Milwaukee Brewers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks Preview

Milwaukee Brewers (64-61) +110, o/u 10 at Arizona Diamondbacks (71-55), 9:40 pm Eastern Tuesday.
by Zman of Predictem.com

Two first-place teams meet up in the desert when the Milwaukee Brewers take on the Arizona Diamondbacks in the middle game of a three-game series Tuesday night at Chase Field.

Milwaukee bounced Arizona 9-0 in the series opener Monday night to move into a tie for first place with the Chicago Cubs in the National League’s Central Division. The loss reduced the D-Backs’ lead in the NL West to 3 games over the second-place San Diego Padres.

But the win was only the Brewers’ fourth in their last 14 games, while the loss was only Arizona’s seventh in their last 28 games.

Milwaukee is 24-36 on the road this season, and 17-26 as underdogs.

The Diamondbacks are 37-24 at home this season, and 40-20 as favorites.

The Brewers lead the season series with Arizona this year four games to one, with the o/u going 1-3-1. Last season, these two teams split six games, with the o/u going 3-3.

A very average Dave Bush (9-9, 5.01) gets the start for Milwaukee Tuesday night while Livan Hernandez (9-7, 4.86) will go for the Desert Snakes. Bush has allowed either three, four or five ER in each of his last six starts, while Hernandez has given up 17 ER and 35 baserunners (hits + walks) over his last 24 IP.

The Brewers are 10-13 in Bush’s starts this year, the o/u 10-12, while Arizona is 13-12 in games Hernandez has started, the o/u 12-10.

Bush has made three starts vs. the Diamondbacks over the last two seasons, allowing eight ER and 19 baserunners in 19 1/3 IP. And Milwaukee has won all three of those starts.

In his only start vs. the Brewers over the last two year, Hernandez got clipped for five ER and 13 baserunners in 5 1/3 innings of a 10-1 Arizona loss a month ago.

There may be a few long balls hit Tuesday night; Hernandez has given up 27 gophers this season, which is tied for the most in the majors, while Bush has coughed up 21 dings.

Milwaukee leads the majors in HRs with 177, but ranks just 19th in team OBP at .328. Add it all up, and the Brewers are averaging 4.8 runs per game this season.

The D-Backs’ team OBP of .317 ranks as the second-worst in all of baseball, and they’re averaging 4.3 RPG.

The Milwaukee bullpen has been in a generous mood lately, allowing 12 ER and 25 baserunners in its last 14 1/3 innings of work.

The Arizona pen has given up seven ER and 27 baserunners in its last 19 IP.

The o/u is 65-52 in Brewers games this season, 52-64 in Diamondbacks games, and 32-24 at Chase Field.

Most baseball sportsbooks opened with a line of Arizona at -124 however it has been bet down where both teams are now listed at -110.

SORRY, no pick today as we’re out of the office.