Mike Fiers (6-5, 2.13 ERA) and Jeff Locke (7-6, 3.91 ERA) are on the hill in the first of a three-game series between the Milwaukee Brewers (0-3) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (0-3) at Miller Park. Action begins at 8:10 p.m. ET on Friday, Apr. 10 and can be seen on ROOT-PIT and FSN-WI.
Fiers is 2-3 with a 5.60 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 33 strikeouts against the Pirates. Adam Lind (.600 ) kept up his hot start Wednesday, going 2 for 3 with one run, one home run, and two RBIs. When pitching against the Brewers, Locke is 2-2 with a 3.98 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 28 strikeouts. Pedro Alvarez (.300 ) has been successful at the plate to the start the season for the Pirates, going 2 for 4 yesterday with two runs, one home run, and one RBI.
Milwaukee is a -118 favorite against Pittsburgh and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at eight runs. Logging a disappointing -388 overall money line and 0-3 record as favorite, the Brewers have had a difficult start to the season. The Brewers have no trouble scoring as they rank fourth in the NL in home offense with 2.0 runs per game. Milwaukee is one of the best in the NL in terms of walks at home, earning an average of 2.0 per game. Turning to the pitchers, the Brewers are the top team in the NL at limiting walks to their opponents, allowing only 1.0 walks per game so far this season.
Offensively, they average two runs per game on the road, which is fifth in the NL. The Pirates are tough outs for opponents, ranking fifth in the NL with 7.0 hits per road game.
Predictions: SU Winner – PIT, O/U – Over
Notes
Neither the Brewers nor the Pirates have won a game in extra innings, both going 0-1 in such matchups.
The Pirates are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Brewers have a 0-2 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
Milwaukee ranks in the bottom half of the league at 20th when it comes to home runs, hitting one this season. Pittsburgh ranks in the top half at 11th with two.
Milwaukee and Pittsburgh both rank in the top 10 of the league in hits. Milwaukee sits at sixth with 7.33 hits per game and Pittsburgh ranks eighth with 7.00.
Milwaukee and Pittsburgh both rank in the bottom half of the league for their on-base plus slugging percentage. Milwaukee sits at 19th with an OPS of .568 and Pittsburgh ranks 17th with an OPS of .584.
The Pirates are 0-3 when they allow at least one home run. The Brewers perform similarly when they allow one or more homers with a 0-2 record.
