Sport: MLBPick Selection: Milwaukee Brewers (Sheets) -115
Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee Brewers 2:05 PM ET
Milwaukee Brewers (Sheets) -115
Milwaukee had high expectations last season and those expectations are even higher this season. For a team that ranked near the bottom of the NL in virtually everything that matters - 13th in fielding percentage (.980), 14th in batting average (.258), and 15th in ERA (4.82), that is kind of hard to fathom. However, this team was banged up for a lot of the season and the bullpen fell apart in the second half. Now that the injuries have healed and a new closer is in place, Milwaukee is poised to make a run.
Coming off of two injury plagued seasons, Ben Sheets will look to regain the 2004 form (2.70 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 264 K) that he has been unable to recapture. Sheets, though he's never finished a season more than one win over .500, owns a solid career ERA of 3.83 and he is one of those players whose body language is easy to read, and he's had a definite hop in his step this spring. He?s beyond healthy and it will be up to him to anchor the staff to keep the Brewers in the thick of things. We are just concerned about this game though.
The Dodgers are the team to beat in the weak National League West and they send the inconsistent Derek Lowe to the hill in the opener. Last season, he looked unhittable and some starts and a minor leaguer in others. The road was the big problem last year as he went 6-4 but posted a 4.13 ERA and 1.35 WHIP which were both much higher than his numbers at home. As a team the Dodgers finished three games below .500 on the road while the Brewers finished 48-33 at home.
The Brewers have been a phenomenal team at home against the National League West as they are 15-4 (78.9 percent) against the money line over the last two seasons. Sheets and the Brewers start strong on opening day. Play Milwaukee Brewers 2 Units
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