It’s been almost a decade since the Indians travelled to Milwaukee for a series against the Brewers. They conclude their brief stay in Wisconsin with the second of a two-game interleague set against the suddenly red-hot Brew Crew.
ODDS ANALYSIS
After taking two of three games in Cincinnati over the weekend, the Indians own one of the better road records in baseball, improving to 25-21 away from Progressive Field, up 3.61 units on the moneyline. But Cleveland still has work to do to get to the .500 mark. The Indians moved to 44-47 overall winning six of their last nine and 11 of 17 but are in the red 13.03 units. The Tribe enters the series having lost seven straight to the Brewers but the teams haven’t played since 2009.
The Brewers posted their first home sweep of the season knocking off the NL’s second best team Pittsburgh in a three-game series over the weekend, extending their home win streak to four. They’ve also won 13 of their past 17 games overall to go up 8.84 units on the moneyline in that stretch. Even with their sweep of the Pirates the Brewers have the worst home record in the NL at 19-28 and are in the red 12.21 units at Miller Park.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Cleveland’s Cody Anderson (2-1, 0.89 ERA) held Houston to one run in a win on July 9 and is the first pitcher in the modern era to open a career with four straight starts of at least 6.2 innings and no more than one run allowed. He’s been outstanding since joining the rotation, allowing just 17 hits and three walks over 30.1 innings for a microscopic 0.66 WHIP. Not an overpowering arm with just 11 strikeouts, Anderson pitches to contact and lets his defense work.
Anderson faces Milwaukee for the first time in his fifth career start.
Kyle Lohse (5-10, 6.17 ERA) had his best outing in over a month when he allowed two runs on four hits in five innings at Los Angeles on July 12. He left with the lead but the bullpen failed to hold it, handing him a no-decision. Lohse had an abysmal first half with much of the damage coming at Miller Park, where the veteran posted an 8.06 ERA and surrendered 13 home runs in 10 starts.
Lohse has a long history with the Indians pitching in 24 games (18 starts) against them with an 8-9 record and 5.45 ERA giving up 15 home runs in 104 innings.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“I’m not looking to have great numbers or anything. I’m just trying to win games. I’ve been doing this long enough now, not in the big leagues obviously but in the minor leagues, where you can block that out and go about your business.” – Indians pitcher Cody Anderson
LIVE BETTING or SITUATIONAL BETTING
The Brewers were 7-18 when Ron Roenicke was relieved of his duties as manager. They improved to 34-34 under Craig Counsell after a sweep of the Pirates over the weekend. The numbers say the change in managers was beneficial and that Counsell is a success so far. But Counsell has had the luxury of a complete lineup after the return of catcher Jonathan Lucroy and center fielder Carlos Gomez, who have been instrumental in the team’s improved play. After their sweep of Pittsburgh with Sunday’s 6-1 victory, Milwaukee won four straight at home as part of a 13-4 overall run. The Brewers are averaging 5.9 runs and batting .310 over that 17-game stretch, a pair of marks that lead the majors dating back to June 28.
PROP TALK
Welcome back Jean Segura. After hitting just .206 in 27 games during the month of June, the Brewers shortstop has found his swing batting .404 through 13 games in July while collecting at least one hit in 12 of them. He’s raised his average nearly 30 points during the month and after collecting four hits against the Pirates over the weekend has his average back up to .276. He’s played all but one of his 413 career games with Milwaukee and has never hit against the Indians or Cody Anderson, however 12 of his 20 lifetime home runs have been hit in Miller Park.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Brewers are much improved, but they had nowhere to go but up after a disastrous start to the 2015 season. As good as they’ve been lately they are still 11 games under .500 entering this series and that’s bad. Cody Anderson, much like Milwaukee’s Taylor Jungmann, has been quite a find for the Tribe’s rotation. While we wait for the shoe to drop on each of them, it hasn’t. Anderson’s been magnificent in his four starts and doesn’t beat himself with free passes or mistakes. The Indians will get to Kyle Lohse, who’s been horrid at Miller Park, and the Indians ride another strong effort from Anderson to get the win.
Cleveland 7, Milwaukee 2
BookMaker will send out the baseball odds for this marquee matchup before any other sportsbook. Since this game can be seen by anyone with a TV, BookMaker will have a multitude of wagering options available for it. Outside of the normal lines, you can gamble on real-time moneylines, player props and inning totals. Live betting is open during every commercial break!
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