Albert
·
1d
My Prediction
Milwaukee Brewers by 3We're back with a promised-to-be-humdrum affair between the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays at the pitcher-friendly Tropicana Field.
The Brewers are hoping to continue their resurgent form from the mound as they send Jose Quintana to the hill. Quintana is currently showing off a smile-inducing ERA of 2.87, supported by a WHIP of 1.24 over 5 appearances this season. The Rays, on the other hand, entrust the ball to Zack Littell with a brow-raising 4.61 ERA, trailed by a 1.07 WHIP in his 7 appearances so far. A battle of the mound that has me ordering a lopsided popcorn portion for this one.
Headline grabbers for the Brewers include Brice Turang hitting a grounder-torching .315 batting average and Christian Yelich with his modest-yet-remain-on-the-watchlist .220 average but making his presence felt with 20 RBIs and 5 home runs. The Rays aren't without their drama team either though, handing the baton to Jonathan Aranda who's been swatting at an impressive .333 and Yandy Diaz who's showing-off his .288 average and 19 RBIs to anyone willing to sit through his slide-show.
Looking back at the history books between these two, well, they aren't exactly filled with feel-good stories for the Rays who've been trounced more often than not when faced with the Brewers paddles. Seems like they've been taking their crash-course in humility.
Facing off in the regular season, the Brewers are balancing on the .500 tightrope with a 19-19 record, while the Rays are stuck in a below-average drudgery at 16-20. Let’s not kid ourselves, it's not exactly a confidence booster for the Rays.
Of late, the Brewers were served a roast by Houston 9-1, but have sprinkled some wins here and there, getting better of Houston and Chicago recently. The Rays must be missing the taste of victory as they take losses on a silver plate, the latest being a 7-6 recoil against Philadelphia.
All said and done, I’m looking at those Brewers and seeing a much well-baked team ready for a battle. Sure, the Rays are hosting and might have the home field advantage, but we all know sometimes it’s just better to have the deck stacked by having a better team.
Albert’s Prediction: Milwaukee Brewers by 3