Weekend MLB betting preview: Brewers at Nationals

A pair of teams with serious postseason aspirations will clash this weekend at Nationals Park, where the Washington Nationals host the Milwaukee Brewers. The Nats enter the series on a four-game winning streak but are 0-3 this year against Milwaukee and struggled mightily to put runs on the board against the Brewers when they tangled in early May. Odds, match-ups and a prediction for this intriguing three-game series are below.

Friday - 7:05 p.m. ET

MLB free play: Under 9 runs

Few pitchers have been better at home this season than Patrick Corbin (9-5, 3.41), who is 6-1 with a 1.78 ERA when playing within the friendly confines of Nationals Park. The two-time all-star is limiting opposing hitters to a paltry .189 batting average in the nation's capital and has given up two runs or fewer in each of his last seven home dates.

He'll be facing a pitcher in Adrian Houser (5-5, 4.00 ERA), who is known less for his mastery on the mound and more for puking all over it before every outing. The 26-year-old has only reached the six-inning threshold twice in 2019 and will likely be given the hook long before this game is decided.

Expect an exceptional start from Corbin, a little chunder from Houser and an easy-breezy victory for the Nationals.

Saturday - 7:05 p.m. ET

To say Jordan Lyles (7-8, 4.71) has been reborn in Milwaukee would be putting it mildly. The towering 28-year-old has gone 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA in three starts with the Brewers since he was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 29. Lyles looked especially sharp August 11 against the Texas Rangers, when he gave up just three hits over seven innings and struck out nine.

Nationals starter Anibal Sanchez (7-6, 3.75 ERA) has also rediscovered his mojo of late. The 14-year vet is 7-0 in his last 12 starts after he began the season 0-6 with a 5.10 ERA. He's been relying more on his cutter lately, and it seems to be working, as evidenced by a pair of six-strikeout performances against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves.

This is shaping up to be a low-key pitcher's duel, where runs will be at a premium.

Sunday - 1:35 p.m. ET

Milwaukee will hand the ball to Chase Anderson (5-2, 3.78 ERA) on Sunday for the series finale. The right-hander has given up homers in each of his last four starts and should have his hands full with sluggers Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto, who has blasted four home runs in his last seven games.

Erick Fedde (3-2, 4.09) will toe the mound for Washington. The 26-year-old Las Vegas native sports a 5.26 ERA from 25 MLB starts, but appears to be turning the corner in his third season with the Nationals. Fedde shut out the San Francisco Giants on August 5 and held the Cincinnati Reds to two runs in his following start August 12. He won't be mistaken for Max Scherzer anytime soon, but he's become an important part of Washington's rotation.

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