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Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today’s games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here.

The Brewers don’t fit the role of a traditional baseball juggernaut, but it’s time to give this team its due.

After all, the Brew Crew just completed a season sweep of the Dodgers, the first by anyone (minimum five games) in 19 years. That ran their winning streak to 10 games heading into tonight’s series opener at Seattle (9:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV), and they are an MLB-best 34-12 (.739) since May 25, surging into a tie with the Cubs for the division lead and the second-best record in the Majors behind the Tigers.

This is a team whose biggest offseason move was trading away All-Star closer Devin Williams to the Yankees. One of their top position players, shortstop Willy Adames, departed via free agency. Among Milwaukee’s most notable offseason additions were 36-year-old lefty Jose Quintana and 36-year-old outfielder Mark Canha (traded to Kansas City before the end of Spring Training).

And yet, here they are. This is just what the Brewers do, though, shedding key pieces and figuring out a way to make it work. Entering 2025, they had made the playoffs in six of the past seven seasons, with four division titles and MLB’s sixth-highest winning percentage (.561) over that span.

How is this happening? Calling up a rookie pitching phenom and getting a potential ace back from a long injury absence doesn’t hurt, but this is more about across-the-board contributions than stars. Let’s highlight a few names that jump out:

First baseman Andrew Vaughn was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, but his career never quite launched with the White Sox, who demoted him to Triple-A in late May and traded him to Milwaukee in early July. Called up when Rhys Hoskins went on the IL, Vaughn has a 1.239 OPS and 12 RBIs with the Brewers, who are 9-0 since his team debut.

Right-hander Quinn Priester was also a first-round pick and a Top 100 prospect, but he came to the Brewers in early April after two trades in a roughly nine-month span (Pittsburgh to Boston; Boston to Milwaukee) and with a 6.23 career ERA. Now the 24-year-old is 8-2 with a 3.33 ERA in 18 games (13 starts), and he struck out 10 Dodgers in his last outing.

Third baseman Caleb Durbin is a good representation of manager Pat Murphy’s comment Sunday that his club is “a bunch of average Joes.” A 14th-round pick (2021) by the Braves out of Division III Washington University in St. Louis, Durbin is listed at 5-foot-7, 183 pounds. The Brewers acquired him from the Yankees in the Williams trade, and he has essentially replaced Adames in their lineup, with Joey Ortiz sliding from third to shortstop. Over the past two months, the rookie is hitting .318/.398/.465 in 47 games, and he’s tied for third on the team this season with 2.2 WAR (per Baseball-Reference).

All of these players, and more, have helped push the Brewers’ playoff odds (per FanGraphs) above 90%. But as October approaches, the question will be if this group can accomplish what no other Milwaukee club has been able to: win the first World Series in franchise history.

— Andrew Simon   

• Yankees at Blue Jays (7:07 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): The last time these two teams met, the Blue Jays swept the Yankees in a four-game series in New York. Since that sweep, Toronto has been in control of first, but the Yanks are only three back and will look to reclaim a share of first in the three-game set.

• Royals at Cubs (8:05 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): The Cubs, who are tied with the Brewers atop the NL Central, can become the first NL team to reach 60 wins. Though Pete Crow-Armstrong and his teammates will have to contend with rookie Noah Cameron, who has a 0.98 ERA in three July outings.

• Twins at Dodgers (10:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): After being swept by the aforementioned Brewers, the Dodgers hope Shohei Ohtani can deliver from the mound — and the plate — in his sixth start of the season. Slotted second in the lineup yesterday for the first time this season, Ohtani appears to be out of his slump after homering in back-to-back games. L.A. is looking for a boost from its unicorn to end a six-game home losing streak.

• The Double-A Erie Moon Mammoths — the new team identity conceived by late night host John Oliver — made their debut on Saturday, with Oliver on hand at a packed UPMC Park. Anthony Castrovince’s reporting from the scene made it clear: don’t expect this look to go extinct anytime soon.

• Eugenio Suárez, who hit two homers for the second straight game on Sunday, could be the darling of the Trade Deadline … if the D-backs sell. Suárez’s heroics helped Arizona sweep the Cardinals, sending a message that the Snakes are still in it to win it, writes Steve Gilbert.

• Ronald Acuña Jr. drew comparisons to Roberto Clemente for his jaw-dropping, flat-footed throw from right field against the Yankees on Friday. We’ve always known Acuña’s arm was deadly, but I wouldn’t want to face down his broken-bat sword either.

• It was a whirlwind week for Kyle Schwarber, from being named All-Star Game MVP to bashing a go-ahead grand slam on Friday. Paul Casella tells the story of a player — and pending free agent — who’s essential to his team: “Thank God we got him.”

— Andy Werle

If you’re playing in the first-ever baseball game at a NASCAR track, you have to dress the part. The Braves and Reds got the memo, and they’ll be decked out on Aug. 2 for the inaugural Speedway Classic in uniforms that appropriately connote speed.

Nike’s jerseys for the Classic, unveiled on Monday, retain the essence of these teams’ visual identities, but sprinkle in some slick racing-inspired details. The numbers on the unis wouldn’t look out of place on a race car, while New Era’s caps for the event similarly have NASCAR-esque accents. (Atlanta’s has flames on the bill; Cincy’s features a checkered flag pattern.) We especially like the helmets, which look ready for a spin around the track. (See Elly De La Cruz sporting one above.)

Want your own Speedway Classic gear? You can purchase the collection right now at MLBShop.com, and it’s also available at MLB’s flagship store in New York City and the team shops in Atlanta and Cincinnati. And of course, you can get tickets to the Classic and pick some up yourself, while witnessing baseball/racing history at the same time.

— Bryan Horowitz

The championship series is set for the inaugural season of the AUSL, with the Bandits and Talons squaring off in a best-of-three set from July 26-28 at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on ESPN2. While the Volts won’t be vying for the title, on Sunday they were in the middle of one of the most exciting and chaotic plays of the season.

The bases were loaded with one out in the top of the second when Volts batter Danieca Coffey hit a tapper back to Bandits pitcher Emiley Kennedy. With no play at the plate, Coffey hustling down the line and the first baseman also charging the ball, Kennedy attempted a backhanded toss to first as the second baseman raced over to cover the bag. When Kennedy’s throw sailed into right field, the merry-go-round was in full effect around the bases.

Two runners scored easily, and on what might have been a close play at the plate for the third runner, Bandits right fielder Bella Dayton sailed her throw over the catcher, allowing Coffey to score on a “Little League grand slam” that started out as a swinging bunt.

Watch the whole play unfold here.

— Ed Eagle

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