With the Chicago White Sox spitting the bit up in Minnesota earlier in the week, the Cleveland Indians now find themselves in the catbird seat of the AL Central heading into Friday night’s series opener against the sub .500 Milwaukee Brewers. Online sportsbooks will have the Tribe installed decisive home favorites for the finale of the series on Sunday afternoon with AL MVP Award frontrunner Shane Bieber taking to the bump for the ninth time this season. Cleveland has been the dominant side in this interleague rivalry having come out the victor in six of the last eight meetings. It’s going to be tough to look the way of the Brew Crew in this one regardless of the team cashing in as dogs in two of the last three instances; not with Bieber on the mound!
First pitch for the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Indians is scheduled for Sunday, September 6, 2020, at 1:10 p.m. ET from Progressive Field. The matchup will be shown live on ESPN2. You can bet on MLB Odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
Odds Analysis
The Brewers have been major disappointments for MLB bettors to this point of the abbreviated season. Craig Counsell’s troops were looked upon as NL Central pennant contenders, but they enter this series two games under .500 at 17-19 and down $384 overall. The club’s split its 18 played road games which amounted to a modest $10 return on investment. Should you still be a Brew Crew believer, they’re 19-1 dogs to win the NL and 41-1 dogs to win it all.
The Indians have been in the mix to win the AL Central every season Terry Francona has been at the helm. Especially recently with the franchise accruing division pennants four of the last five seasons. This year has been no different with it 23 games up and 14 down equating to $174 worth of MLB betting profit. The uninspiring tally has absolutely everything to do with the fact that it’s only gone off the board underdogs seven times. Anchored by arguably the best starting rotation in the game with the league’s third ranked bullpen, the recipe has been successful regardless of the offense doing very little. Even so, 10 teams currently possess shorter odds to win the 2020 World Series.
Probable Pitchers
Brett Anderson: The lefty has been extremely serviceable in the back end of the Brewers bullpen in going 2-2 with a 4.18 ERA and 20:5 K/BB ratio through six starts. That said, he’s been a six-inning pitcher at best, and his 1.36 WHIP is hurt by the fact that he’s conceded 33 hits (5 HR) through 28 total innings of work. Cleveland has gone 5-2 but only averaged 4.0 runs per game against left-handers to date, so the veteran could once again mimic his seasonal success in this spot. Bolstering that belief is his career 4-0 record, 0.94 ERA and 0.78 WHIP over six career starts against the Tribe.
Shane Bieber: When taking a gander at Bieber’s 2020 stat-line, it comes off as videogame-esque. The righty has only surrendered 30 hits (4 HR) through 52.2 total innings. If that’s not enough, he’s only issued 13 walks while striking out 84 clueless batters. He’s gone for double-digit strikeout tallies in more than half his starts, and came one away last time out against Kansas City from making it four straight. There are only five teams that’ve struck out more against right-handed pitchers than that of the 2020 Milwaukee Brewers. With that, you might want to think about attacking Bieber’s strikeout prop in this his ninth start of the season. Another fantastic outing will only shorten up his front-running AL MVP odds which currently check in at +500.
MLB Pick
Ready to eat some chalk? Cleveland had come out on the right side of the scoreboard in each of Bieber’s first seven starts. The Indians went off the board as a -194 favorite on average the six times he was favored in those matchups. Last time out, he laid -240 to the Royals but the offense failed to give him enough run support to log the win after heading to the showers with another six scoreless innings under his belt. Milwaukee stands 11-14 and has scored an average of just 3.6 runs per game against righties to date. This isn’t going to end well for the Brew Crew with Bieber likely to carve their lineup up right from the outset. It wouldn’t shock me if the soon to be AL MVP tosses a complete game shutout to kick off Sunday’s MLB betting slate! Hit the Tribe on the run-line, over on Bieber’s K prop and Milwaukee’s team total under the number.
MLB Odds: Indians 6, Brewers 0
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
