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Brewers Go for Sweep of Giants

Four Straight Defeats Cost San Francisco NL West Lead

The San Francisco Giants will try to avoid a sweep vs the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday afternoon in the finale of a four-game series.

The first pitch is set for 3:45 p.m. ET at Oracle Park in San Francisco. For those looking to bet online, the BetUS sportsbook will provide the MLB lines for the game, as well as the rest of the MLB odds throughout the league.

Logan Webb of the San Francisco Giants delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves
Todd Kirkland/Getty Images/AFP

Giants Outlook

The San Francisco Giants are 84-49 and a half-game behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West after they relinquished their division lead following their fourth straight loss on Wednesday night. San Francisco had done a great job of responding to LA’s hot streaks for most of the season, but a recent skid against the Brewers and Atlanta Braves has sent them into the Wild Card position.

The Giants had defied the odds all season and were one of the biggest surprise teams in the NL West, though their demotion to the Wild Card is more of a reflection of the Dodgers’ talent rather than a condemnation of their team.

A reason for the recent struggles is player availability or a lack thereof. Tommy La Stella, Evan Longoria, Donovan Solano, Alex Wood and Johnny Cueto are all regular pieces of the roster that are currently missing for varying ranges of time.

Another explanation for San Francisco uncharacteristically dropping five of its last six is a relative decline in pitching, which has been paramount to its success. They are still only allowing 4.8 runs per game during this six-game stretch, though that exceeds the standard that they had set over the course of the season.

The team seems to be missing the spark that it got when Kris Bryant arrived from the Chicago Cubs ahead of the trade deadline, and they could really do with stringing a few wins together to get them back on track.

Logan Webb (8-3, 2.65 ERA) will be on the bump for Thursday’s meeting, having allowed two or fewer earned runs in his last 13 starts.

Brewers Outlook

The Milwaukee Brewers have continued to defy their critics with their recent success over the Giants, limiting one of the league’s most efficient offenses to five runs in three games. The Brew Crew is up to 82-52, which is 10.5 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central.

Milwaukee’s success against the Giants has also inspired team members, specifically Brandon Woodruff, who had eight strikeouts and allowed one earned run in six innings in Tuesday’s 6-2 victory.

“Two team wins, that’s awesome,” said Woodruff. “Hopefully, we see these guys later in October.”

The Brewers have been constructed around their pitching staff, which is among the best in baseball. They acquired slugger Eduardo Escobar from the Arizona Diamondbacks ahead of the trade deadline to help bolster their offense, though he is on the 10-day injured list. They are almost totally dependent on their defense without him in the lineup, with infrequent offensive outbursts proving to be the exception.

Eric Lauer is scheduled to start in the finale, having produced a 4-5 record and 3.61 ERA. Lauer normally lasts four to five innings before getting pulled, though he has only allowed seven earned runs in his last five starts.

The Pick

The San Francisco Giants may have lost all of the first three matchups, but they are too good to be embarrassed by an impressive but inferior Brewers team. San Francisco’s consistency has defined them all season, so a recent blip in the radar is no reason to overlook them now.

Milwaukee will be satisfied with a victory in the series overall and, of course, is unlikely to face the Giants or the Dodgers until the NLCS. Expect the Giants to defend their home turf and get one back over the Brewers, keeping the pressure on the Dodgers for the division crown.

For more MLB picks, click there.

Pick: San Francisco Giants -185

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