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It is the start of a three-game series today as the Milwaukee Brewers visit the Washington Nationals. It is now time to continue our MLB odds series with a Brewers-Nationals prediction, pick, and how-to watch.
The Brewers enter the game after being swept over the weekend by the Atlanta Braves. The Brewers have now won just four of their last ten games, including losing five of six to the Braves in that time. That places them at 57-49 on the year, a half-game back of the Reds in the division, but a half-game up on the Phillies in the wild-card race. The Brewers have already made some moves to get themselves in a position to make a post-season run. They just acquired Carlos Santana from the Pirates.
Meanwhile, the Nationals lose three of four to the Mets over the weekend and have won five of their last ten games. That places them at 44-62 on the season, well outside of the playoff race. The Nationals could be preparing to make some moves as the trade deadline approaches, selling assets to prepare for their future.
Here are the Brewers-Nationals MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Brewers-Nationals Odds
Milwaukee Brewers: -1.5 (-128)
Washington Nationals: +1.5 (+106)
Over: 8.5 (-122)
Under: 8.5 (+100)
How To Watch Brewers vs. Nationals
TV: BSWI/MASN2
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 7:05 PM ET/ 4:05 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Brewers Could Cover The Spread
The Brewer's pitching was shelled over the weekend by the Braves. They gave up 29 runs in three games on the way to being swept. This is a departure from their normal this season. On the season they rank 13th in team ERA while sitting sixth in both WHIP and opponent batting average. It will be Corbin Burnes who will take the mound for the Brewers today, looking to get the pitching back on track. While he lost his first game this month last time out, he went six innings and gave up just two runs. During the month, Burnes is pitching great. He has two starts without giving up a run, and in the other three starts, he has given up two runs. This gives him a 4-1 record this month with a 1.64 ERA.
On the offensive end of things, the Brewers are tied for 24th in runs scored, while sitting 27th in batting average, 25th in on-base percentage, and 28th in slugging. Carlos Santana made his first impact as a member of the Brewers in the game yesterday. While he went just 1-7 in the series with two walks, he hit a solo home run against the Braves yesterday in the loss. Still, he has struggled this month. He is hitting just .185 on the month with four home runs and 11 RBIS.
William Contreras also had a solid weekend for the Brewers. He drove in five runs with three doubles and a home run in the series. He has been having a great month overall. This month, Contreras is hitting .359 with three home runs and 17 RBIS. He has also hit nine doubles and scored 11 times. Also having a solid month is Christian Yelich. Yekich is hitting .319 this month with a .379 on-base percentage. He has 22 RBIs this month, with the help of seven home runs and seven doubles. Yelich has also stolen four bases this month, which has helped him score 19 times this month.
Why The Nationals Could Cover The Spread
The Nationals offense struggled for the most part over the weekend. In four games they scored 15 runs, but 11 of those runs came in one game. In the three losses, they scored just four runs combined. They are 22nd in the majors in runs scored, sixth in batting average, 16th in on-base percentage, and 20th in slugging. Lane Thomas could be on the trading block. He leads the team in batting average and is second in RBIs in the year. He is hitting .285 on the year which is good for 19th in the majors. This month he is hitting just .235, but he does have 12 RBIs with the help of two home runs and five doubles. Thomas has also scored 13 runs this month with the help of five stolen bases.
Another trade target for teams could be Jeimer Candelario. Candelario has six home runs on the month which has led to 15 RBIs. He has also hit four doubles and has an OBP of .360 on the month. That has led to him scoring 17 runs this month. He is hitting just .240 on the month though, and struck out 22 times this month. He has strikeouts in each of the last four games as well. Meanwhile, Joey Meneses leads the team in RBIs. He has 16 RBIs this month with the help of five home runs and four doubles. Menenses is hitting .261 this month with a .313 on-base percentage. He has also scored 12 times this month.
It will be Jake Irvin on the hill today for the Nationals. He is 3-5 on the year with a 4.96 ERA. Last time out he went six innings giving up four runs and grabbed a no-decision. The issue in that game was the long ball. He gave up three home runs in the game, and he has given up a home run in each of his last six starts. He has also given up three or more runs in five of those six starts, but still has a 2-1 record with three no-decisions.
Final Brewers-Nationals Prediction & Pick
The Brewers have a clear edge in the pitching match-up today. While Jake Irvin has not been terrible, he has not been nearly as good as Corbin Burnes. Burnes will need to have a good game in this one to reverse some of the pitching misfortunes that have fallen on the Brewers. Moreover, the Nationals could easily sit players in this game in preparation for trading them away. That could easily take many of their top bats out of the line-up. With that, expect Irvin to give up three or four runs, and the Nationals not to be able to score enough to stay in the game. Take the Brewers as the pick in this one.
Final Brewers-Nationals Prediction & Pick: Brewers -1.5 (-128)
