Where: Miller Park
When: 8:10 EST
The Starters: Detwiler (5-3, 3.01) vs. Fiers (3-4, 1.96)
The Line: Brewers -135, Nats +115, O/U 8 Runs, Brewers -1.5
Starters – Ross Detwiler will take the ball tonight for the Nationals in hopes of grabbing a 7th straight curly W for his team. Detwiler has been great all year but has really kicked his game up a notch recently. In his last 10 games he’s 2-0 with a 2.14 era (5 starts) and he hasn’t lost a decision in over 2 months (May 19th). As long as Ross can limit Ryan Braun he shouldn’t have much trouble tonight against the slumping Brewers. The Brew crew will counter with a good young pitcher of their own in Mike Fiers. The rookie right hander has quietly been the best starter in baseball over that past month and a half. In his last 7 games (6 starts), Fiers has surrendered just 4 earned runs over 41.2 innings, resulting in an incredible 0.86 era. The National’s hitters need to get his pitch count up early or they’ll be in for a long night. Advantage Brewers
Lineups – The National offense put together another productive series, scoring 18 runs in their 3 game sweep over the Mets, and continue to climb the National League ranks statistically. They’re now ranked no lower than 8th in any major NL offensive statistic, despite numerous injuries including 1st half team MVP (in my opinion) Ian Desmond, who’s now out with a torn oblique. The Nat’s lineup has officially made the leap from average to above average. The Brewers offense isn’t quite as potent as it was last year with Prince Fielder batting cleanup, but they’re still an above average group. They don’t hit for a very high average (.247, 11th in NL) but they hit for a lot of power, as they currently lead the NL in homers. Overall these two lineups are incredibly equal in terms of production, having identical numbers in OBP and SLG (.318 and .417 respectively). Advantage Push
Bullpens – The Washington bullpen got back on track this past series in New York after a terrible series against Atlanta that saw them blow a 9-0 6th inning lead. They’ve fallen out of the NL’s top 5 groups in terms of era but just barely, ranking 6th at 3.41. Overall the National’s pen should still be considered a strength. The Brewers bullpen is coming off an awful series in Philly where they blew late leads in all 3 games. Unfortunately for the Brewers it wasn’t a real surprise to see their relievers struggle, as they have the 3rd worst era in the NL at 4.73. They also are responsible for more losses than any other bullpen in the majors (25) and don’t have anyone who’s even close to being a reliable closer. Advantage Nationals
Game Summary - Fiers turns in another dominant outing and while the Nats do fight back late against the Brewer bullpen, they come up just a bit short of a 7th straight curly W.
Prediction: Brewers 4, Nationals 3
Key Players (Stat Prediction): Detwiler (6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 4 K, 2 BB), Zimmerman (2-4, HR, 2 RBI), Fiers (6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 8 K, 1 BB), Braun (2-4, HR, 2 RBI)
Jesse’s Picks W/L: 58 – 40