The San Francisco Giants (69-40, 34-23 away) battle the Milwaukee Brewers (65-44, 31-25 home) in a three-game series between two teams atop their respective divisions starting Friday night. This will be the first time the two teams have faced each other this season.
Friday’s first pitch is penciled for 8:10 p.m. EST at American Family Field in Milwaukee, WI. The Brewers are the favorites (-155), while the over-under run total is at 8.
What to Know – San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants have won five of its last six games entering the weekend series against the Brewers. The Giants have the best record in baseball and are 19 games over .500. San Fran is four games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.
The expected starter for the Giants is 24-year old right-hander Logan Webb (5-3, 3.33 ERA, 1.21 WHIP). Webb hasn’t lost a game on the mound since May 5th, a string of eight-straight starts with either a win or no-decision. In his last start, Webb held the Houston Astros to two runs over 6.0 innings of work, scattering seven hits and striking out three.
The Gaints’ offense ranks eighth in the league in on-base percentage (.327) and fourth in slugging percentage (.437). All-Star shortstop Brandon Crawford leads the Giants with 18 home runs and 64 runs driven in. San Francisco traded for Kris Bryant before the trade deadline, and the utility player has batted .333 with one home run in five games with the Giants.
What to Know – Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers come into the weekend winners in seven of their last ten contests. Outside of a two-game sweep by the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee has won every series played in the second half of the season. The Brewers own a seven-game over the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central.
On the mound for the Brewers is expected to be right-hander Corbin Burnes (6-4, 2.46 ERA, 0.97 WHIP). The 26-year old has been stellar on the bump this season, leading to his first All-Star game appearance. Burnes will try and rebound after a rough outing in his previous start, where he allowed five earned runs over just 4.0 innings of action.
Milwaukee has risen to the top behind pitching and defense this year as the offense has been rather pedestrian, ranking 14th in on-base percentage (.317) and 23rd in slugging (.388). Outfielder Avisail Garcia is on pace to put up career-bests in many offense categories, including home runs (18) and RBIs (66). The Brewers will be without the services of outfielder Christian Yelich this weekend as Yelich failed a COVID-19 test on Monday.
The Pick is In
Burnes is excellent on the mound, and the Brewers have performed well recently, but this line seems a bit too juicy in favor of the hosts. Milwaukee’s offense isn’t great, and the Giants have the best record in the majors for a reason.
Can Burnes rebound and take down the Giants? Absolutely. Given the odds, we’ll fade the hosts and take the visitors with a plus return.
The Pick: San Francisco Giants ML
