Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers picks, odds for MLB Playoffs
The Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers play in the first round of the MLB Playoffs, the National League wild-card round, Tuesday through Thursday.
Check out these picks and predictions for the MLB postseason series, which can be seen on ESPN2, with Game 1 at 4:08 p.m. MST Tuesday, Game 2 at that same time Wednesday and Game 3, if necessary, at that same time on Thursday (stream with free trial from FUBO).
The Brewers are favored in the series against the Diamondbacks, with DraftKings giving Milwaukee -180 odds to win the series and Arizona +150 odds.
The Brewers went 92-70 on the season and advanced to the postseason as the NL Central champion.
The Diamondbacks went 84-78 and advanced as the No. 3 wild card, the last team to make the playoffs in the National League.
USA TODAY Sports: All 6 writers pick Brewers to advance past Diamondbacks
Three of them have Milwaukee winning the series in two games, sweeping Arizona. The other three pick the Brewers in three games.
CBS Sports: 3 out of 6 writers pick Diamondbacks to advance past Brewers
All six of the site's experts have the winner of the Brewers vs. Diamondbacks series losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the next round.
Sports Illustrated: All 3 experts predict Brewers will beat Diamondbacks in series
Stephanie Apstein, Emma Baccellieri and Tom Verducci are all going with Milwaukee over Arizona.
Bleacher Report: Brewers will beat Diamondbacks in 3 games
Zachary D. Rymer writes: "With all respect to Arizona's one-two punch of Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, it's harder to side against Milwaukee's ability to keep runs off the board. Brewers hurlers are fresh off posting a 2.62 ERA in the team's last 31 games, though a defense that led MLB in Outs Above Average deserves to share in the credit for that. Otherwise, the Brewers went 49-32 at American Family Field and 51-38 overall against teams with winning records. One is inclined to believe these things also bode well for their chances to move on."
Yahoo Sports: Brewers will defeat Diamondbacks in wild-card series
Zach Crizer writes: "The Brewers' arms prove to be too much, as Milwaukee holds down Arizona and advances."
FOX Sports: Diamondbacks will beat Brewers in MLB Playoffs
Ben Verlander writes: "Let me take a moment to flex. On April 14, I said on Flippin' Bats that the D-Backs would make the playoffs when few others believed that was possible, and here we are. Arizona is a very young, unproven team going up against a great pitching staff in Milwaukee. But if there is ever a series that the D-Backs could compete in, I do think it is one like this, where they can get guys on base, wreak havoc on the basepaths and manufacture runs. They took advantage of the new MLB rules this year as much as anyone did thanks in part to their youth. They match up well against the Brewers' pitching and I think they can scratch across a couple of runs in a low-scoring series."
The Sporting News: Brewers have a 53.4% win probability in series vs. Diamondbacks
Edward Sutelan writes: "There could not be a battle of more opposite teams. The Brewers have the worst offense in the postseason, per the model. The Diamondbacks have the worst pitching in the postseason. On the flip side, Milwaukee's pitching staff is a dangerous group, particularly in a three-game series, while Arizona's lineup has dangerous batters throughout. The model is giving the edge to the pitchers."
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