Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Milwaukee Brewers vs Oakland Athletics: Can the Brewers end the losing streak?

The Milwaukee Brewers are visiting the Oakland Athletics in the series oepener today at Oakland Coliseum.

The Brewers are targeting the top seed in the NL

The Milwaukee Brewers are on top of the NL Central with a 73-54 record, including 35-30 on the road. After winning six consecutive games, the Brewers lost the last two to the St. Louis Cardinals and failed to score in the last one. The Brewers have a 3.74 ERA, a .237 batting average, a .309 on-base percentage, and 1.26 walks plus hits per inning pitched. William Contreras is the best player on the team with 140 hits, 80 runs, and 17 home runs so far in the season.

Another disappointing season for the A’s

The Oakland Athletics are fourth in the AL West with a 55-73 record, including 32-33 at home. Oakland has lost 3 of their last 5 games and is coming off a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Athletics have a 4.29 ERA, a .249 batting average, a .326 on-base percentage, and 1.32 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Brent Rooker leads the team with 117 hits, 61 runs and 29 home runs.

Betting Trends

The Athletics are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games against teams from the NL Central and 4-1 SU in their last 5 games played on Friday. Oakland has played under the total run line in their last 6 games overall, in 8 of their last 9 games against Milwaukee, in their last 10 home games and in their last 5 home games against Milwaukee. The Brewers are 6-2 SU in their last 8 games overall, 1-5 SU in their last 6 games against the Athletics, 10-5 SU in their last 15 games on the road and 10-0 SU in their last 10 games against teams from the AL. Milwaukee has played under the total run line in 4 of their last 5 games overall.

Prediction and Conclusion

The Milwaukee Brewers were on a great run of six consecutive wins, and after losing the last two, they are again behind the Phillies and the Dodgers in the NL. The Athletics have had a couple of great series this season, but it is obvious that they will miss the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. Last season, these two met in Milwaukee, with the Athletics winning all three games in the series. They will try to keep that streak alive with JP Sears on the mound, who is 10-8 for the season with a 4.15 ERA, 110 K, 141 IP, and 1.18 WHIP. The Brewers, on the other end, will start Aaron Civale, who is 4-8 for the season with a 4.78 ERA, 117 K, 124.1 IP, and 1.37 WHIP. Looking at their recent results, the A’s have played under in their last 10 games and the last five times Milwaukee was in town, so we go with under 7.5 total runs in this game.