The Washington Nationals and the Milwaukee Brewers meet in game one of their three-game series in MLB action from American Family Field on Friday.
Nationals Lose Series Vs. Pirates
The Washington Nationals had a great chance to pick up a series split with the Pirates, but lost their third straight game to Pittsburgh by a final score of 2-0 on Thursday. The loss dropped the Nationals to 65-82 on the year, sitting 10.5 games back in the NL Wild Card chase. Lane Thomas leads the Nationals with 155 hits and 24 home runs with 78 RBIs while Joey Meneses has a .278 batting average and 79 RBIs with Meneses and Thomas each posting a team-high 33 doubles as well. CJ Abrams also has 5 triples as well this season. Jake Irvin will get the start for the Nationals here and is 3-5 with a 4.20 ERA and 92 strikeouts this season.
Washington Nationals Team Facts
- The Nationals have won each of their last four games as underdogs against the Brewers following a loss.
- The Nationals have covered the run line seven of their last eight road games against NL Central opponents that held a winning record.
- The Nationals have led after 5 innings in each of their last four night games against National League opponents that held a winning record.
- The Nationals have led after 3 innings in each of their last four night games against National League opponents that held a winning record.
Brewers Looking To Lock Up NL Central
The Milwaukee Brewers will be looking to use this series to lock up the NL Central as they currently sit at 82-64 on the year, 4.5 games clear of the Cubs at the top of the division after a 4-2 win over Miami last time out for the series win over the Marlins. Christian Yelich leads the Brewers with 143 hits, in addition to 70 RBIs and a .274 batting average as well as a .363 OBP while Willy Adames comes in with a team-leading 24 home runs and 76 RBIs. William Contreras leads the Brewers with 34 doubles while Adames has the unfortunate distinction of leading the Brewers with 149 strikeouts this season. Wade Miley will start for the Brewers here and is 7-4 with a 3.30 ERA and 67 strikeouts this season.
Milwaukee Brewers Team Facts
- The Brewers have won nine of their last 10 night games against the Nationals at American Family Field following a win.
- The Brewers have failed to cover the run line each of their last eight home games against NL East opponents that held a losing record.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the last four games between the Nationals and Brewers.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Milwaukee Brewers rank 1st in the league for opponent batting average this season (.227).
- The Milwaukee Brewers rank 1st in the league for hits allowed this season (1101).
- The Washington Nationals rank 30th in the league for home runs allowed this season (224).
- The Washington Nationals rank 29th in the league for home runs this season (135).
Chris’ Pick
I’m going to stick with the Brew Crew here. Normally, seeing the Nationals on the road, against a lefty, considering they’ve been better against lefties this season, I’d probably hop on it like white on rice. But Jake Irvin’s been hit or miss, and even if he pitches well, I didn’t like how the Nats looked in the Pittsburgh series. Milwaukee took down another playoff contender in Miami, and looked pretty good while doing so as well. All in all, I think the Brewers start the set with a win so give me Milwaukee here.
