In the first game of their three-game series, the St. Louis Cardinals will travel to the Badger State to take on their division rival, the Milwaukee Brewers.  It’s time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Cardinals-Brewers prediction and pick.

The Brewers have a commanding 10 game lead in the National League Central with an 82-53 record. They are coming off an impressive series against the San Francisco Giants, taking three of the four games. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are coming off a series win of their own against the Cincinnati Reds. They are in third place in the National League Central with a 68-64 record are 2.5 games out of the final NL wild-card spot.

Here’s how sportsbooks have set the Cardinals-Brewers Odds.

MLB Odds: Cardinals-Brewers Odds

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St. Louis Cardinals +1.5 (-147)

Milwaukee Brewers -1.5 (+127)

Over 7.5 runs (+105)

Under 7.5 runs (-125)

Why The Brewers Could Cover The Spread

The Brewers are 77-58 against the run line this season. The number sees an even greater increase in divisional games.  Craig Counsell and co. cover 63.5% of the time when facing another NL central side.

Milwaukee plans to give All-Star Freddy Peralta his first start since returning from the 10-day injury list due to shoulder inflammation. The right-hander is 9-3 on the season and has an ERA of 2.45. Peralta leads the league in lowest hits allowed per nine innings (minimum 20 games) with 4.69.

However, his last time out was against this same St. Louis Cardinal lineup, and he gave up three earned runs and five hits in just two innings pitched.

The Brewers have the opposite of a home-field advantage. Milwaukee only has 457 hits in Brewers Stadium, ranking last among the MLB teams in their home parks.  However, since returning from the All-Star break, the Brewers have the third-best batting average in the MLB at .264.

Individually for the Brewers, Avisail Garcia has the biggest bat. He leads the team in Home runs and RBIs with 24 and 77, respectively. However, since Willy Adames was traded to the Brewers from the Rays, he is batting a team-best .291.

Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread

The Cardinal are 66-66 against the run line this season. That number breaks .500 when they are considered the away underdog, which they cover 54.4% of the time.

St. Louis plans to start their ace, Adam Wainwright, on the mound. The right-hander is 13-7 this season with a 2.97 ERA. Wainwright gave up only three hits and one walk during seven innings of shutout baseball in his last start.

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The Cardinals are a below-average team at-bat this season. They are scoring just 4.12 runs per game which ranks them in the bottom seven of the league, and have a .312 on-base percentage.  That said, in the past week, the Cardinals had a .299 batting average and brought in 26 RBIs over that span.

Individually, the key at-bat for the Cardinals comes from Nolan Arenado. He leads the team with 27 homers and 85 RBIs. He has recorded nine hits and one home run against the Brewers this season.

Final Cardinals-Brewers Prediction & Pick

With two of the hottest pitchers in the league getting the start, expect a low-scoring game, at least until the rest of the bullpen takes the mound. It is uncertain how much the Brewers will get out of Freddy Peralta in his first start back from injury, so it would be smart to put your money on the earlier innings.

FINAL CARDINALS-BREWERS PREDICTION & PICK: 1st Inning Total Runs: Zero (-105)