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It is an NL Central battle as the Milwaukee Brewers face the Pittsburgh Pirates. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Brewers-Pirates prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
The Brewers come in after taking three of four from the Mets and now sit in a tie for first in the NL Central at 43-38. They have been playing well as of late, winners of nine of their last 13 games overall. Even better news is the Brewers could be getting one of their best arms back as Brandon Woodruff is inching toward a return.
Meanwhile, the Pirates are starting to win again. Heading into their series with the Padres, they had won just three of their previous 18 games. The Pirates have now won three straight games, sweeping the Padres. They are climbing back into a race for the division, one that they led just a few short weeks ago. The Pirates are sitting at 38-42 for the season and are just 4.5 games back of the Brewers and Reds.
Here are the Brewers-Pirates MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Brewers-Pirates Odds
Milwaukee Brewers: -1.5 (+118)
Pittsburgh Pirates: +1.5 (-142)
Over: 8.5 (-118)
Under: 8.5 (-104)
How To Watch Brewers vs. Pirates
TV: Apple Tv+
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 Brewers relied heavily on stellar pitching to take the series with the Mets. In the series, the Brewers pitchers gave up 12 runs in four games, but seven of those runs came in one games. In the wins they gave up less than two runs per game. That is also how they took the series with Cleveland, giving up just nine runs in three games. On the year the Brewers are 14th in team ERA with a ninth-ranked opponent batting average and 15th in WHIP. The starters have been solid as the Brewers sit tied for ninth in quality starts this year.
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Freddy Peralta will be looking to have another solid performance today on the mound. For the year, Peralta is 5-7 with a 4.65 ERA. Peralta has been fairly consistent this month. He has pitched five or six innings in each of his five starts. He has given up at least two runs but not over four in all five starts as well. The result has been a 4.67 ERA for the month, with an 0-3 record.
The Brewers will need to give Peralta some run support today for him to get the win. If Willy Adames can turn things around, that would be a major help. Adames has just seven RBIs on the month, with five of them coming in one game. He is hitting just .179 this month, as has double the amount of strikeouts as compared to hits. Adames has struck out in each of his last eight games. He also has just four hits in that time frame. They all came in one game as well. That game, he went four for five with two home runs, a double, and five RBIs.
While Adames has been in a slump, Christian Yelich has been hot. He has 12 RBIs on the month with two home runs, nine doubles, and a triple. Adames is hitting .316 on the month, and has scored 17 times. He has struggled some with strikeouts as well. He has struck out 28 times so far this month.
Why The Pirates Could Cover The Spread
The Pirate's offense has been much better as of late. They scored 21 runs in the series with the Padres. They had scored just 21 runs in the previous 11 games. This season the Pirates are 23rd in the majors in runs while sitting 20th in batting average, 19th in on-base percentage, and 24th in slugging this year. Even better for the Pirates, they just got the news that one of their best bats, Bryan Reynolds, could be back soon.
Carlos Santana is coming off a great series with the Padres. He went seven for 13 at the plate, while hitting a double, two home runs, driving in four, and scoring three times. Sanatana is now hitting .270 this month, with 17 RBIs, five home runs, and 13 runs scored. He also is limiting his strikeouts in this series. He had struck out six times in five games going into the series but did not strike out once in the series with the Padres.
Also coming into this series hot is Henry Davis. Since making his major league debut on June 19th he has already driven in six runs and hit a home run. He is also hitting .351 with a .415 OBP. Davis has hits in eight of his ten games so far and is on a seven-game hitting streak. In the series with the Padres, he went seven for 13 with five RBIS and a stolen base.
Also hot as of late has been Andrew McCutchen. In the last six games, McCutchen has scored four times while hitting three doubles. He is hitting .458 in the last six games with a .519 OBP.
Osvaldo Bido will be getting his fourth start of the season today for the Pirates. He is 0-1 currently with a 3.45 ERA. Bido has been fairly consistent in his three starts so far this year. He has given up runs in all three, but also not given up more than three runs in any of them. He has averaged six strikeouts per game while walking five batters in his 15.2 innings of work.
Final Brewers-Pirates Prediction & Pick
The pitching match-up gives two pitchers who are going to give up a few runs. Most likely, neither of them will be completely blown out, but they will give up some. Neither offense is explosive either. Both offenses can have very good games, and both can have bad ones. Tonight will come down to the offense with more hot bats. That is the Pirates. They have multiple players who have been hitting well as of late. If the Pirates want to get back in the race for the NL Central, this is a pivotal series at this point in the season. Losing the series could put them in a position to be sellers. Winning it could make them buyers at the deadline. The Pirates keep the hot play going and get the win today.
Final Brewers-Pirates Prediction & Pick: Pirates +1.5 (-142)
