The Milwaukee Brewers are leading the NL Central by three games. They had a chance to really extend that and instead lost two of three games to the Cubs this week.
Now, at 74-59 the Brewers will begin a three-game set with the 74-59 Philadelphia Phillies who have their sights set on a Wild Card spot. The Phillies can also play spoiler to Milwaukee's division hopes, but their own division hopes are out the window since the team is trailing Atlanta by 14 games.
It’ll be a fantastic pitching matchup in Game 1 of this series with Zack Wheeler and Freddy Peralta taking the mound in Milwaukee.
Wheeler is 10-6 in 26 starts with a 3.59 ERA. Perlata will be making his 26th start and comes in with a 3.95 ERA with a record of 11-8.
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Now, let’s get into the odds and I’ll give you my pick for tonight’s action.
Phillies vs. Brewers odds, run line and total
Phillies vs. Brewers prediction and pick
It feels like these two organizations always end up playing crucial games down the stretch of each season to determine their postseason fate. This series at the start of September could be another one.
The Brewers are doing everything they can to hold off the Cubs, but after their series this week, Chicago is gaining ground. The Phillies could also quickly slip out of their comfortable perch atop the NL Wild Card.
At this point I’m not sure that the Brewers can match Philadelphia’s bats. Milwaukee may have a slightly better pitching staff, but it doesn't have an advantage on the mound today, so the Brewers need their lineup to have a big day and I don’t think it can. At least not big enough.
The Phillies finished August with the third most runs scored in baseball and a team OPS of .905. Trea Turner’s resurgence is the story and rightfully so, but Bryce Harper was arguably the best hitter in baseball with a 1.236 OPS last month and 20 extra base hits.
Milwaukee simply doesn’t have that type of firepower and because of that, I expect Philly to win big in this one.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change