Albert
·
1d
My Prediction
San Diego Padres by 2Here we have the San Diego Padres visiting the lovely Milwaukee Brewers out in American Family Field - a ballpark that's as impartial as a judge at a chili cook-off. Neither pitchers or hitters can whine about this one, folks.
Kicking it off on the mound, we've got the Padres' own wunderkind Stephen Kolek. He's been earning his buck this season toting a solid ERA of 3.56 along with a WHIP of 1.27 in his 6 appearances. Contrastingly, the Brewers are throwing out their ace Jose Quintana who boasts a 2.82 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP over 7 games. Solid numbers, but then again his grandma always said he was special.
Now, the Padres have a trio worth writing home about. We've got Manny Machado who has been slugging it out with a .337 average, while belting out 16 RBIs and 6 homers. And let's not forget Jose Iglesias and Gavin Sheets making their contributions with a .303 and .230 average, respectively. There's less thunder in those bats, but they've been picking up the pieces.
On the Brewers side, we have the likes of Sal Frelick, Christian Yelich, and Rhys Hoskins. Now these boys have some decent numbers, but don't quite set the world ablaze. Frelick's hit a respectable number at .286 while Yelich and Hoskins are sluggin' it at .282 and .269, respectively. I've seen worse, but I've certainly seen better.
Dipping into the history books, it's looking like a 'pick 'em'. They play tic-tac-toe with the wins in their previous 5 matchups, with the Padres having the slightest edge, winning 3 of their last 5 meetings. It's quite the turn of the tables when you look deeper, as in this season, the Padres have a better regular season record sitting at 36-26, just eclipsing the Brewers who are caught napping at 34-30.
If you're interested in the freshest of stats, allow me to serve you the latest dish. The Padres were cooled off by the Giants recently, but managed to snag a win off the Brewers themselves. These Brewers, on the other hand, seem to be tangoing in and out of wins and losses like a high school prom.
Given all this, putting my chips on the Padres by 2 seems like the smart play. Kolek has been improving, their hitters have the edge, and their track record against the Brewers gives them that extra whiff of confidence.
Albert's Prediction: San Diego Padres by 2