brewers to win in 10 innings. Milwaukee has won four games in a row and eight of its past 10.

Uribe was suspended for one game and fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball for gestures toward the St. Louis Cardinals' dugout on Tuesday. He appealed the suspension and was available for Milwaukee on Friday.

Uribe worked around an error, a hit and an intentional walk that loaded the bases with one out and the top of the Astros order due up. He struck out Brice Matthews before getting Isaac Paredes to pop out to end the threat.

Uribe opted not to comment on the suspension or his appeal following the victory. He downplayed the distraction from the situation, instead noting the normal steps he took on Friday.

"The mentality was the same as any other day," Uribe said. "I go to the bullpen, do my routine and prepare myself to be ready for the game.

"We're not paying any attention to that. We don't want to distract ourselves from what our goal is here. We want to stay focused on the game and on winning games. I think we did a good job of going out there and showing that."

Rookie right-hander Brandon Sproat (1-3, 5.84 ERA) is the scheduled starter for the Brewers on Saturday. He allowed three runs on four hits and four walks with a career-high-tying seven strikeouts across four innings in a 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers last Sunday.

While Sproat has logged only one quality start in eight starts this season, the Brewers are 5-3 with him as their starter.

Sproat will start against the Astros for the first time in his career. He is 0-1 with a 5.47 ERA in five interleague appearances (four starts).

Right-hander Peter Lambert (3-4, 3.79 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Astros on Saturday. He snapped a two-start skid last Sunday against the Chicago Cubs, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks with five strikeouts across five innings in an 8-5 victory. Lambert had logged six-plus innings in three consecutive starts but went 1-2 with a 3.60 ERA in that span.

He is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against the Brewers. In his most recent outing against Milwaukee on July 3, 2024, Lambert worked 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Colorado Rockies, allowing two hits with two strikeouts in a 3-0 home loss.

After seemingly bouncing back following a woeful start to the season, Astros reliever Bryan Abreu issued consecutive four-pitch walks to open the eighth inning and was charged with the run that allowed the Brewers to pull even at 4-4 on Friday. Abreu had logged nine consecutive scoreless appearances before Friday after posting a 12.54 ERA in his first 11 games this season.

"We've got to create consistency in throwing strikes and staying ahead of hitters," Astros manager Joe Espada said. "That's been the story for him this year. When he gets ahead, he's extremely effective.

"His stuff is really good. We just have to get him to throw the ball more in the zone."

--Field Level Media