NL Wild Card Betting Pick: Milwaukee Brewers at Washington Nationals
The 2019 Major League Baseball Playoffs are set to begin on Tuesday night when the Washington Nationals host the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Wild Card Game. Both of these teams had terrific second-half finishes to set up this great matchup.
Washington finished the regular season with a record of 93-69 to finish in second place in the NL East. Milwaukee wound up with a second-place finish in the NL Central after finishing the season with a record of 89-73. The Washington Nationals are -180 over the Milwaukee Brewers in this Wild Card Game.
Scherzer On Mound For Nationals
Max Scherzer will take the ball for the Nationals in this game, and he has been one of the best pitchers in baseball in recent years. Scherzer has lost just two games since the beginning of August, and he has plenty of experience pitching in big games. The hard-throwing right-hander recorded 243 strikeouts this season and finished with a 2.92 earned run average.
Third baseman Anthony Rendon had a great regular season in leading the Nationals offense and will need to stay hot in this series. Rendon led the team with a .319 batting average to go along with 34 home runs and 126 runs batted in. The Nationals hit over 230 home runs as a team in 2019, and they can punish mistakes from the Brewers pitching staff.
Brewers Trying To Do It For Yelich
The Milwaukee Brewers have been playing without Christian Yelich for the last few weeks, but it hasn’t really slowed down their offense. Yelich was putting up monster numbers before his injury, but the Brewers are still scoring runs like crazy. Mike Moustakas pounded out 35 home runs during the regular season, and he will need to have a big series. Lorenzo Cain is dealing with an ankle injury but is one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball.
Brandon Woodruff will get the start for Milwaukee in this game, but he will be on a very short leash. The Brewers have one of the best bullpens in baseball, and manager Craig Counsell is not afraid to use it. Closer Josh Hader had a bad blown save over the weekend but is one of the nastiest pitchers in the game. It will be all hands on deck for this game, and it’s hard to predict who will come out of the Brewers bullpen first.
Scherzer, Nationals Just Too Much For Milwaukee
Having Scherzer on the mound for the Nationals gives them a huge advantage in this game, while the Brewers will counter with bullpen arms. Both of these teams have been a great story this season, but only one of them can move on to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. There is just no way we are picking against Scherzer in this one. Look for the Nationals offense to give him some runs, and for him to do the rest. Bet the Washington Nationals -180 over the Milwaukee Brewers in this game.
