The Washington Nationals host the Milwaukee Brewers in a win or go home National League Wild Card Game on Tuesday night.
Milwaukee Brewers (89-73) vs. Washington Nationals (93-69)
Tuesday, October 1 at 8:08 PM ET
Nationals Park
Coverage: TBS
Free MLB Pick: Under 7.5
Max Scherzer Will Start For Washington
Nationals ace Max Scherzer will take the hill but manager Dave Martinez said that everyone will be at his disposal tonight, including starters Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez in relief.
“It's nice to have Max and Stras,” Martinez said. “They're all going to be available come Game 163, and they know that.”
Scherzer started the second game of last Tuesday's doubleheader against the Phillies and he struggled a bit, allowing four earned runs on five hits (two home runs) and one walk with 10 strikeouts over six innings but his offense bailed him out in a 6-5 win.
The right-hander missed some starts with back ailments following the All-Star break and he finished the season 11-7 with a 2.92 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP with 243 strikeouts in 172 1/3 innings over 27 starts.
Making Max Scherzer the Wild Card Game starter makes perfect sense, he was not as dominant this year but he is still one of the best pitchers in the majors and the pressure of having the season on the line won't get to him.
While the 35-year-old had a disastrous inning of relief in Game 5 of the 2017 National League Division Series, it wasn't really his fault because he should have been the starter for an inning or two, not come in relief.
Excluding that appearance, Scherzer has a 2.95 ERA in three postseason starts for the Nats (in his last two starts he took a shutout into the seventh inning) and he can get the job done against a Brewers team that will miss their best player.
Milwaukee Loses Star Outfielder Christian Yelich
Christian Yelich, last year's National League MVP, fouled a ball off himself and went down with a broken right kneecap in a 4-3 win against the Marlins on September 10 and he hasn't been able to return.
Yelich finished the season with a .329 batting average, a career-high 44 home runs, 97 RBIs and a career-best 30 stoles bases and major league-bests with a .671 Slugging Percentage (SLG) and a 1.100 On-base Plus Slugging (OPS).
MLB Betting Trends & Prediction
10-1 in Milwaukee's last 11 games following a loss
8-2-1 in Milwaukee's last 11 when their opponent allows two runs or less in their previous game
6-2 in Woodruff's last eight starts with eight or more days of rest
7-0 in Scherzer's last seven starts after scoring five runs or more in their previous game
9-4-1 in Washington's last 14 games following an off day
Max Scherzer dominated the Brewers in his only start against them this season, giving up just two runs (one earned) on six hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts over six innings to get a no-decision in a 5-3 loss in Milwaukee on May 6.
The Brewers will counter with their ace Brandon Woodruff (11-3, 3.62 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 22 starts this season), who went 1-0 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP in his last four starts. Woodruff allowed one earned run on four hits and zero walks with nine strikeouts over six innings in a 7-3 win against the Nationals on May 8.
Is hard not to like the Under in a game with two incredible pitchers and without Yelich.
MLB Pick: Under 7.5 at https://www.realbookies.com/
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