It’s not looking good for the Cleveland Cavaliers to be playing much longer in the NBA Finals, but the city’s baseball team, the Indians, still leads the AL Central. The Tribe host the Milwaukee Brewers, leaders of the NL Central, in interleague action on Tuesday. Cleveland is a sizable MLB betting favorite with ace and two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber on the mound.
The Indians are on a three-game losing streak but still lead the awful Central because no other team is above .500. Edwin Encarnacion homered twice and drove in four runs in Sunday’s loss. Encarnacion homered off of Kyle Gibson in the fifth to bring the Indians within two runs, and he gave Cleveland the lead an inning later with a three-run shot off of Ryan Pressly in the sixth. The veteran slugger now has 16 homers and 40 RBI in 2018, and his OPS is now up to .834 on the year.
Michael Brantley hit a solo homer in the loss. It was the only hit of the game for Brantley, but it was a big one. It came off of Addison Reed to tie the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth inning, and it gives Brantley 10 on the season. Since coming off the disabled list in the middle of April, Brantley has been excellent, and he now owns a .323/.369/.549 line overall.
Brewers at Indians MLB Betting Prediction & Expert Pick
When: Tuesday, 7:10 PM ET Where: Progressive Field, Cleveland Probable pitchers (away/home): Junior Guerra/Corey Kluber TV: MLB Extra Innings Radio: 620 AM (Milwaukee) / 1100 AM (Cleveland) Opening MLB Betting Lines: Indians -210, Brewers +195 (7.5)Signing off from Chicago.
The Crew heads to Cleveland next. Tomorrow’s an off-day before we take on the Indians in a 2-game set beginning Tuesday night. pic.twitter.com/Ls1oYXudME — Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 3, 2018
Season Series
The teams split two meetings on May 8-9 in Milwaukee. The Brewers won the first game 3-2. Pitcher Brent Suter homered and threw 4 2/3 innings of two-run ball after coming in for injured starter Wade Miley. It was the first home run given up by Tribe ace Corey Kluber to a pitcher in his eight years with the Indians. Travis Shaw had a two-run homer in the first inning for Milwaukee. In the second game, the Tribe won 6-2. Carlos Carrasco struck out 14 while pitching his second complete game of the season. It was his 10th complete game in 149 big league starts at the time. Tyler Naquin and Francisco Lindor homered to power Cleveland.Why Bet on Milwaukee?
The Brewers will add the designated hitter for this interleague series in the AL park. Milwaukee had won six straight series before surprisingly losing two of three over the weekend at a very bad Chicago White Sox club. Rather amazingly, the Brewers are 20-0 this season in games where Josh Hader pitches. He has 69 strikeouts in just 34.1 innings, most among Major League relievers, while holding opponents to a .091 batting average (10-for-110). Milwaukee is 19-12 on the road, going 7-3-0 in series play. The Brewers are 11-5 over their last 16 road games. The Brewers had a season-high 5-game road winning streak from 4/30-5/11. The team went 40-38 on the road last season, going 13-11-2 in series play. Injured first baseman Eric Thames will play in extended spring training games on Monday and Tuesday. If that goes well, he’ll be cleared to begin an official rehab assignment. Thames is nearly at the six-week mark in his rehab from a torn UCL in his left thumb after he was given a 6-8 week timetable. With Jesus Aguilar playing so well, the Brewers can afford to proceed cautiously with Thames.Who Takes the Mound for the Brewers?
It’s Junior Guerra (3-3, 2.65) on the mound here for his 11th start of the season and second against the Indians. He last started last Wednesday vs. St. Louis and received no decision in the Brewers’ 3-2 win (6ip, 4h, 0r, 0bb, 7k). Guerra left the game with a 1-0 lead and is 1-0 with a 2.01 ERA over his last 4 starts (22.1ip, 5er). The team has gone 6-4 in his starts and opponents are batting .211 against him. Guerra lost against Cleveland on May 9, allowing four runs in five innings. The Indians broke through against Guerra with four runs in the fourth, capped by Tyler Naquin’s three-run homer into the second deck in right field. Jose Ramirez led off the inning with a double and scored on Michael Brantley’s single. Guerra fanned nine in five innings.Why Bet on Cleveland?
The Indians are on a three-game losing streak but still lead the awful Central because no other team is above .500. Edwin Encarnacion homered twice and drove in four runs in Sunday’s loss. Encarnacion homered off of Kyle Gibson in the fifth to bring the Indians within two runs, and he gave Cleveland the lead an inning later with a three-run shot off of Ryan Pressly in the sixth. The veteran slugger now has 16 homers and 40 RBI in 2018, and his OPS is now up to .834 on the year.
Michael Brantley hit a solo homer in the loss. It was the only hit of the game for Brantley, but it was a big one. It came off of Addison Reed to tie the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth inning, and it gives Brantley 10 on the season. Since coming off the disabled list in the middle of April, Brantley has been excellent, and he now owns a .323/.369/.549 line overall.
Who Starts for the Indians?
It’s ace Corey Kluber here. Kluber (8-2, 2.02) got the win last Wednesday, pitching six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts, no walks and three hits allowed against the White Sox. Kluber likely could’ve gone another inning as his pitch count sat at 90 through six frames, but with Cleveland already ahead by nine runs there was no need to push him any further. The 32-year-old finished May with a 41:1 K:BB over 39.1 innings in the month and hasn’t allowed an earned run in three of his last four starts. Kluber has not walked a batter during his last 28 1/3 innings. He has recorded a quality start in 12 consecutive games to begin the year, tying the longest season-opening streak by an Indians pitcher since Hall of Famer Stan Coveleski began the 1918 campaign with 16 straight quality starts.Latest MLB Betting Trends
- Milwaukee is 15-8 ATS in the last 23 games
- Milwaukee is 12-5 SU in the last 17 games
- The total went UNDER in 4 of Milwaukee’s last 5 games
- Cleveland is 1-4 ATS in the last 5 games
- Cleveland is 6-3 SU in the last 9 games
- The total went OVER in 9 of Cleveland’s last 11 games
