MLB Betting Picks – St. Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee Brewers

Does anybody want to win the NL Central? Right now it looks like the St. Louis Cardinals have the inside track. A four-game winning streak has them ahead of the pack with the Milwaukee Brewers 4.5-games back heading into a critical three-game set that gets underway Monday at Miller Park.

The Cards took two out of three when the clubs met a week ago with the loss their only one in the last eight games. The Brewers aren’t in a must-win situation the way the division has played, but they are just 1-6 against the Cards in the last seven meetings. The game will air live on ESPN with betting options for every game on the Monday MLB schedule available at BookMaker.eu.

St. Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee Brewers

Date and Time: Monday, August 26, 2019, 7:05 p.m. ET

Location: Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI

Probable Pitchers: Adam Wainwright vs. Gio Gonzalez

Opening MLB Odds: Milwaukee -140, St. Louis +120, O/U 9.5

Cardinals at Brewers TV Coverage: ESPN

Odds Analysis

It’s the Cards looking like they want to be the division winners based on their recent play. By winning seven of eight and 13 of its last 16 games, St. Louis has forged a 2.5-game bulge over the Cubs with the Crew close behind. Strong play against their NL Central foes since the All-Star break has allowed the Cards to gain some separation. They are 18-6 against the division since the break.

While it may not yet be a must-win scenario for the Brewers, the next two weeks will tell us a lot about their postseason chances with 10 of their next 12 against the Cards and Cubs. I guess you could say Milwaukee has been consistently inconsistent over the last month. The Brewers saw their three-game winning streak halted on Sunday in a loss to the D-backs and they’ve split their last 32 games. They haven’t hosted the Cards since April, but the Brewers enjoyed success winning five of the seven tilts at Miller Park.

Probable Pitchers

The only Cards pitcher to lose a game in the last eight, Adam Wainwright ( 9-9, 4.51 ERA ) faces Milwaukee for the second straight start. He gave up four runs in the first inning and five total on eight hits in 5.0 innings in a rain-shortened 5-3 loss last Wednesday. His impeccable control was absent with four walks in that outing and he looks to rebound against a club he has stellar numbers against.

Wainwright had a strong outing in his first start of the season against the Brewers yielding four hits and one run in a 5-2 victory on April 24. And he’s had all kinds of success against them going 16-10 with a 2.48 ERA in 40 appearances. In 19 games, including 15 starts in Milwaukee, Wainwright sports a 2.60 and a 7-4 record.

The Brewers counter with veteran Gio Gonzalez ( 2-1, 3.64 ERA ), who is making a second straight start against the Cards. He pitched well last time out giving up one run on three hits in 5.0 innings, but he didn’t get a decision in Milwaukee’s 9-4 loss. It was the seventh straight ND for Gonzalez, who hasn’t won since May 15.

The lefty has been solid when healthy yielding just one earned run in three of his last four starts, but he hasn’t pitched past the fifth inning in any of those games and he’s completed six frames in just one of his 12 turns. Don’t expect Gio to go deep in this one, but he should tame the bats given his career numbers against the Cards. He has a 3.11 ERA in 11 career starts against them.

Key Stat

The Cards lead the season series 7-6, but each team has protected its home turf and Milwaukee is up next. The Brewers are feeling good about making a run for the top of the division after knocking off St. Louis five times in the first seven games of the year, all of which took place at Miller Park within the first month of the season. This is the final series between the clubs in Milwaukee so it carries extra meaning for the home team. The games were close with the Crew outscoring the Redbirds 40-36 while the over went 4-2-1.

Bet Cardinals at Brewers at BookMaker.eu

No team in the NL Central has a winning road record and the Brewers are in a position to make a charge up the standings with upcoming games against St. Louis and Chicago. And while the Cards currently have the edge, we’ve seen some wacky stuff at the top of the division. The hot bats of Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun will take advantage of Wainwright’s control issues, and Gonzalez will give Milwaukee a solid five innings. This one comes down to the pen and the Cards have a rested group of relievers who have performed well during their current run.

MLB Score Prediction: Cardinals 5, Brewers 4

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*Article courtesy of Bookmaker.eu