MLB Game Preview - Milwaukee at Chicago

Sat Aug 3, 2019 2:20 PM EDT

Chicago Cubs left-hander Cole Hamels is healthy again after missing five weeks because of a strained left oblique, and he's set to start against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers in the second game of their three-game series on Saturday.

Hamels (6-3, 2.98 ERA) has been sidelined since walking off the field after throwing one warmup pitch before the second inning at the Cincinnati Reds on June 28. He will try to lead Chicago to its second straight win over Milwaukee after the Cubs posted a 6-2 victory in Friday's series opener.

Hamels has faced the Brewers twice this season with good success. He gave up two runs and six hits on April 6 in Milwaukee and earned the win in the 14-8 victory.

He pitched even better against the Brewers on May 11 in Chicago, but did not receive the decision. He allowed one run and three hits in seven innings, departing with the score tied 1-1 before the Cubs won 2-1 in 15 innings.

The win against Milwaukee in April was the first of three straight outings in which he did not allow a walk. It's a trend that's spread to the entire rotation lately, as the past four starters for Chicago have not issued a walk.

Nicholas Castellanos started his second straight game in right field for the Cubs after he was acquired from the Detroit Tigers on Thursday. He has collected a hit in each of his first two games with Chicago.

"We have to get back to that spray-ability that we had," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said before Friday's game. "We're going to hit our homers, of course we are, but I don't want to be so reliant upon that."

Brewers left-hander Gio Gonzalez (2-1, 3.48) had this start pushed back a couple days after exiting his last outing on July 26 against the Cubs with shoulder tightness.

Gonzalez also faced the Cubs on May 10 and threw 5 2/3 shutout innings , earning his first win of the season in the 7-0 victory in Chicago.

He has shut down a number of key players for the Cubs in his career.

Anthony Rizzo is 2-for-28 off Gonzalez, Jason Heyward is 8-for-41, Kris Bryant is 3-for-14, Javier Baez is 1-for-11, and Willson Contreras is 1-for-7.

Gonzalez is 4-3 in 12 career starts against the Cubs with a 2.81 ERA

Drew Pomeranz made his team debut for Milwaukee on Friday, and the left-hander pitched a perfect eighth inning with two strikeouts. Pomeranz was acquired from the San Francisco Giants on Thursday in exchange for one of Milwaukee's top prospects, middle infielder Mauricio Dubon.

Pomeranz made 17 starts for the Giants this season, but was 2-9 with a 6.10 ERA before moving to the bullpen against the Cubs on July 22. He has since made four more scoreless relief appearances, including his Milwaukee debut on Friday.

"As a reliever, you have to come in with your best stuff ready to go from the first pitch," he told Fox Sports Wisconsin. "As a reliever, you come in and throw everything you've got until you're done. My velocity has been up a little, just because you know you don't have to be in there five or six innings. You may have one hitter, you may have one inning, two innings. ... You just give it all until you're done."

--Field Level Media