Brewers Send Out Ace
By acquiring one of the top pitchers in baseball a month ago, the Milwaukee Brewers hoped to create a formidable top of the rotation with CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets.
While Sabathia has been nearly unbeatable, Sheets, the NL All-Star starter last month, has been mired in a slump.
Sheets looks to avoid dropping three straight starts for the first time in three years and help the Brewers win their fourth consecutive game when they continue their four-game series against the Washington Nationals on Saturday.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Milwaukee -240 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 8 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 73% of bets for this game have been placed on Milwaukee -240 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Milwaukee (66-51) defeated the Nationals 5-0 in Friday’s series opener behind another gem from Sabathia. The Brewers remained five games behind the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs and moved two games ahead of St. Louis in the wild-card race.
On Friday, Sabathia pitched a five-hitter for his fourth complete game since being acquired by Milwaukee on July 7. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner is 6-0 with a 1.58 ERA in seven starts with the Brewers.
Ben Sheets (10-5, 3.14 ERA), meanwhile, is 0-3 with a 4.60 ERA in five starts since Sabathia joined the rotation, and has not won since July 4. After allowing six runs and 11 hits in 5 1-3 innings of a 7-1 loss to the Cubs on July 29, Sheets gave up three runs and six hits in six innings of a 5-0 loss at Atlanta on Sunday.
"I feel like I’ve been kind of struggling lately,” Sheets said, adding he can’t explain the slump.
The right-hander has not lost three straight starts since dropping a career-worst five in a row April 9-June 2, 2005.
In his only start against the Nationals (44-72) this season on May 26, Sheets gave up two runs and seven hits in six innings in a 4-3, 11-inning win. He is 2-3 with a 4.21 ERA in eight career starts versus the Washington franchise.
Mike Cameron and J.J. Hardy homered Friday as Milwaukee won for the fifth time in seven games after dropping five in a row.
Cameron is batting .381 (8-for-21) with three home runs and six RBIs in six games this month, and is 7-for-19 (.368) with two homers, three doubles and four RBIs in five games against the Nationals this season.
Washington lost for the second time in eight games this month after dropping its final nine games of July. The Nationals have scored two runs in their two August losses, while scoring 40 runs in their six wins.
All-Star Cristian Guzman led the NL with 126 hits at the break, but is just 7-for-39 (.179) since then. He is 3-for-17 (.176) lifetime against Sheets.
The Nationals counter with Tim Redding (8-6, 4.44), who gave up four runs and six hits over five innings of a 9-4 victory at Colorado on Monday. The right-hander posted a 7.88 ERA in losing his first three starts after the break.
The Nationals have won two of Redding’s last seven starts after winning each of his previous nine outings. One of those victories came against the Brewers on May 25, when Redding surrendered five runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings of Washington’s 7-6 win.
Redding is 4-5 with a 4.70 ERA in 12 career starts versus Milwaukee.
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