Monday begins a four-game series between two of the best teams in the National League as the Milwaukee Brewers (79-52) take on the San Francisco Giants (84-46). The Giants will host this one at Oracle Park with the first pitch scheduled for 9:45 pm ET.
Coming into this series, the Brewers dropped their series to the Twins over the weekend. Despite losing the first two, they were able to salvage the finale 6-2. In the win, Luis Urias and Rowdy Tellez both homered.
Like Milwaukee, the Giants also dropped their series against the Atlanta Braves over the weekend. On Sunday, they lost 9-0 after starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani only lasted three innings before leaving with the trainer due to an apparent injury.
The Milwaukee Brewers are the favorites in this one despite playing on the road. They are -135 to win while the Giants’ moneyline sits at +125. The runline features San Francisco +1.5 and the over/under for total runs is 7.5.
Brewers vs. Giants Pitching Matchup
The Brewers will send their phenomenal righty Corbin Burnes to the mound Monday. On the season, he is 8-4 with a 2.30 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and has 180 strikeouts in just 133 innings pitched.
The Giants will counter with veteran righty Johnny Cueto (7-6, 3.73 ERA). In his last seven starts, Cueto is 1-2 with a 3.19 ERA
A few insurance runs never hurt
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— SFGiants (@SFGiants) August 29, 2021
By The Number
Offensively, these two teams have been pretty similar this season. The Giants currently rank eighth in scoring averaging 4.86 runs per game. The Brewers rank 11th averaging 4.62 runs.
These are two of the top three teams in the majors in earned run average. The Giants rank second overall with a 3.24 ERA. The Brewers are right behind them at third with a 3.37 ERA.
Brewers Look To Stay Dominant On The Road
At 79-52, the Milwaukee Brewers have had a remarkable season and hold a dominant lead in the NL Central. One of the most remarkable parts of their season is their road record, which now sits at 43-23. On Monday, they will look to use that solid road play to take the opener against the Giants.
Leading the way for the Brewers’ offense is Asivail Garcia. The outfielder is hitting .272/.342/.496 with a team leading 24 home runs and 76 runs batted in.
Over the last couple weeks, outfielder Christian Yelich has seemingly found his groove. In that time, he is hitting .364/.388/.614 with two home runs and 11 runs batted in. Yelich has also had success against Johnny Cueto in his career going five for ten with a home run.
Giants Trying To Fend Off Division Foes
With an 84-46 record, the Giants have the best record in all of baseball. Unfortunately for Giants’ fans, though, the team with the second-best record is also in their division in the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Trying to hold their slim division lead, the Giants will look to pick up a win in the opener Monday at home, where they are 42-19 this season.
Brandon Crawford has been dominant this season which is part of the reason the Giants decided to lock him up to a two-year extension. He is currently hitting .291/.360/.5516 with 19 home runs, 73 runs batted in, 58 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases.
Despite how strong Corbin Burnes has been, there are a couple of Giants who have had success against the righty. Buster Posey is hitting .715 in seven at bats while Brandon Belt is two for five with a home run.
Take The Giants And The Runs
There is no doubt that Corbin Burnes is one of the best pitchers in baseball, but it is also not every day that you get the best team in baseball, playing at home, as the underdog.
While Burnes is superior to Cueto, this could still be a pretty low-scoring affair. As a result, take the Giants +1.5 on the runline.
