Guerra leads Crew’s thriving starting rotation

CINCINNATI — Clayton Kershaw pitched five scoreless innings in a twice-delayed start at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, and Jon Lester threw eight scoreless frames for the Cubs. And still, one of baseball’s unlikeliest trends held true thanks to right-hander Junior Guerra’s gem at Great American Ball Park. For nearly a month now, the best starting pitching in baseball belongs to the Brewers.

Guerra’s six innings in a 7-0 win over the Reds lowered the ERA of Milwaukee starters to 2.73 over 23 games since Aug. 22. Cubs starters have a 2.90 ERA in that span, and the Dodgers are third at 3.05.

This is the same Brewers team that ranked last in the Majors with a 6.32 starters’ ERA at the end of April, while Guerra and Zach Davies were still pitching in Triple-A. Now they both are in the Majors and have arguably been the Brewers’ best two pitchers.

“Everybody is looking at it like there’s only five guys in the rotation next year,” said Matt Garza, who has a 1.16 ERA in four starts during this stretch. “Everybody is vying for a spot. That’s awesome. It creates a great competition. … I like it. I’ve got to fight for my spot.”

The Brewers have worked with a six-man rotation since Guerra returned from the disabled list to start Sept. 2 in Pittsburgh. The group will remain intact through the team’s four-game series at Wrigley Field against …

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