It’s been 20 years since the Milwaukee Brewers switched leagues and several generations of fans only know them as members of the NL Central. Baseball purists remember the Brewers’ American League pennant and World Series appearance in 1982 that followed the first division title in franchise history. Those are the only back-to-back playoff seasons for the Brewers, though they have a chance to change that this year.
Lurking near the top of the NL Central, the Brewers will look to fend off division rival Pittsburgh Pirates when the teams collide Saturday in the third game of a four-game set. The Brewers will send 7-game winner Brandon Woodruff to the bump while the Bucs look to find a starter through the rash of injuries incurred by the rotation.
This MLB game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates will be held at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at 4:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 1, 2019. The game will be nationally televised on FS1.
We'll have MLB Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the 2019 Major League Baseball season.
Odds Analysis
We’re over two months into the season and these division rivals are facing each other for the first time in this series. It’s a little odd considering the unbalanced schedule and an emphasis put on divisional matchups. What that means is that the teams have a lot of games against each other from here on out.
The Brewers matched a franchise record with 96 wins last season, though a better record against the Pirates would have easily gotten them the record. The Brew Crew won just seven of the 19 meetings. They enter this series having won seven of their past 16 games, yet they are within spitting distance of the Cubs for first place.
The Pirates are just trying to keep their heads above water as they wade through an assortment of injuries to their starting rotation. Jordan Lyles was the latest to go down, leaving Tuesday’s start with a hamstring issue. When the Pirates lose, they usually lose big. Beating Cincinnati on Tuesday lifted them to .500, but they’ve allowed 63 more runs than they’ve scored. That’s the third worst differential in the NL. The two teams with worse margins are a combined 27 games under .500.
Probable Pitchers
Coming off a dominant outing in his last start, Brandon Woodruff ( 7-1, 3.22 ERA ) looks to keep the wins coming for the Crew. He allowed one hit – a solo home run – over 8.0 innings with 10 strikeouts to beat the Reds. Woodruff has given up more than one earned run just once in his last six starts while sporting a 1.42 ERA. The Brewers won all six of those games and Woodruff has won his last six decisions.
Apparently the rest of the team likes when Woodruff is on the hill. The Brewers average over six runs per game in his starts and they are 9-2 overall when the righty toes the rubber.
With their rotation depleted by injuries to Jameson Taillon, Trevor Williams and now Lyles, manager Clint Hurdle is looking for reinforcements. The Pirates could dip into the farm system, go with the starter method that has become so popular, or stick with someone currently on the roster. The likely candidate in that scenario is Nick Kingham.
The righty has made three starts among his 12 appearances and boasts a lofty 8.28 ERA, 1.94 WHIP and .350 BAA. If that’s the route Hurdle takes, you can bet Kingham will be on a short leash.
Live Betting
The Pirates might want to pitch around Christian Yelich, especially if they have a young, inexperienced arm on the hill. Following up his MVP season, Yelich has put up alarming numbers again. He leads the Majors with 21 home runs and is on pace for 61. He does more than just hit the long ball, though. Yelich is fifth in RBIs, second in slugging and OPS, and he leads the NL in stolen bases. Yelich also has a .352 batting average in 105 career at-bats at PNC Park.
Free MLB ATS Picks
Woodruff has been almost unhittable over this last six starts and the Buccos will need to put up some runs with their pitching a big question mark. That doesn’t appear to be a good situation for the home team. And how does a team play .500 ball with a minus-63 run differential? These are turbulent times for the Pirates and I suspect the Brewers will do damage early on their way to a road win.
MLB Pick: Brewers 7, Pirates 2
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!
