Brewers starting pitcher Nelson on some kind of streak

Few pitchers have pitched consistently as well as Jimmy Nelson recently.

The Milwaukee Brewers pitcher has allowed four or fewer runs in each of his last 16 starts, which is the longest such active streak in the major leagues, entering Friday's play.



Over that span, Nelson has a 2.82 ERA and 1.101 WHIP with 119 strikeouts in 99 innings. Opponents have a slash line of just .238/.286/.371.

Overall, Nelson has allowed over four runs in just two of his 21 starts in 2017 and has given up three earned runs or less in 15 of 21.

Can Nelson continue his streak? Well, there's some good news. The St. Louis Cardinals, Nelson's opponent at Miller Park on Friday, have scored three runs or fewer 11 times since the All-Star break.

More news which portends well for Nelson: In his last six starts at Miller Park, dating back to May 28, he is 4-0 with a 1.24 ERA.

By the way, last week we noted Nelson's improved BB/9 rate and K/BB ratio. After his one-walk, 10-strikeout performance at Washington on July 26, he's now walked two or fewer batters in six straight starts and 13 of his last 14 and has upped his K/BB ratio to 4.58.

Other notes:

-- Milwaukee has won three straight against St. Louis and are 6-5 vs. the Cardinals overall in 2017.

-- Domingo Santana had a team-high 30 hits in July, along with five home runs and 16 RBI.

-- Travis Shaw leads the Brewers in hits (105), extra-base hits (50), home runs (24) and RBI (74), making him just one of three National League players to lead his team in those four categories.

-- Shaw is hitting .356 with three home runs and 14 RBI in 11 games vs. the Cardinals thus far in 2017.

Statistics courtesy STATS and baseball-reference