First pitch is 1:10 PM CT for the series finale-style matinee, and the pitching matchup is the only part of this game that actually feels close on paper. The Brewers (43-26) have been the best team in the NL for a month, but their rotation is held together with tape, and a Cleveland staff that just held Detroit to 2 runs over 3 games is built to drag a low-scoring day game into the late innings. The bigger story is who isn't hitting. Jose Ramirez fractured the hamate bone in his left hand on a swing in Cleveland's 3-1 win over the Tigers on June 13, and the timetable being floated publicly is 5 to 7 weeks, which lines up with him being out through the All-Star break. Chase DeLauter (ribs) and Angel Martinez (foot) are day-to-day on top of that, so Stephen Vogt is improvising in the outfield and at third base at the same time. Milwaukee's injury list isn't shorter, it's just less star-shaped. Brandon Woodruff is still working his way back through the complex league after a rough rehab start, Quinn Priester is on the 60-day, and Coleman Crow, Logan Henderson, DL Hall and Carlos Rodriguez are all on the shelf. The bullpen has been patched with Triple-A arms more often than Pat Murphy would like, which is the one obvious leak Cleveland could exploit if this thing is tied in the 7th. Form is a coin flip. The Brewers dropped 2 in Oakland, then took 2 of 3 from the Phillies at home, the win on Sunday a 4-0 shutout. The Guardians, meanwhile, played a literal 0-0 tie with the Tigers on Saturday and have scored 12 runs total over their last 5 games. Even if you adjust for the Ramirez void, this offense was already average-at-best and is now visiting a park that has played hitter-friendly all year. The structural read on Thursday: Milwaukee at home, with a 4-game cushion in the standings and a deeper lineup, against a team missing its only legitimate middle-of-the-order bat. Cleveland's path is the one it's been taking all season — pitching, defense, hope the bullpen flips the script. That's a real path. It's just a narrow one when you're scoring 2 a game.