NL Central Aces Start Our MLB Betting Day

Brewers vs. Pirates, 12:35 ET

After sweeping the previous two days, I got swept yesterday. Such is the life of a sports bettor. Back we go today for another shot at the winning ways. I always wonder how teams get used to playing two games within 24 hours. Baseball is basically the only sport that does that. I suppose baseball is the least strenuous of all the sports. I’m going to start with a game between some divisional opponents that had a night game last night and now an early game today. The Brewers are taking on the Pirates as the squads wrap up their series.

The Brewers were expected to take a bit of a step back because Craig Counsell went over to the North Side for the Chicago Cubs, but to be honest, I didn’t buy in on that. After the first eighth of the season, it looks like the Brewers are just as strong – if not stronger this year than last year. Sure, they lost Corbin Burnes to a trade, but they are at 3.37 for a team ERA. The hitting has been better than expected as they are off to a nice start with a .263 batting average and in the top portion of the league with runs scored. Perhaps the reason they were comfortable with trading Burnes because they have Freddy Peralta, today’s starter, on the squad. Peralta has been outstanding to start the season, going 23.2 innings and allowing just five earned runs. He has three quality starts and just barely missed the fourth as he only went 5.2 innings. He hasn’t allowed more than five hits or two walks in any start this season. His WHIP is forth best in the league and his ERA is 12th. The guy is dealing right now and will make for a tough day for the Pirates hitters, even though they’ve been successful against him in the past with 21 hits in 70 at-bats. 

There has to be some optimism around the Pirates. They have a stud pitcher in the minors, they have some young talent in the majors, and the pieces are finally here that you might think they could finally start fielding a consistently productive team this year or maybe next year. Right now, they are above .500, but obviously they need to keep that going for the next few months for it to mean anything. The club is fairly average in terms of hitting. They are batting .241 for the season and have 102 runs on the year. The runs are a bit low, but the average is strong enough that you’d think the runs will come around. The pitching staff has been strong with a 3.87 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Today, Mitch Keller dules Peralta and hopes to take down this game. Keller has had a bit of an up-and-down season to this point with three starts of allowing four earned runs and two allowing two. The Brewers have had good success against Keller, going 17-for-44 against him with 15 RBIs and 10 extra-base hits. 

This seems like we may see some runs here based on the past performances. It is possible that the hitters will be tired for the game so maybe it will be a low scoring game. When I get into situations like this, I know I should stay away from the total. So, instead, I will take the Brewers. I really like the way Peralta is throwing and Keller has been too inconsistent. Let’s back the Brew today and have them leave Pittsburgh with a win. 

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