The Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals will kick off a three-game series on Tuesday night. It's time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Brewers-Cardinals prediction and pick.
These division rivals have seen a lot of each other this season, with the Brewers usually walking away victorious. Milwaukee is also currently running the NL Central, owning a 7.5 game lead over the next-closest opponent. The Cardinals are desperately trying to catch the Brewers, but they've fallen behind by a full ten games. Barring a complete Milwaukee meltdown, it looks like St. Louis will have to play with hopes of making a wild card spot.
Here's how the bookmakers have set the lines for Tuesday's matchup.
MLB Odds: Brewers-Cardinals Odds
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Milwaukee Brewers ML (-153)
St. Louis Cardinals ML (+141)
Over 7 runs (-113)
Under 7 runs (-107)
Why The Brewers Could Cover The Spread
Milwaukee doesn't possess an explosive offense, so most of their wins this season have come off of the strength of their pitching. That trend will likely continue in this game, when the Brewers send out pitcher Corbin Burnes to make the start.
Burnes has been downright amazing this season. He's earned an impressive ERA of 2.23 and a .93 WHIP. Those are both Cy Young-level numbers, but things get even better in Burnes' last seven starts. Over that span, his ERA drops all the way to 1.75 with his WHIP staying the same. Expect these numbers to improve as Burnes faces one of the MLB's worst offenses in this game.
The Cardinals rank in the bottom ten in baseball in OPS, OBP, and slugging percentage. Their lineup owns a batting average of .238, a number that shouldn't be intimidating at all to Burnes. The righty should be especially confident heading into this matchup, as he's faced the Cardinals twice this season already. Over those two outings, Burnes pitched 11 innings and gave up only one run. Another solid outing should be in the cards for one of the MLB's best pitchers.
Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread
Luckily for St. Louis, they get to deploy their own ace in this one. Pitcher Adam Wainwright isn't quite on the level of his Milwaukee counterpart, but he's put together an impressive season for himself. Wainwright's numbers on the year are certainly above-average, but he's produced incredible stats in his last seven starts. Over that span, Wainwright has posted a 2.81 ERA and a .98 WHIP. Those numbers are unsustainable for the veteran, but there's no reason his hot streak has to end against a team that ranks in the bottom half of the league in all major offensive stats.
The Cardinals have definitely struggled on offense throughout this season, but they seem to have caught fire at the plate recently. St. Louis has scored more than four runs in four of their last five games, with all of those contests ending in a win for the Cardinals. Despite not being a consistent offensive force, the St. Louis hitters are putting things together in time for this huge series against their division rival. Scoring runs off of Burnes won't be easy, but St. Louis could very well be up to the task.
Final Brewers-Cardinals Prediction & Pick
It's hard to pick against Burnes, but the Cardinals are the right pick here. Wainwright should put together another good outing against this Brewers team that isn't particularly good offensively, and the Cardinals offense will do just enough to pull off an upset win against their rival.
FINAL PICK: St. Louis Cardinals ML (+141)
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