MLB Baseball
2026-09-22 - Milwaukee Brewers at Philadelphia Phillies
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : Major League Baseball
Tuesday 22nd September 2026 - Scheduled 6:40pm EST
11:40pm (British Time)
Preview
Teams have put in a kick in September to push towards the Playoffs and the final week of the Major League regular season will see spots confirmed and Seedings secured. Two teams from the National League meet in an important series for both when the Philadelphia Phillies (86-70) host the Milwaukee Brewers (98-58).
There is still a real hope in Philadelphia that they can finish with the best record in the Wild Card race and that would mean hosting one of the other Wild Card teams. The Phillies have a 4 game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks in that Wild Card chase, while they are only a game behind both the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs with six games left on the schedule.
The Phillies will be hosting a Milwaukee team looking to win 100 games in a single regular season for the first time, while they are also motivated to try and secure the top Seed in the National League. They hold a 2 game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the race for the Number 1 Seed and the Brewers have the momentum of five wins in the last six games, including a sweep over Baltimore Orioles this past weekend.
Milwaukee will hand the ball to Dustin May who has a 7-9 record and 4.61 ERA in his twenty-nine starts this season, but who has struggled for consistency since being traded to this team. In his eight starts in a Brewers uniform, Dustin May has a 2-2 record and 5.40 ERA, while he has been withdrawn before completing 5 Innings in three of the last four.
This is going to be the first time Dustin May has ever faced the Philadelphia Phillies, but he will be aware that the home team have won four of the last seven games. And May will also feel the extra challenge of being opposed by Zack Wheeler, who will be getting the ball for the Phillies and looking for one more big regular season start before preparing for the post-season.
A situation could develop where Zack Wheeler is needed once more this weekend, and the veteran will do what is needed with his 13-5 record and 2.99 ERA from the twenty-six starts made this season. There has been a slight dip in the numbers compared with the previous two seasons, but Zack Wheeler continues to be one of the top pitching options in the Major League.
After being knocked around for eight runs and taking the decision loss to the Seattle Mariners, Zack Wheeler has bounced back to put together a 3-0 record and 1.04 ERA from the last four starts. This has been crucial in preventing the Philadelphia Phillies sliding towards the elimination door before the Playoffs can begin.
This will be the first time Zack Wheeler has faced the Milwaukee Brewers in 2026, but he does have a 5-2 record and 2.41 ERA from eleven career starts against them.
Prediction
This could easily be a preview for an upcoming Playoff Series with both teams looking good to achieve what they would have set out when the regular season began.
That does not mean either is looking ahead to next week though and there are still ambitions to meet.
The edge on the mound looks to be with the Philadelphia Phillies in the opener of this three game set and they can edge past the Milwaukee Brewers with Zack Wheeler likely out-duelling Dustin May early.
The Pick :
Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 Milwaukee Brewers
