MLB-best Brewers, scrappy Mariners try to stay on a roll

The Milwaukee Brewers and the visiting Seattle Mariners will be buoyed in their own ways by important series wins over the weekend when they begin a three-game set on Tuesday.

The Brewers return home after taking three of four at the Los Angeles Dodgers, a bit of revenge after the Dodgers swept them out of the 2025 National League Championship Series.

"Any time you come in here, especially with the way our season ended last year, and you put up a good fight and you have a good series," Milwaukee first baseman Jake Bauers said, "it feels good."

Bauers went 4-for-4 with a double and two RBIs in the Brewers' series-clinching 6-2 win on Sunday.

With the possibility of another postseason showdown with the Dodgers looming, Bauers believes this weekend helped drive home a valuable lesson: "We can hang with these guys, we can play with them and if we execute, we can beat them."

Milwaukee's MLB-best record now stands at 77-48. The Brewers regained a five-game lead over the charging Chicago Cubs in the NL Central entering Monday.

Conversely, the Mariners are on the outside looking in on the American League playoff picture, but winning two of three at AL West-leading Houston this weekend has given them a jolt. Despite sitting seven games below .500 at 59-66, Seattle is just four back in the division.

It's a far cry from where the Mariners found themselves a year ago, winning 90 games and taking their first AL West crown since 2001, but catcher Cal Raleigh believes the makeup of the group has kept them in the fight despite struggling to replicate their on-field success from 2025.

"We've just got a great group of guys here," Raleigh said.

"I'm proud of us this weekend. It was a big series against these guys. (Houston is) a really good team, hard to play here, and I'm really proud of how we got it done and executed."

Raleigh is in the midst of a tough season at the plate, batting just .158 a year removed from hitting 60 home runs and finishing second in AL MVP voting, but his 13th long ball of 2026 was pivotal for Seattle in its 3-2 win over the Astros on Sunday night.

The pitching matchup for Tuesday's series opener features two starters trying to reverse a recent dip in fortunes.

Kyle Harrison (9-3, 3.47 ERA) will be facing Seattle for the first time in his career when the left-hander takes the mound for the Brewers.

Two of Harrison's three losses for the season have come in his last three starts. That includes his outing last Tuesday, when he tied a season-worst mark with eight runs allowed in 4 2/3 innings in an 11-2 loss to San Diego.

The Mariners will turn to right-hander Bryce Miller (4-6, 3.39).

Miller is winless in his previous six starts, taking the loss in four of them. When he last pitched on Wednesday, Miller took with a no-decision after allowing five runs in six innings against the New York Yankees.

In his lone previous appearance against the Brewers, Miller threw seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts to set the table for a 5-3 Seattle win on April 6, 2024.

--Field Level Media