Robert Gasser struggles in fourth against Cubs

It wasn’t clear until this afternoon whether Gasser would get a start in the series, but he did and came through nicely in his first appearance since Sept. 25. Based on this and the way he ended the regular season — he had a 1.67 ERA in his final six starts — he probably ought to be ahead of Dustin May in line for a potential Game 3 start against the Dodgers.

Gasser has not yet pitched this postseason. The left-hander had a 3.87 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 103/35 K/BB ratio in 190 1/3 innings for the Brewers this season. His last two outings were six and seven innings, respectively, so there is not likely to be a pitch count on him, but the Brewers will also happily go to their bullpen early if they feel it’s the right move.

It was one of the best outings of the season for Gasser, whose nine strikeouts set a new career-high. Gasser’s lone earned run came in the fourth inning when he allowed a solo homer to Ivan Herrera to tie the game at 1-1. Gasser would not allow another run or hit the rest of the way and has been tremendous heading into the postseason. The lefty ends the season with a 5-5 record and a 3.87 ERA, but has allowed just five earned runs over 27.0 innings while striking out 25 batters in September.

Gasser was excellent on Saturday, holding the Orioles scoreless through six innings. He cruised through most of the game, limiting Baltimore to three baserunners through five frames. His biggest challenge came in the sixth as he loaded the bases with one out before inducing a ground-ball double play. Gasser returned to complete a scoreless seventh inning. He struck out two. The 27-year-old left-hander will take a 4.01 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and a 94/34 K/BB ratio across 103 1/3 innings into a start against the Cardinals in Milwaukee on Friday.

Gasser struck out five. He left with a 2-0 lead after giving up an Elly De La Cruz single to start the sixth, only for Antonio Senzatela to immediately give up another hit and then a three-run homer. In part because of the quick hooks, Gasser has won just once since the beginning of August. He’ll face the Orioles next time out.

It’s the fourth time in six starts that Gasser has been lifted before completing five innings, but he has his chances today. After keeping the Cubs scoreless for 4 2/3 innings, he gave up a homer to Pedro Ramírez to tie the game at 1-1. He then plunked Pete Crow-Armstrong and walked Seiya Suzuki before being replaced by Chad Patrick, who got Alex Bregman to pop up to end the inning. With the early exits, Gasser is just 1-1 in seven outings since the beginning of August. Barring a change, he’s in line to face the Reds on Sunday.

Gasser was thrust into action after Dustin May was struck by a line drive on the first pitch of the game and forced to exit. From there, he was stellar while pitching with a big lead from the second inning onward. The Mets briefly challenged in the fourth, but Gasser got a huge strikeout from A.J. Ewing before Francisco Lindor could come up with a chance to claw them back into this game. He found a tick more velocity on his fastball and that helped it to force seven of his 10 total swings-and-misses. We didn’t have a clear indication that he was out of the Brewers’ rotation, but more so that he and Shane Drohan were somewhat competing for the final spot as they shifted back to a five-man staff while also having fluid roles in the short term. A strong showing here may have earned Gasser another turn or two as a starter. Or, Milwaukee may have no choice depending on May’s health status.

Ouch. May was struck in the upper back near his right shoulder by a 106-mph line drive from Mets rookie A.J. Ewing on his very first pitch of the game. He was immediately replaced by lefty Robert Gasser. He’ll undergo further evaluation and likely imaging to determine whether he suffered a serious injury. There should be an update on his status after the game.

McCalvy does suggest this could simply be to line things up for the next series in Wrigley Field against the Cubs and might not be a long-term strategy. However, it does mean that Logan Henderson, Shane Drohan, and Robert Gasser will start, in that order, against the Rangers this weekend.

Murphy added that Gasser and Shane Drohan are expected to start against the Rangers this weekend. There are a bunch of variables to consider when it comes to Milwaukee’s rotation heading into the final month of the season, but it sounds like both Gasser and Drohan will get at least one more turn through before any changes are made.