Two Of The Best Pitchers In The NL Will Keep Hitters Guessing

Dodgers vs. Brewers, 7:40 ET

I hope everyone had a happy and healthy 4th of July weekend. It isn't often that we get a full weekend to celebrate the 4th. I think the only way it could be better is if we had it on a Thursday. Then we can either take or receive Friday off and get the weekend. Hell, let's just have the entire week of the fourth off all the time. I'll stop thinking about the weekend and move forward. The next big day to look forward to is Labor Day and that means we get football back as well. Before we get there, we need to bed on this one between the Dodgers and the Brewers.

The Dodgers are still one of the best teams in baseball, which is a sentence that I feel like I end up writing every single year. They invest into their team as much as possible. Even when they win the World Series, they don't just rest and hope to run it back. They go out and reinvest into the roster and find new players to make an impact. The lineup is deep, the pitching staff has big names and some homegrown talent. You probably would expect this, but they have the best offense in baseball, and they have 141 home runs. They have more than double the number of some of the teams in the league. Simply put, this team is great. However, they are coming off of a series in which they lost three straight to the Astros, only scoring six runs total and allowing 29 runs. Today, they send out one of those players they added to the staff a couple years ago - Yoshinobu Yamamoto. For the year, Yamamoto is 8-6 with a 2.51 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. He has been better on the road than he has been at home. He has made eight road starts and allowed just eight earned runs. He hasn't allowed an earned run in his last 11 road innings. He has no history against Brewers hitters. 

Feb 21, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto poses for a portrait during media day at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Milwaukee doesn't have nearly the same payroll, success, or the luster of a franchise, but what they do have is sustained success. I brought this up multiple times last year, but the Brewers lost Josh Hader, one of the best closing pitchers in baseball. They lost their manager, considered one of the best in baseball. They lost a Cy Young-winning pitcher on their staff, and they still found a way to win baseball games. This season didn't start too hot, but they went 16-9 in June. The team is now 10 games above .500 for the season, and looks like they once again can find their way into the playoffs. Today they send out their own Ace to the hill as Freddy Peralta takes the mound. Peralta is 9-4 for the season with a 2.91 ERA and has a 1.09 WHIP. Peralta has been phenomenal this year, especially at home. He has a 1.76 ERA over eight starts and held opponents to a .202 batting average. Peralta has completed at least five innings in all of his home starts this season. The Dodgers have been pretty good overall with 22 hits in 96 at-bats over their careers against Peralta.

Eventually, the Dodgers will get out of their slump. It should happen here, but I'm not fully convinced that we will get it. Peralta has been very good, and so has Yamamoto. There is very little room for error for the first five innings under, but I do like that look. Instead of taking that route, I'm going to play the full game under. I know the bullpens could blow this play up, but I feel good about the full game under. This could be a 3-2 final. 

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