I had planned to be doing errands and betting research through around 5 p.m. ET today, but I'll be cutting that short by an hour and hitting a Happy Hour for MLB's lone matinee, which begins at 4:10. That's because it is not just any game but quite possibly a pitching preview of Game 1 of an NL Division Series matchup with Chris Sale and the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves visiting Jacob Misiorowski and the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
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There are really no interesting division races in the Senior Circuit. The Braves and Brewers have comfortable leads atop the East and Central, respectively, while the Dodgers are lapping the field out West. Obviously, now the main thing to watch is the top of the NL standings between that trio to avoid the No. 3 seed and having to host a Wild Card round matchup against a dangerous team like Philadelphia, San Diego or Arizona.
Entering Friday, the Brewers (79-49) hold the top spot by two games over the Dodgers. Last Sunday's win by Milwaukee in Los Angeles was massive because it clinched the season series, 4-3, so that means the Brewers would win any tiebreaker over L.A. for seeding. Thus, I'm a bit surprised the Dodgers are still -160 favorites for the No. 1 seed and Milwaukee next at +190.
Atlanta (75-53) is four games back and +1400. Place your Braves-Brewers wagers and get up to $1,500 in bonus bets back at BetMGM Sportsbook:: The Braves are in a bit of a travel nightmare spot here. They were swept in a three-game series in Minneapolis on Wednesday, had to fly to Chicago late and then play a makeup game on Thursday afternoon against another division leader and then obviously travel up to Milwaukee – although at least that's a not-bad bus ride/puddle jump flight.
The Braves did get a nice 2-0 win over the White Sox but used their trio of high-leverage relievers. I'm definitely excited to see the pitching matchup between these two aces. The lanky lefty Sale won the 2024 NL Young Award with the Braves and has the numbers to deserve contention this year at 12-8 with a 2.16 ERA (second in the majors), 160 strikeouts and 1.02 WHIP (seventh).
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