Brewers Perfect on Road
The Milwaukee Brewers haven’t dropped a road series all season and they’ll turn to unbeaten Chris Capuano to try to maintain that streak.
Capuano looks to improve to 6-0 when the Brewers complete a three-game series against the New York Mets on Sunday.
Oddsmakers have made New York -110 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for todays game, the over/under has been set at 8.5 total runs (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 55% of bets for this game have been placed on Milwaukee +105 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Milwaukee (25-11) owns the best record in baseball and bounced back from Friday’s 5-4 loss in the series opener with a 12-3 victory Saturday. J.J. Hardy hit a grand slam, Tony Gwynn Jr. had three hits and Ben Sheets pitched six effective innings to lead the Brewers.
"They waxed us all over the field. They played hungry," New York’s David Wright said. "They’re a good team, no doubt about that. They do everything well. If they stay healthy, I don’t see why they won’t be one of the top teams in the National League when it’s said and done."
The Brewers, 9-6 on the road, will hand the ball to Capuano (5-0, 2.31 ERA). He enters with a 16-inning scoreless streak after scattering seven hits over eight innings in a 3-0 victory over Washington on Monday.
"He’s tough," Nationals manager Manny Acta said. "He really kept everybody off balance. He was able to spot his pitches and work guys in and out. That changeup was always on the back of these guys’ minds. He did an outstanding job."
Capuano is seeking to become only the second Brewers starter to win his first six decisions and first since Bill Wegman did it in 1994.
The left-hander has never beaten the Mets, going 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in three starts, and Sunday’s outing should be a challenging one with New York (22-13) batting a major league-leading .345 against left-handers. The Mets have several players who have excelled against them, including Carlos Beltran (.474), Jose Reyes (.459) and Paul Lo Duca (.429).
The Mets have been stymied a bit after entering this series with baseball’s best batting average (.285) and ERA (2.90). They have hit only .210 and posted an 8.00 ERA against the Brewers.
Reyes is hitless in seven at-bats in the two games while cleanup hitter Carlos Delgado is 1-for-8. New York’s bullpen has also been battered for a 14.21 ERA.
Brewers slugger Prince Fielder, meanwhile, doubled twice in four at-bats Saturday to continue his surge. The big first baseman is hitting .400 (12-for-30) with five homers and 12 RBIs in his last six games.
He’ll get a chance to face Oliver Perez (3-3, 3.48), who has alternated wins and losses in his first six starts for New York. Perez was betrayed by his defense in his last outing, allowing a season-high eight runs – two earned – and five hits over 4 2-3 innings in a 9-4 loss to San Francisco on Monday.
The left-hander recorded only one strikeout against the Giants after notching 28 over his previous three outings.
Perez is 1-1 with a 4.94 ERA in five career starts against the Brewers.
New York left fielder Moises Alou came out in the seventh inning Saturday with a strained left quadriceps and went for an MRI exam.
"I don’t think it’s anything real serious. He might be down for a couple of days," manager Willie Randolph said.
by: Dave Michaels – thespread.com – Email Us
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