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Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals Free Preview

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The Milwaukee Brewers will head south to square off against their divisional rival St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The action is going to be televised across the country on ESPN and the game gets underway 7:05 p.m. ET.

Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals Odds

Oddsmakers are listing Milwaukee (-160) as the favorite over St. Louis (+140). The total stands at 8.5 runs and bettors can take either the over or the under for -110. The game’s most recent runline odds stand at +135 for taking the Brewers +1.5 runs and -145 for the Cardinals -1.5.

The Brewers have gone 5-5 SU this year and are 3-6 against the spread (ATS). They’ve accumulated 1.1 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year, despite having lost 4.0 units ATS. The Cardinals are 4-5 SU and 5-3 ATS. The team has lost 0.1 units for moneyline bettors while gaining 0.8 units ATS.

Cardinals games have had an over/under record of 4-4 so far in 2018. Milwaukee has an over/under record of 4-5.

The Brewers have gained 0.1 units and are 2-4 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this year. The over has cashed in three of those games, compared to three that’ve gone under in such games. On the other hand, the Cardinals have netted 0.0 units and are 4-2 ATS when facing a righty starter. The over’s cashed in four of those games, compared to two that went under the total.

Right-hander Jhoulys Chacin (0-1, 7.00 ERA) will get the nod for the visiting Brewers. Chacin started 32 games last year while finishing the season 13-10 overall with a 3.89 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.

The Cards will put the ball in the hands of righty Miles Mikolas (1-0, 6.35 ERA), who did not record any MLB pitching stats in 2017.

As a unit, St. Louis’ pitching staff has allowed 3.9 runs per game overall this year. The team’s starting pitching staff has an ERA of 3.75, a WHIP of 1.38 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 9.2. The bullpen has a 3.82 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 10.0 K/9. In three games against divisional foes, Cardinals starters have an ERA of 2.37 and the bullpen’s ERA is 4.70.

The St. Louis hitters are putting up 4.0 runs per outing, including 3.4 per game over their last five. The team has hit .221/.278/.344 over its last five games and is 2-3 SU during that span.

Shortstop Paul DeJong and catcher Yadier Molina have led the Cardinals’ hitters this year. DeJong is slashing .303/.343/.576 with 10 hits, five RBIs and five runs scored, and Molina’s line is .294/.306/.588 with 10 hits, six RBIs and five runs scored.

DeJong enjoyed batting against righty pitching at home last year. Over 149 such plate appearances, he slashed .383/.416/.695 (compared to his overall season line of .285/.325/.532).

In the other dugout, Milwaukee’s pitching staff allowed 4.8 runs per game and its starters own a 5.19 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 8.05 K/9. The bullpen has an excellent ERA of just 2.32, along with a K-per-9 of 9.28.

Brewers hitters have slashed .233/.291/.363 on their way to 3.3 runs scored per game this season, including over the team’s last five outings (1-4 SU).

Eric Thames and Christian Yelich have led Milwaukee’s hitters. Thames is slashing .240/.345/.640 with six hits, five RBIs and five runs scored, while Yelich is slashing .385/.407/.577 with 10 hits, five RBIs and six runs scored.

Compared to his overall season slash line of .282/.369/.439, Yelich performed well against right-handed pitching on the road last year, putting up a slash line of .313/.404/.513 across 270 such plate appearances.

Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals MLB Pick

Predictions: SU Winner – Cardinals, ATS Winner – Brewers, O/U – OVER

Notes

Betting Notes

The Cardinals went 8-11 SU against the Brewers last season.

The Brewers have lost four of their last five games SU

The Cardinals’ bullpen managed 2.38 ERA against the Brewers last year.

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Written by GMS Previews

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