MLB Baseball
2023-10-04 - Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : MLB PlayOffs Wild Card Game 2
Wednesday 4th October 2023 - Scheduled 7:08pm
12:08am (British Time)
Preview
Missed opportunities can be fatal in the PlayOffs at any time, but it feels particularly damaging in the three game Wild Card Series that are being played to open the post-season. The Milwaukee Brewers will be kicking themselves for missing a host of opportunities to take Game 1 of this Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who were grateful to Evan Longoria for turning back the clock and somehow preventing a double that would have given the Brewers the lead and likely had more runners in scoring position.
Instead of Milwaukee knocking over at least two runs over the plate, the Longoria catch led to a double play that got the Diamondbacks out of an Inning where the Brewers had the bases loaded with no outs on the board. That was the game turning moment as Arizona came from 3-0 down to win Game 1 of the Series and without their two top pitching options taking to the field.
One of those will be beginning Game 2 as the Diamondbacks look to close out the Series and earn a bit of rest before the Divisional Round of the PlayOffs begins. They will give the ball to Zac Gallen who has a 17-9 record and 3.47 ERA this season as he prepares to pitch in the post-season for the first time.
With Merrill Kelly scheduled for a Game 3, if needed, Zac Gallen may feel the pressure is off the shoulders and all of the burden is on the Brewers to level up the Series. That may help a pitcher who has a 3-4 record and 4.93 ERA in his last seven starts as Gallen as just hit a poor patch of consistency on the mound.
Zac Gallen will also gain confidence from the fact he has thrown 14 Innings against the Milwaukee Brewers this season and allowed just a single run. He was given the decision win in both of those starts and is now 3-3 with a 1.75 ERA in his six starts against Milwaukee.
There is going to be some pressure on the Milwaukee batting line up having failed to find the big hits at critical moments and especially as they are facing a pitcher who has given them problems this season. It will also mean pressure on Freddy Peralta, who was originally expected to start Game 3 but who has been pushed up the rotation after Brandon Woodruff was ruled out for the Series.
Freddy Peralta has a 12-10 record with a 3.86 ERA in thirty starts made this season and he will be making his fourth appearance, second start, in the PlayOffs. That should help in a tough, pressurised situation, and Peralta has only allowed a single run in 8 PlayOff Innings thrown with the last 4 Innings being in a start made in 2021.
The pitcher was roughed up for four runs in his most recent start for the Milwaukee Brewers, but Freddy Peralta had a 6-1 record and 1.96 ERA in his previous ten starts for the team. He is facing the Arizona Diamondbacks for the first time in 2023, but Peralta has a 3-0 record and 0.55 ERA in four appearances against them in his career.
The Diamondbacks have won five of the seven games between the teams after the Game 1 victory.
Prediction
It was quite amazing seeing how the Milwaukee batters lacked production when the big moments came in Game 1 and that has increased the pressure as they look to save their season.
The recent outings of both Freddy Peralta and Zac Gallen does make it feel like the Brewers have a chance in this one, especially as they will have taxed the Arizona bullpen in the first game.
If they can get back into them in this one, Milwaukee can just about edge this Series into a decider on Thursday. However, the batters have something to prove and they will need Freddy Peralta at his best to avoid the home sweep.
The pitcher has shown he can do that and Zac Gallen may feel the pressure of a first PlayOff start in a narrow home win.
The Pick :
Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 Arizona Diamondbacks
