Picks, predictions for Padres vs. Brewers on Saturday, August 26

The San Diego Padres (61-68) and Milwaukee Brewers (71-57) will continue their three-game weekend series tonight. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET at American Family Field in Milwaukee. Reliever Pedro Avila (0-0, 1.17 ERA) will open in what could be a bullpen night for the Padres pitching staff while Freddy Peralta (10-8, 3.97 ERA) will start for the Brew Crew.

Milwaukee struck the first blow in this series last night with a 7-3 victory on its home turf. The Brewers got plenty of production from its lineup including DH Rowdy Tellez, who had four RBI and blasted his first home run since May. Milwaukee’s win streak is now at six and it holds a four-game lead over the Cubs at the top of the NL Central standings. Meanwhile, San Diego’s only offense came from a Manny Machado solo shot in the fourth and a Gary Sanchez two-run bomb in the ninth.

The Brewers enter the game as -142 favorites on the moneyline over at DraftKings Sportsbook, while the Padres are +120 underdogs. The run total is set at 8.5.

Padres-Brewers picks: Saturday, August 26

Injury report

Padres

Day-To-Day: 1B Jake Cronenworth (wrist)
Out: SP Joe Musgrove (shoulder), SP Drew Pomeranz (elbow), RP Alek Jacob (elbow), RP Drew Carlton (elbow), RP Tim Hill (finger), RP Adrian Morejon (knee), 1B Ji-Man Choi (rib)

Brewers

Day-To-Day: OF Sal Frelick (hamstring)
Out: SP Julio Teheran (hip), OF Garrett Mitchell (shoulder), DH Jesse Winker (back), RP JC Mejia (shoulder), OF Blake Perkins (oblique)

Starting pitchers

Pedro Avila vs. Freddy Peralta

Avila is making his second start of the season and is hoping things will go even smoother than his first on August 1. He went four full innings in that outing against the Rockies, yielding just one run while racking up seven strikeouts in an eventual 8-5 victory for the Padres. Something to watch in this contest is how he performs against right-handed batters. While he’s holding righties to a .245 batting average, they own a .725 OPS against him.

Peralta has been excellent through August, picking up the win in each of his four starts this month. He came through with another dominant outing against the Rangers last Saturday, recording 11 strikeouts in 5.2 innings while yielding just one run off four hits. He’s yielded a combined nine hits over his last three starts, so Padres batters will have their work cut out for them in simply getting runners on base.

Over/Under pick

Milwaukee has been productive at the plate as of late and if it can get to Avila and force San Diego to dip into its bullpen earlier than expected, the Brewers have the chance to tip the over by themselves tonight.

Pick: Over 8.5

Moneyline pick

San Diego has been one of the worst hitting teams in the Majors over the last two weeks, producing just 43 runs and a poor .209 batting average over its last 13 games. That does not bode well for the offensive prospects against a starter like Peralta tonight and they could fall into a deep hole quickly. Take the Brewers in tonight’s contest.

Pick: Brewers