Still have six weeks or so in the 2019 regular season, but it’s very possible that Friday’s Brewers–Nationals series opener from D.C. is a preview of the National League Wild-Card Game. The Nats are solid favorites on the MLB Lines Friday.
How to Bet Brewers at Nationals MLB Lines & Game Info
- When: Friday, 7:05 PM ET
- Where: Nationals Park
- Probable pitchers (away/home): Adrian Houser/Patrick Corbin
- TV: MLB Extra Innings
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- Radio: SiriusXM
- MLB Lines: Washington Nationals -160 (Total 9)
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Weather Forecast
- Partly Cloudy: 29°C/84°F
- Humidity: 66%
- Precipitation: 18%
- Cloud Cover: 43%
- Wind: 8 mph SSE
- Stadium Type: Open
Why Bet on Milwaukee?
The Brewers are 27-32 on the road, going 7-10-2 in series play. The team went 45-37 on the road last season, going 15-8-4 in series play.
The Brewers split two home games with the Twins to open this week, winning the finale 6-5 on Wednesday. Matt Albers survived a rocky ninth inning for his fourth save Wednesday. With slumping closer Josh Hader getting a reprieve, Albers was called on to protect a 6-5 lead in the ninth.
Trent Grisham swatted a go-ahead three-run homer Wednesday. The eighth-inning shot off Sergio Romo capped a two-hit afternoon for Grisham, who also singled and scored in the first. The rookie has had a fine beginning to his career, hitting .314 with two homers and eight RBI over 35 at-bats since his call-up at the start of August.
Adrian Houser (5-5) is on the mound for the Brewers. Houser’s last outing got off to an odd start when he squatted behind the mound and lost his lunch before facing his fourth batter. He ended up with a career-high 10 strikeouts over six innings in a win over the Rangers. Houser authored the most dominant start of his major-league career, carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning before finally giving up an infield single to Logan Forsythe. He generated an eye-popping 18 swinging strikes, whiffed nearly half of the 23 batters he faced while yielding only three hits and one walk over six stellar frames. A solo homer by Danny Santana in his final inning of work represented the lone tally against him in this one.
The 26-year-old righty owns a 4.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 75/24 K/BB ratio across 26 appearances (nine starts) this season.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.76
- Hits: 8.47
- Walks: 3.73
- Strike Outs: 9.47
- Runs: 4.94
- Hits: 8.73
- Walks: 3.53
- Strike Outs: 9.18
Why Bet on Washington?
The Nats bring a four-game winning streak into this one after sweeping the Reds three games to start this week. Since Sept. 28, 2015, when the Nationals and Reds capped the 2015 home slate with a make-up game, the Nationals are 22-6 against the Reds and have won 12 of 15 games against Cincinnati at Nationals Park over that stretch. Washington hung 17 runs on Reds pitching Wednesday. The Nats had 10 runs in the fifth inning. Anthony Rendon went 2-for-4 and hit his career-high 26th homer. The Nationals are 10 games over .500 for the first time since June 2018.
What’s amazing is that young Nats outfielder Juan Soto, 20, has been better than the departed Bryce Harper this season. Soto’s 2019 has a chance to be better than any year Harper ever had other than Harper’s one MVP season. Soto has reached base in 40.2% of his plate appearances this season. He has hit 25 home runs (Harper this year: .372, 22.).
Soto made his debut last May. Since then he has recorded a wRC+—weighted runs created plus, which adjusts offensive performance for ballpark and era—of 144. That’s the best ever for someone so young with so many plate appearances. Mickey Mantle’s wRC+ through his age-20 season was 142. Ken Griffey Jr.’s was 120.
Lefty Patrick Corbin didn’t factor into the decision in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Mets, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk over six innings while striking out eight. The southpaw stumbled in the fourth inning, serving up two solo homers, but otherwise, Corbin dominated the Mets and was in line for his 10th win of the year before another Nats bullpen meltdown, this one from Fernando Rodney. Corbin will carry a 3.41 ERA and 172:45 K:BB through 147.2 innings into his next start Friday. Corbin has quickly made himself at home pitching at Nationals Park, where he owns a 1.78 ERA in 11 starts, the second-best home ERA in MLB. In eight career games (seven starts) against Milwaukee, he carries a 5.18 ERA.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.99
- Hits: 8.70
- Walks: 3.49
- Strike Outs: 8.26
- Runs: 4.57
- Hits: 8.42
- Walks: 3.13
- Strike Outs: 9.29
Brewers vs Nationals MLB Betting Trends
- Brewers are 1-4 in Houser’s last 5 starts vs. a team with a winning record
- Nationals are 5-2 in Corbin’s last 7 starts following a Quality Start in his last appearance
- Brewers are 6-2 SU in their last 8 games played in August
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Milwaukee’s last 9 games on the road
- Nationals are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games at home
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington’s last 6 games against an opponent in the National League
Expert Final Score Prediction for Brewers vs Nationals
Milwaukee Brewers 2 – Washington Nationals 6
