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The Washington Nationals (13-26) and Milwaukee Brewers (24-14) open a 3-game series at American Family Field Friday. First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. ET.
Season series: first meeting.
The Nationals have lost 5 straight series. Pitching has been Washington’s primary issue; a 4.93 ERA (28th MLB) has kept the Nats from being competitive.
The Brewers took 2-of-3 games from the Atlanta Braves Monday-Wednesday. Those games were in Milwaukee, where the Brewers are thus far 12-5. Milwaukee’s pitching has led that home dominance: the Brewers own a 2.61 ERA in their home yard (2nd MLB).
Nationals at Brewers projected starters
RHP Erick Fedde vs. LHP Eric Lauer
Fedde (2-2, 4.24 ERA) has logged a 1.50 WHIP, 4.8 BB/9 and 8.5 K/9 through 34 IP across 5 starts.
- Has clocked a 2.61 ERA over his last 4 starts.
- Owns a 1.59 ERA through 17 IP on the road.
Lauer (3-1, 2.60 ERA) makes his 7th start. He has a 0.98 WHIP, 2.1 BB/9 and 12.7 K/9 through 34 2/3 IP.
- Coughed up 3 home runs in his last start as he allowed 4 ER across 5 IP at the Miami Marlins Saturday.
- Has benefited from a .257 batting average on balls in play and a left-on-base rate of 90.9%.
Nationals at Brewers odds and lines
- Money line: Nationals +175 (bet $100 to win $175) | Brewers -220 (bet $220 to win $100)
- Run line (RL): Nationals +1.5 (-120) | Brewers -1.5 (+100)
- Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: -130 | U: +105)
Nationals at Brewers picks and predictions
Prediction
Brewers 4, Nationals 3
Money line
The price here on Milwaukee is a tad aggressive, but its advisable to wait out a better line on a Nats club which has not won back-to-back games since the first week of May PASS.
Run line/Against the spread
The Nats have played a significantly tougher slate so far, and the Brewers have a kind 9-3 mark in 1-run games.
Fedde is on a solid trend line, and the Washington bullpen figures to be underrated by a 4.08 surface ERA.
BACK THE NATIONALS +1.5 (-120).
Over/Under
The Under has a slight lean here, but it’d be advisable to see if a line on a total of 8.5 is posted PASS, for now.
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