The Milwaukee Brewers are traveling south to face off against their NL Central nemesis St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The action will be televised nationally on ESPN and the game gets underway 7:05 p.m. ET.
Milwaukee Brewers vs. St. Louis Cardinals Odds
Oddsmakers are listing Milwaukee (-160) as the favorite over St. Louis (+140). The total sits at 8.5 runs and bettors can take either the over or the under for -110. Bettors can also wager on the games runline with the current odds sitting at Brewers +1.5 runs (+135) and Cardinals -1.5 runs (-145).
The Brewers have gone 5-5 SU this year and are 3-6 against the spread (ATS). They’ve gained 1.1 units for moneyline gamblers over the early portions of the year, but have lost 4.0 units ATS. Milwaukee has covered the spread only twice over its last seven games and the under has hit in four of those seven. The Cardinals are 4-5 SU and 5-3 ATS. The teams lost 0.1 units for bettors taking the moneyline while gaining 0.8 units ATS.
Cardinals games have an over/under record of 4-4 thus far in 2018. Brewers games have gone under five times, gone over four times and pushed on zero occasions.
The Brewers have gained 0.1 units and are 2-4 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this season. The over has hit in three of those games, compared to three that’ve hit the 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 has cashed in four of those games, compared to two that went under the total.
The right-handed Jhoulys Chacin (0-1, 7.00 ERA) will get the start for the visiting Brewers. Chacin started 32 games last year and finished the season 13-10 overall with a 3.89 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.
The Cards are rolling with righty Miles Mikolas (1-0, 6.35 ERA) as their starter. Mikolas did not record any MLB pitching stats in 2017.
St. Louis pitching staff has allowed 3.9 runs per game overall in 2018 as a unit. Its 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 divisional games, Cardinals starters have an ERA of 2.37 and the bullpens ERA is 4.70.
St. Louis offense is putting up 4.0 runs per outing, including 3.4 per game over its last five. The team has hit .221/.278/.344 over its last five contests and is 2-3 SU during that stretch.
Shortstop Paul DeJong and catcher Yadier Molina have led the Cardinals batters 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.
DeJong enjoyed batting against right-handed pitching at home last year, slashing .383/.416/.695 in 149 such plate appearances (his overall season line was .285/.325/.532).
In the visiting dugout, Milwaukee’s pitchers have allowed 4.8 runs per game and its starting pitchers own a 5.19 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 8.05 K/9. The bullpen has managed an excellent ERA of just 2.32, along with a WHIP of 1.47 and a K/9 of 9.28.
The Brewers offense has slashed .233/.291/.363 on its way to 3.3 runs scored per game in 2018, including over the teams last five contests (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 seemed to enjoy hitting right-handed pitching on the road in 2017, putting up a slash line of .313/.404/.513 across 270 such plate appearances.
Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals Free MLB Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Cardinals, ATS Winner – Brewers, O/U – OVER
Betting Trends
- The Cardinals went 8-11 SU against the Brewers last season.
- The Brewers have lost four of their last five games SU.
- The Brewers bullpen posted 3.33 ERA against the Cardinals last year.
