Washington Nationals vs. Milwaukee Brewers Betting Preview

The Milwaukee Brewers had a winning streak snapped in their last time out, while the Washington Nationals are attempting to build a winning streak of their own. On Friday, the Brewers and Nationals will open up a weekend series, where both teams will look to get on the right track and stay there when all is said and done.

Nationals Hope to Build on Two-Game Sweep

It was only a two-game series, but the Washington Nationals did manage to sweep one of the most explosive teams in Major League Baseball in their most recent series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The bats of the Nationals came alive in those two games, with the team scoring 20 runs across their two victories over the American League East side. Against the Brewers, the Washington bats will need to come to play once again.

The Nationals will also need whoever pitches in this game to come to play, as the team is undecided on who will start on the mound going in. This often means that a bullpen day is in the cards, but no decision has been made just yet. Against a team like the Brewers that is capable of putting big numbers up on the scoreboard, the lack of a clearly defined starting pitcher could mean a rough day for the Washington pitching staff.

Brewers Aim For Return to Win Column

After winning four straight games against division opponents, the Milwaukee Brewers were dealt a loss at the end of their most recent series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Now, with a loss breaking Milwaukee’s four-game winning streak, the Brewers look to get back to their winning ways against a Nationals team that isn’t fully organized with their pitching situation. The question is whether or not the Brewers can take advantage.

The Brewers have failed to score five runs or more in four of their last six games, which they will need to address prior to the start of a postseason where their offense has to perform at a high level. Going into the weekend, the Brewers have the sixth-best scoring offense in the National League and the 10th best in all of Major League Baseball. If Milwaukee wants to be a serious World Series contender, they will need to put up runs in larger quantities.

Milwaukee, unlike the Nationals, does have a clearly defined starting pitcher lined up for this game. That starter is Brett Anderson, whose unspectacular ERA is just above 4.00. But Anderson is somewhat reliable, as the Brewers know that they are going to get a decent, if imperfect, start out of him.

Brewers Should Beat Nationals’ Bullpen

This game is a golden opportunity for the Brewers to get their offense back into gear, as the team is taking on a Nationals squad whose pitching situation isn’t decided upon for this game. Milwaukee will have plenty of scoring chances and should take advantage of them throughout, as they will cover the runline against Washington.

Nationals vs. Brewers Pick: Brewers -1.5 runs