Opposite dugout: Little has gone right for floundering Brewers this season

Manager: Craig Counsell (1st season)

Record: 22-37

Last 10 games: 5-5

Who to watch: 1B Adam Lind (.279 with 9 HR, 31 RBIs), RF Ryan Braun (13 HR, 40 RBIs), SS Jean Segura (.281, 16 RBIs, 6 SB), CF Carlos Gomez (.276 with 5 HR, 24 RBIs), RHP Francisco Rodriguez (1.23 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 12 saves)

Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (2-4 in 2014)

Pitching probables:

June 11: RHP Tanner Roark vs. RHP Matt Garza, 8:10 p.m., MASN2
June 12: RHP Joe Ross vs. RHP Mike Fiers, 8:10 p.m., MASN2
June 13: RHP Jordan Zimmermann vs. RHP Jimmy Nelson, 4:10 p.m., MASN
June 14: RHP Max Scherzer vs. RHP Taylor Jungmann, 2:10 p.m., MASN2

Inside the Brewers:

Things haven't gone so well for the Brewers this season. They struggled out of the gate, picking up where they left off after coughing up the National League Central lead last August, and the maddening inconsistency and lack of intensity cost manager Ron Roenicke his job. His replacement was a rookie skipper, former infielder Craig Counsell, a guy famous for scoring the winning run in seventh game of the 1997 World Series for the Marlins who moved down from the front office. Counsell has instilled a little more passion into the Brew Crew, but they continue to languish at the bottom of the NL Central with 22 wins, fewest in the majors, and are 17 games off the division lead. And they've lost seven of eight at Miller Park. Now that's a reason for bitter beer face.

The reason is pretty simple: Milwaukee is near the bottom - or bringing up the rear - in a plethora of statistical categories in the major leagues. They've lost perhaps their best starting pitcher - Wily Peralta, a 17-game winner a year ago - to a strained left oblique that has been painfully slow to heal. There are growing pains, as you'd expect, with a manager who has never managed before. Two playoff appearances in four years, including an unsuccessful trip to the National League Division Series in 201, feel like a distant memory.

There have been some bright spots, however. Right fielder Ryan Braun shook off the stigma of a suspension related to the Biogenesis scandal and power-sapping right hand injury last season to send Bernie Brewer sliding down his beer chutes with some regularity this season. Braun leads the Brewers with 13 homers and 40 RBIs, but has been hampered by a lack of protection, and has recently missed time with dizziness. The Brewers acquired first baseman Adam Lind from Toronto to add some punch to their lineup and he has, with nine homers and 31 RBIs. But there's already talk that he might be shipped elsewhere by the nonwaiver trading deadline on July 31. Catcher Jonathan Lucroy, a candidate for MVP honors in the NL last season, recently returned from a broken left big toe, but slugging outfielder Khris Davis corkscrewed himself so violently into the batter's box during an at-bat that he required knee surgery. Center fielder Carlos Gomez is a sparkplug when healthy, but he's been bothered by a hamstring strain (though he recently had a nine-game hitting streak) and was beaned earlier this season. He's slashing .276/.317/.447 for the year, but the leg problems have compromised his ability to be a weapon on the basepaths.

Pitching, however, hasn't been one of Milwaukee's strengths, and the four right-handers they will throw at the Nationals all have warts of some kind.

Washington must be salivating at the prospect of facing veteran Matt Garza on Thursday night. In six career starts against the Nats, he's 0-3 with a 7.33 ERA. Night games haven't treated him kindly this season, as his 0-6 record and 8.24 ERA will attest. He's no longer the innings-eating workhorse he was earlier in his career, and Garza has thrown seven innings only twice in 11 starts this season. But he is coming off one of his better efforts, allowing a run on six hits with no walks and three strikeouts over seven innings at Minnesota on June 6. He relies on his 93 mph fastball 66 percent of the time, but also offers an 86 mph slider with 19 percent of his pitches and a 74 mph slow curve 13 percent of the time. But he's not getting right-handers out, which is something most righties do - they're slashing .280/.344/.462 off him. With none out and none on, he allows foes a .313 average, and he's allowing a homer every seven innings.

Friday starter Mike Fiers was a revelation last season, posting a 2.13 ERA in 13 games (10 starts) and helping stabilize the back of the rotation. This season, none of the six pitches he throws are tricking opponents with any regularity. He's not logging innings - working six or more innings only three times in 12 starts - and hasn't gotten to the fifth inning on three more occasions. Miller Park hasn't been friendly - he's 0-3 with a 5.83 at home. He's never faced the Nationals, but you can be sure they're aware that from his 61st pitch on, he allows a .372 average. Opponents are hitting .292 against him and right-hander hitters feast on him at a .310 clip. With runners on h allows a .343 average and a .317 mark with runners in scoring position.

Jimmy Nelson gets the nod on Saturday afternoon, and he's 0-2 with a 5.19 ERA in day games, but 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA at home. One of the Brewers' top pitching prospects entering this season, Nelson has been hit or miss this season. When he's hit, he struggles; when he misses bats, he succeeds. He's got 67 strikeouts in 74 innings, including games of 11, eight, nine and seven whiffs. He's basically a fastball/curveball pitcher, his heat averaging 93 mph and coming in about 60 percent of the time, and the 82 mph curve accounting for 20 percent of his offerings. The first inning has been an adventure - opponents are slashing .311/.346/.600 in the opening frame. But he's held foes to a .230 overall average and right-handers to a .198 mark. He's making his first career appearance against the Nationals, too, and is coming off one of his best outings of the season. On June 8, he tossed six shutout innings of four-hit ball at Pittsburgh, fanning seven.

The Brewers are struggling to find someone to replace the innings Peralta gave them and his turn would have come up in Sunday afternoon's finale. Taylor Jungmann, a once-promising prospect whose star has dimmed since he was taken 12th overall in the 2011 draft, was recalled to make his major league debut on Tuesday. He earned another start by limiting the Pirates to a run on three hits with a walk and five strikeouts over seven innings.

With their starters not putting up stellar numbers, the Brewers have relied heavily on their bullpen, which has a 3.39 ERA, sixth-best in the NL. Closer Francisco Rodriguez has 12 saves in as many chances, a 1.23 ERA and an 0.87 WHIP. The best stats on the staff are in the bullpen, where righty Michael Blazek (4-1, 1.15 ERA) is vulturing wins and right-hander Jeremy Jeffress has already logged 29 2/3 innings and posted a 3.03 ERA. Lefty Will Smith recently served a six-game suspension for using a foreign substance and has a 1.83 ERA.