Brewers vs Pirates Odds, Betting Lines, and Probable Pitchers (August 15)

• The Milwaukee Brewers are -210 road favorites over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday
• In a matchup of left-handers, Eric Lauer (4-4, 3.50) will start for the Brewers, while Dillon Peters will make his season debut
• Odds and analysis can be found below along with a prediction

The first-place team in the National League Central faces the last-place team when the Milwaukee Brewers visit the Pittsburgh Pirates at 1:05 p.m. ET Sunday in the decisive game of a three-game series.

The Brewers (71-47) have won five of their last six games overall and 14 of their past 16 on the road. They lead the Cincinnati Reds by eight games in the division standings.

The Pirates (42-75) have lost nine of their last 10 games and 20 of their last 25. They are 29 games behind the Brewers.

Brewers vs Pirates Odds

Odds as of August 15th at DraftKings.

The moneyline opened with the Brewers as -205 picks and has inched up slightly. Sunday’s weather forecast calls for a high of 81 degrees with mostly cloudy skies and winds at 6 mph from the northeast.

Probable Pitchers

Eric Lauer (4-4, 3.50) will start for the Brewers  against Dillon Peters in a matchup of left-handers.

The Brewers will activate Lauer from the COVID-19 injured list and he will pitch for the first time since Aug. 2. Peters wil be recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis and make his Pirates’ debut.

Lauer vs Peters

Lauer pitched five shutout innings to beat the Pirates in Milwaukee his last time out. He allowed three hits, struck out three and had no walks while throwing 84 pitches.

Five of Lauer’s 11 starts this season have been quality ones. He is 1-1 with a 3.08 ERA in six games (three starts) on the road and 2-0 with a 2.22 ERA in the day in five games (four starts).

Lauer Outage.

Eric Lauer went five shutout innings with three strikeouts.@e_lauer10 | #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/iaqP6oNSa0

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 30, 2021

Lauer has faced the Pirates three times this season, twice as a starter, and is 1-0 with a 1.26 ERA. In seven career games (six starts) versus the Pirates, he has a 2-2 record and 2.70 ERA and is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA at PNC Park in four games (three starts).

Peters made two starts and three relief appearances for Indianapolis, going 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA, after the Pirates acquired him from the Los Angeles Angels in a July trade. The 28-year-old grew up in Indy.

In his last start for Indianapolis, Peters threw five no-hit innings Aug. 7 against Iowa, striking out five and walking two. He also worked an inning of relief Wednesday and gave up one run to St. Paul.

A pair of strikeouts in Dillon Peters' return to his hometown ballpark? There's nothing better. 👊

Welcome home, @Dillypickz! pic.twitter.com/dHyVLyUfQ5

— Indianapolis Indians (@indyindians) July 25, 2021

Peters has not pitched in the major leagues this season and had a 2-2 record and 4.35 ERA in eight starts for the Angels’ Triple-A Salt Lake affiliate. Peters, though, has spent all or parts of four seasons in the big leagues with the Miami Marlins and Angels, going 7-8 with a 5.83 ERA in 31 games (24 starts).

Peters has struggled against the Brewers as he has lost both career starts with a 12.96 ERA.

Raising Cain

Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain has faced Peters just twice but has a double and a home run off him.

Batting Average vs Starting Pitchers

In his last 15 games overall, Cain is hitting .370 (20 for 54) with 12 RBIs. He is also on a six-game hitting streak in which he is 7 for 22 with one home runs and seven RBIs.

LORENZO!

Cain goes deep in Wrigley and has now hit in 10 of the 11 games he's played in since coming off the IL.#ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/1ei9Qh74YY

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 10, 2021

Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco has gone 4 for 12 off Lauer. However, rookie third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and catcher Jacob Stallings are both hitless in six at-bats.

Hayes, though, is 11 for 33 (.333) with four RBIs in his last eight games.

Brewers vs Pirates Pick

The Brewers have won 13 of 18 games against the Pirates this season, including seven of nine in Pittsburgh.

The teams split a day-night doubleheader Saturday. The Pirates won the day game 14-4 as Kevin Newman tied a major league record by hitting four doubles. In the nightcap, rookie Aaron Ashby combined on a four-hit shutout to lead the Brewers to a 6-0 victory.

Quadruple double. pic.twitter.com/7UHFX4mhVY

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 14, 2021

Despite Peters’ near-flawless last start in the minor leagues, it’s tough to trust him against one of the better teams in the major leagues. Lauer might show some rust after being out for nearly two weeks, but the Brewers should still prevail.

The Pick: Brewers -210