The Milwaukee Brewers will get a chance to visit an old pal when they open a four-game road series against Willy Adames and the San Francisco Giants on Monday night.
The teams flew into San Francisco on Sunday night experiencing opposite emotions. While the Brewers were celebrating a 14-1 thumping of the Athletics to complete a series win and a 4-2 homestand, the Giants were lamenting having squandered a three-run, ninth-inning lead in a 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels that completed a 5-5 trip.
Adames was a driving force in back-to-back National League Central titles by the Brewers in 2023 and 2024. The shortstop led the team in home runs (24) and RBIs (80) in 2023 before increasing those numbers to 32 and 112 last season.
The 29-year-old then became a free agent and signed a seven-year, $182 million contract with the Giants in December.
He has yet to find his power in San Francisco, with just one home run in 22 games. He reached double figures in RBIs on Sunday with a pair of run-scoring singles and is batting only .202.
The Brewers will begin the series in second place in the NL Central, one game behind the Chicago Cubs, despite receiving little production from Adames’ replacements at shortstop.
Primary shortstop Joey Ortiz has gone homerless with four RBIs in his first 22 games. His 1-for-5 outing against the A’s on Sunday actually raised his batting average to .184.
Technically, Adames already has met the Brewers as a member of the Giants. It occurred in spring training, after he, Milwaukee pitcher Freddy Peralta and Giants ace Logan Webb attended a Phoenix Suns game together the night before.
“Everybody there (in Milwaukee) treated me like I was home,” insisted Adames, who joined the Brewers in May 2021 via a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. “It’s hard to leave a place like that. I’m always going to have love for them. At the end of the day, it comes to business.”
Acknowledged Peralta, who is scheduled to pitch against Webb on Wednesday night: “I don’t know if we’re going to be able to replace (him). I’m happy for him. We just have to find a way forward to keep the great relationships that we’ve had for years here in the clubhouse, the culture that we’ve been growing here.”
Right-hander Quinn Priester (1-0, 0.90 ERA) will start for the Brewers in the series opener, opposed by lefty Robbie Ray (3-0, 4.19).
Priester, acquired from the Boston Red Sox two weeks ago, has faced Adames in seven at-bats over the last two seasons and allowed just one hit, a single. Pitching then for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he struck out Adames three times.
The 24-year-old is coming off a brilliant performance in a 5-0 home win over the Detroit Tigers last Tuesday, having allowed just one hit to kick off a five-man shutout.
Priester had similar success the only time he’s faced the Giants in his three-year career. He shut them out for six innings, but did not get a decision, in a 3-0 loss at San Francisco last April.
Ray has gone 3-1 with a 1.85 ERA in four lifetime starts against the Brewers, striking out 38 in just 24 1/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
