Rangers head to Milwaukee looking for their fifth straight win

The Milwaukee Brewers will look for another strong performance from top right-hander Freddy Peralta when they return home to open a three-game series against the Texas Rangers on Monday.

Peralta (5-4, 4.06 ERA) will be opposed by right-hander Michael Lorenzen (4-3, 3.00).

Texas won its fourth straight game with a 4-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday behind veteran Max Scherzer, making his first start after coming off the 60-day injured list while recovering from back surgery. Scherzer allowed just one hit over five innings and struck out four in a 57-pitch outing.

The Brewers avoided a four-game sweep in San Diego on Sunday with a 6-2 victory over the Padres. Rookie right-hander Tobias Myers allowed one run on five hits in five innings. Brice Turang tripled to spark a five-run second inning.

Milwaukee, which finished its road trip 3-4, is five games ahead of second-place St. Louis in the National League Central. Texas is third in the American League West, 6 1/2 games behind the league-leader Seattle Mariners.

The Brewers are 22-12 at home and are going 17-5 after a 5-7 start. Milwaukee is 8-2-1 in home series.

In his previous start, Peralta allowed three hits in six innings in a 2-0 win over the Angels. He struck out eight and walked two, throwing 101 pitches.

“He expects this. He expects six shutouts (innings) every time and that’s tough,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after Peralta’s last start. “This is Major League Baseball. He’s been around for a while and the guys know him, the guys are rooting for him. I’m really proud that Freddy fought the way he did tonight.”

Peralta is 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA in two career games (one start) against Texas. He got the win last season in his only start with the Rangers, allowing one run on four hits in 5 2/3 innings and striking out 11.

Turang hit .474 (9-for-19) in the San Diego series and scored seven runs.

Lorenzen is 2-1 with a 1.88 ERA over his past seven starts, dropping his ERA from 4.66 to 3.00 in that span.

In his final appearance, Lorenzen allowed three runs on four hits in six innings, including a pair of solo home runs, but was fouled in a 7–6 loss to the Mets.

“You hope to be the guy that comes in and sets the tone and gets you back on track,” Lorenzen told MLB after his final start. “That’s what I tried to do today. I just wasn’t good enough. So it’s disappointing, but our guys are going to show up and keep working. These guys obviously know what it’s like to be champions, so if anyone knows what it’s like it has to be, it’s this clubhouse.”

Lorenzen is 1-4 with a 5.60 ERA in 35 appearances against Milwaukee, including five starts.

Rookie Wyatt Langford belted a run-scoring double in the Rangers’ victory on Sunday, giving him 10 RBIs in the past five games, along with two home runs.

–Field-level media