Milwaukee Brewers vs. Cleveland Indians September 10 Betting Preview

Friday starts a three-game interleague series between central teams as the Milwaukee Brewers (86-55) take on the Cleveland Indians (69-69). Cleveland will host this one at Progressive Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:10 pm ET.

The Indians dropped their four-game series with the Twins to open the week. After losing the first three, they did manage to salvage the finale with a 4-1 win. In the win, the Indians slugged three home runs.

For the Brewers, they won their series to start the week against the Phillies, taking two of three. Now with a 12-game lead in the division, the Brewers enjoyed an off day on Thursday before heading to Cleveland.

The Brewers are the favorite on Friday despite playing on the road. They are -147 to win while the Indians’ moneyline sits at +120. The runline features Cleveland +1.5 (-118), and the over/under for total runs is nine.

Pitching Matchup

Milwaukee will send righty Adrian Houser (8-6, 3.41 ERA) to the mound for the opener Friday. Houser has been really impressive as of late, going 3-1 with a 2.60 ERA over his last seven starts.

The Indians will counter with Eli Morgan. On the season, Morgan is 2-6 with a 5.48 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and has struck out 68 in 67.1 innings. He was solid in a no-decision against the Red Sox in his last outing, going 5.2 innings and allowing no earned runs.

By The Numbers

The Brewers have been the stronger team on offense this season. They currently rank 11th, averaging 4.60 runs per game (4.89 on the road). The Indians rank 18th, averaging 4.42 runs per game.

Defensively, Milwaukee has been one of the best teams in baseball. They currently rank third in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 3.77 runs per game (3.31 on the road). The Indians rank 15th, allowing 4.52 runs.

Milwaukee On Cruise Control Entering Playoffs

The Milwaukee Brewers currently have the luxury of having the largest divisional lead in all of baseball. With a 12-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds, the Brewers are basically on cruise control as the regular season comes to a close.

Still, Milwaukee has aspirations of a World Series title this year, so they want to be peaking at the right time. Currently, they have been playing some good ball as they are 7-3 in their last ten games.

Leading the way on offense for Milwaukee is Avisail Garcia. This season, he is hitting .266/.337/.486 and leads the team in home runs (25) and runs batted in (79).

Over the last week, Eduardo Escobar has been Milwaukee’s hottest hitter. In that span, he is hitting .381/.458/.619 with a home run and four runs batted in.

Cleveland Tries To Keep Fighting Until The End

At 69-69, the Cleveland Indians are in second place in the AL Central, but they are a long way from a postseason spot. In fact, they are currently ten back in the division and 8.5 back in the wild card.

Even with the postseason pretty much out of the question, the Indians still hope to fight until the end and play spoiler when possible.

The Indians are led by 28-year-old third baseman Jose Ramirez. He currently leads the team in home runs (33), runs batted in (87), runs scored (92), and stolen bases (21).

Over the last week, though, it has been Franmil Reyes who has done the most damage for Cleveland. In those seven games, he is hitting .348/.423/.913 with four home runs and nine runs batted in.

Cleveland Need To Take Advantage Of Friday’s Matchup

Unfortunately for Cleveland, for as good as Adrian Houser has been lately, Friday’s matchup still may be their best shot at winning a game.

On Saturday, they have to face Corbin Burnes (9-4, 2.38 ERA) followed by Brandon Woodruff (9-8, 2.48 ERA) on Sunday.

The big issue for the Indians is the starting pitching. If Eli Morgan can limit the damage and give the Indians’ offense a chance, they could steal the first game.

If not, it could be a long night for the Indians’ bullpen and the beginning of a long weekend.

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