There are some games that are so exciting, it doesn’t matter if they mean anything or not. In baseball, you get 162 regular-season games, and some teams will only have three games to decide if they keep going or not when they get into the playoffs. Those games are all meaningful and exciting.
During the course of the season, though, there are few games that are must-watch. This game may ultimately not mean anything, but it does have a pitching matchup we have to watch.
The Milwaukee Brewers continue to do what they do. Each year, it seems like this “little engine that could” club will fall off the tracks, and each year, they continue to get better and dominate their division.
This year, they are already 25 games over .500 and have the second-best record in all of baseball. Whether it turns out to be enough and still works for them to make it with any success in the postseason is a different story, but they’ve positioned themselves to do it again, which is all you can ask for.
Part of the reason for their success is the phenomenon that takes the hill today. That man is Jacob Misiorowski, who is statistically the best pitcher in baseball this season. For the year, he is 10-4 (4th in the Majors), and he is the leader in ERA at 1.62, strikeouts at 167, and WHIP at 0.76. In two July starts, he has allowed four earned runs, including four homers. In 10 starts over May and June, he allowed four earned runs. He has not allowed more than three earned runs in a game this season. He did face the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier this season and allowed three earned runs on six hits over six innings.
The Pirates are in the middle of a rebuild, and would benefit from learning how the Brewers get it done. To Pittsburgh’s credit, they are 47-47 for the season and trying to find ways to win games. They invested in the club in the offseason, and it has paid off. Their offense is significantly better, but pitching does remain an issue. The team has a 4.32 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP as a whole.
Even today’s starter, the reigning Cy Young, Paul Skenes, has struggled in comparison to what we normally see from him. For the season. Skenes is 7-8 with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. You know, a lot of pitchers would love to have those numbers, but it will easily be the highest of his young career. Skenes’ season started on a sour note, and then he was great in April.
Since about the middle of May, though, he hasn’t had a very clean start. He has allowed 30 earned runs in his past 10 games. Again, not terrible, but that is frustrating for him. He faced the Brewers earlier this year and beat them, going seven innings, allowing no runs and just one hit.
I’m sure this will be a hard game to live up to the hype, but I’m going to check it out simply because of the starting pitchers. Misiorowski is in an elite form, even if he struggled in his last outing. Skenes was unhittable the last time he faced the Brewers, and seems to pitch better in Pittsburgh than he does on the road.
This is a game that I will not touch the total. If anything, I’d advise to take the over because eventually the bullpens could take over, but this also is a game that could be 0-0 going into the eighth inning. Look at player props for under on hits and anyone that is plus money, in my opinion, is a good play. Officially, I’m taking the Brewers. They are the better team, and Misiorowski really shouldn’t be a reasonable price against any team right now, but he is. Give me Milwaukee.
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