With their playoff spot clinched, the Milwaukee Brewers set their sights next on a division title, although they’ll have to wait until next week to do that one. They currently lead the Chicago Cubs by five games atop the NL Central after taking the first two games of a home series against the Los Angeles Angels and can complete the sweep tonight.
The series finale will begin at 7:40 p.m. ET. Quinn Priester takes the mound for the Brewers, while the Angels counter with Yusei Kikuchi.
Let’s break down this matchup with some odds and lines at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Los Angeles Angels at Milwaukee Brewers prediction, preview
Los Angeles doesn’t have much left to play for, and its recent results have demonstrated that. The Angels are in the middle of a six-game losing streak, getting swept by the Seattle Mariners and losing the first two games to Milwaukee, and they haven’t scored more than three runs in a game since last Thursday. Across that span, Mike Trout, arguably the greatest player of a generation, is just three-for-25, and both the bullpen and the rotation have imploded. Meanwhile, it’s been business as usual for the Brewers, who have rebounded from a sweep at the hands of the Texas Rangers by scoring eight or more runs in four of their last five games. Unsurprisingly, Milwaukee has been a top-seven unit on both sides of the ball in September.
The Brewers should have a good chance of completing the sweep behind Priester, who’s quietly been one of the league’s best starters since the All-Star break. Across that span, he has a 2.79 ERA as Milwaukee has won each of his 10 starts, and he’s recorded the victory in six of them. He’s allowed two or fewer earned runs in 21 of his 27 starts this season and completed the fifth inning in all but six of them. The Brewers’ bullpen is solid, even after losing Trevor Megill, Shelby Miller, and DL Hall, but the fact that they can rely on Priester to post five or six solid innings goes a long way. Priester is well-equipped to shut out Los Angeles: though he struggles to induce strikeouts, no team has struck out more times since the All-Star break than the Angels.
Kikuchi has gone the other way since being named to his second All-Star team. The Japanese southpaw had a 3.11 ERA at the break but has collapsed since, putting up a 6.09 ERA across his last 54.2 innings. Though his 4.69 FIP suggests that he’s been a little unlucky across that span and he’s coming off of a solid six-inning, one-run performance against the Seattle Mariners, there’s little reason to have too much faith in him, especially since he’s been 2.16 runs worse on the road this season. Kikuchi’s biggest weakness is his eighth-percentile average exit velocity, and while Milwaukee has mostly relied on soft hits this season, it has found its power since the All-Star break.
Los Angeles Angels at Milwaukee Brewers pick, best bet
Best Bet: Los Angeles Angels U6.5 Hits (+105)
Los Angeles managed just two hits each against Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff, and as good as Peralta is, Priester is arguably better. The Angels have gotten six or fewer hits in each of their last five games and 11 of their last 14.
Strong Lean: Milwaukee Brewers -1.5 (-105)
These are pretty friendly odds for Milwaukee to win by multiple runs, given that it has done that in three of its last five games and nine of Priester’s last 11 starts. Los Angeles has lost four of Kikuchi’s last six by two or more.
