The MLB has a loaded slate today, with all 30 teams in action, including a pair of doubleheaders. With first pitch scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET, the Texas Rangers will face off with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Brewers opened up the series with a 6-1 win yesterday. Milwaukee will look to defend its home field again tonight, with Shane Drohan and Cal Quantrill taking the ball for their respective teams.
Looking at the odds, the Brewers enter as -156 favorites to win outright and hold +136 odds on the -1.5 run line on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Rangers hold +145 odds of producing the upset, and the run total is set at eight.
Rangers at Brewers prediction, preview
The Texas Rangers hold a 66-69 record on the season. They are two games back from the Houston Astros for the top spot in the American League West, as well as two games out of the Wild Card race. Texas is looking to snap a three-game losing skid and is 4-4 across its past eight. On the season overall, the Rangers have gone 61-74 to the run line, and the run total is 65-63-7 to the over/under.
Cal Quantrill will be on the mound for the Rangers, marking his 11th start and 28th appearance of the season. The left-hander enters with a 6-4 record, a 2.90 ERA, a 1.135 WHIP, with nine home runs allowed and 60 strikeouts tallied across 83.2 innings pitched. He is coming off back-to-back scoreless starts across 13.0 innings pitched and is posting a 0.89 ERA across his past six outings. Quantrill has faced off with this Brewers team in 51 at-bats in his career, allowing 15 hits and 11 strikeouts in these opportunities.
Looking at the production at the plate, the Rangers are slashing a collective .241/.316/.395 with a .711 OPS. They rank 20th in hits, 27th in runs, 19th in home runs and 11th in strikeouts. Brandon Nimmo leads the team with 127 hits, 13 home runs and 49 RBIs. Ezequiel Duran adds 119 hits, 14 home runs and 70 RBIs, while Jake Burger has also eclipsed 100 hits on the season with 105, along with 23 home runs and a team-high 76 RBIs. Joc Pederson, Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter also play key roles.
The Milwaukee Brewers lead the entire MLB with an 84-51 record on the season. They hold an eight-game advantage over the Cubs for the top seed in the National League Central. Milwaukee enters this matchup on a three-game winning streak and has won nine of its last 12. On the season, the Brewers have gone 71-64 to the run line, and the run total is 58-74-3 to the over/under.
Shane Drohan will take the ball for the Brewers tonight, marking his 16th start and 27th appearance of the season. The rookie enters with a 6-5 record, a 3.84 ERA, a 1.291 WHIP, nine home runs allowed and 104 strikeouts tallied across 105.1 innings pitched. Drohan has struggled more as of late, with a 4.56 ERA across his past 10 outings. He has never faced a member of this Rangers roster at the MLB level.
Looking at the offensive production, the Brewers are slashing a collective .256/.339/.398 with a .736 OPS this season. Milwaukee ranks third in the MLB in hits, third in runs, last in home runs and 16th in strikeouts. William Contreras leads the team with 129 hits on the season, including 12 home runs and 69 RBIs. Brice Turang adds 125 hits, 17 home runs and 78 RBIs, while Jackson Chourio and Jake Bauers also have 111+ hits on the season. Bauers is posting a team-high 23 home runs and 75 RBIs, while Garrett Mitchell, Gary Sanchez and Christian Yelich also play key roles.
Rangers at Brewers pick, best bet
The Brewers have been on an absolute tear and earned the best record in baseball they currently possess. They lean on a balanced attack with a contact-first approach at the plate and very little dependency on home run power. Collectively, the team does an excellent job avoiding chasing bad pitches and has gotten consistent production from its pitching staff across the board. While the Brewers are the better team, I am backing the Rangers outright in tonight’s matchup.
Shane Drohan has been fading as the season has progressed. After positing a 2.63 ERA across his first 11 appearances and the Brewers going 7-4 in these games, the rookie is posting a 4.27 ERA since the start of June. He has allowed three or more earned runs in five of his past eight outings. This is especially problematic against a Rangers offense that has a top-10 win percentage against left-handed starters. The roster is slashing a collective .254/.326/.417 with a .743 OPS against left-handed pitching this season, compared to .238/.312/.387 with a .699 OPS against righties.
In contrast, Cal Quantrill is pitching the best he has all season, and he has only allowed more than three earned runs in a game once all season. He is looking to extend a two-start and 13-inning scoreless streak, and he has just one earned run allowed across his past 19 innings. Expect Quantrill to put the team in a position to win and for the Rangers to have success at the plate given the left-handed matchup. Texas is better than it has played for most of the season, and this is a favorable matchup for it to take advantage of. Count on the Rangers taking an early lead with the starting pitching matchup in mind and for Texas to cruise to a victory from there to even the series up.
Best bet: Texas Rangers Moneyline (+145)
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