The San Francisco Giants and Milwaukee Brewers will play Friday at American Family Field. First pitch is at 8:10 p.m. ET.
San Francisco (25-25 SU and 24-25 RL) is starting left-hander Alex Wood tomorrow. The 32-year-old is 0-0 with a 4.05 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in five starts this season.
Milwaukee (27-23 SU and 24-25 RL) is countering with right-hander Freddy Peralta. The 26-year-old is 5-3 with a 4.15 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in his nine starts.
The Brewers are -135 money line favorites and the game total is 8.5.
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The Giants hit the long ball with regularity
At .500 and just 5.5 games out of first place in the NL West, San Francisco is in the thick of the division title chase. Can SF climb the standings before the end of the spring?
The Giants score 4.29 runs per contest (20th) and hit .240 (19th) with a .725 OPS (14th). They've hit 67 long balls (8th) and stolen 26 bases (26th) in 2023. The San Francisco pitching staff has a 4.17 ERA (15th) and a 1.32 WHIP (18th) with 18 quality starts.
Ribby for breakfast 👨🍳 pic.twitter.com/wpyERyZjrn
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) May 24, 2023
Wood gets the nod for SF in game two of the four-game set in Milwaukee. The lefty, who hasn't lasted a full five innings this year, has a 21:8 K:BB ratio. In his last start vs. Miami, he gave up four runs on six hits, including two home runs.
Milwaukee is 11th in homers and stolen bases this season
Milwaukee is in full control of the NL Central after Pittsburgh's dismal May, with a 1.5-game lead over the Pirates. With the other three teams in the division under .500, is it Milwaukee's to lose?
The Brewers score 4.18 runs per game (22nd) and hit .238 (21st) with a .705 OPS (20th). They've hit 62 homers (11th) and stolen 38 bases (11th) this year. The Milwaukee pitching staff has a 4.05 ERA (12th) and a 1.28 WHIP (14th) with 20 quality starts.
When you're hot, you're hot. What can we say? #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/j5rlQoXIMh
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) May 24, 2023
Peralta is taking the mound for the home team tomorrow night. He's coming off a winning performance against Tampa Bay, holding the Rays to three runs on five hits and three walks in six innings of work. It was his sixth start this season he held his opponent to three or fewer runs. Peralta has a 54:22 K:BB ratio in 2023.
Best Bets for this Game
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
The Giants are 6-1 in their last seven games vs. a right-handed starter and 7-2 in their last nine games overall. The Brewers are 1-4 in their last five games with the total set at 7.0-8.5.
I'm betting on San Francisco at +115 odds. The Giants hit righties well enough, with better splits vs. right-handed pitchers (.242/.325/.429/.755) than left-handed ones (.238/.294/.369/.663). They've also hit 52 of their 67 long balls vs. righties. Conversely, the Brewers' splits versus left-handed pitchers are poor (.214/.284/.352/.636), including a 33 percent strikeout rate.
I'm betting on Alex Wood to coast through the Milwaukee lineup for most of his outing with some early run support.
Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
The over is 5-0-2 in Peralta's last 7 starts with the total set at 7.0-8.5 and 10-1 in the Giants' last 11 during game 2 of a series.
I'm betting on the total to be over 8.5 in Friday's night game. These are bottom-ten scoring offenses, but the Giants average 4.6 runs per game on the road and have fared well against right-handed starters this season. Both teams hit the long ball with regularity, with 39 of Milwaukee's 62 homers coming at home and 39 of San Francisco's 67 homers coming on the road. These teams will power their way to nine or more runs on Friday at American Family Field.