Kyle Harrison earns win in relief of Dustin May

May was pitching on three days’ rest, so this was a planned short outing. He’s expected to work again Sunday against the Cardinals before the Brewers firm up any NLDS plans.

May made it through the first two innings without much trouble, but in the bottom of the third inning he would fall victim to a three-run homer by Pete Alonso after he allowed the first two batters of the inning to reach base. May would retire Gunnar Henderson in the next at-bat, but followed that with a double by Coby Mayo and a single by Samuel Basallo before plunking Christian Encarnacion-Strand to load the bases with only one out. May would leave after the HBP and was bailed out by reliever Shane Drohan, who retired the next two batters he faced to end the bases-loaded threat. May has allowed five earned runs over 12.0 innings of work this month and will look to rebound from this outing in his next start, which is scheduled for Thursday against the Phillies.

Harrison didn’t allow a run in the first inning, despite giving up a double to Bryan Reynolds, and then got the first two outs in the second before things unraveled. He gave up a walk, an infield single, and a catcher’s interference, and then the wheels really fell off. He gave up atwo-run double, an RBI single, then hit a batter, walked a batter, and hit another batter before being removed from the game. He threw just 58 percent of his pitches for strikes and posted a 10 percent swinging strike rate. In his last four outings, Harrison has allowed 21 earned runs on 27 hits in nine innings. The Brewers may need to make other postseason plans.

Harrison gave up four runs and failed to record an out while pitching in relief against the Reds last weekend. It’s extremely challenging to trust him for fantasy purposes given his recent results and the fact that Milwaukee isn’t going to let him work too deep into games at this stage of the season. However, he offers enough strikeout upside to be worth the risk in deeper formats.

Talk about pitching with a lead. The Brewers scored two in the first, six in the second, one in the fourth, and eight in the fifth to give May all the run support he’d need. Funny enough, he didn’t need any of it with six scoreless innings. Nasty from the jump, May forced multiple whiffs with five different pitches on his way to 12 total swings-and-misses. He tossed a very even amount of cutters, curveballs, sweepers, and fastballs behind his trusted sinker and to cruise given the circumstances. A bit off since being drilled by a line drive in his start on August 26th, this was a huge step in the right direction for May who’s scheduled to face the Orioles on the road next time out if the Brewers stick with their six-man rotation for another turn.

McClavy goes on to say that, “The club hopes that, by shortening his starts or even mixing in relief outings, it could help Harrison reset in time to play a meaningful role in the postseason.” Since coming back off the injured list after a battle with forearm tightness, Harrison has allowed 24 runs (17 earned) on 38 hits in 27 IP with a 33/13 K/BB ratio. Obviously, it’s hard to trust him in redraft leagues with the plan for his usage being so vague.

We thought it might be Shane Drohan looking at a move, but then Harrison was pulled in the fourth for a second straight start Sunday against the Reds. He has seen his ERA rise from 2.79 to 3.66 while giving up 15 runs over the last week. It seems like he might be droppable at this point.

Harrison also issued four free passes on the afternoon while striking out four. The Brewers were hopeful that Harrison would bounce back after giving up nine runs against the Cubs on Monday, but he clearly still wasn’t right in this one. The Reds scored against him in every inning, including a two-run blast by Elly De La Cruz that ultimately chased him in the fourth. He got 11 whiffs on 93 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 27 percent. He’ll try to stop the slide as he carries a 3.66 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and a 134/33 K/BB ratio (110 2/3 innings) into a rematch against the Reds on Sunday.

May served up a solo homer to Elly De La Cruz in the first inning. He then retired all three batters in the second and third before a rain delay cut his start short with two outs in the fourth. May would leave two runners on. One would come in to score following the two-hour delay. May struck out five. The 29-year-old right-hander will take a 4.69 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and a 127/45 K/BB ratio across 132 1/3 innings into a start against the Reds in Milwaukee next Saturday.

Harrison gave up 10 hits, walked two and struck out three. He fell to 10-4 with the loss. Harrison had allowed 14 home runs in 21 starts entering play Monday and then allowed five home runs to the Cubs. Four of the home runs were solo shots, but the Cubs still hit Harrison for nine runs. Harrison’s ERA increased from 2.79 to 3.45 on the season. He’s lined up to face the Reds on the road on Sunday.