Two of the hottest teams in the MLB right now will begin a series in Hollywood this Wednesday, as the Milwaukee Brewers pay the Los Angeles Dodgers for what could be a preview of the National League Championship Series.

Catch this game live on Wednesday, August 16, at 10:10 AM, Manila time

Away: Milwaukee Brewers (65-54/32-27 Away)

Starting Pitcher: Adrian Houser (4-3, 4.38 ERA)

The Brewers enter the series at Dodger Stadium still smoking, as they are on a four-game win streak. They are coming off a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox on the road, a series punctuated by Milwaukee in a 7-3 victory on Monday. Milwaukee’s current undefeated run started in a 7-6 win over the Colorado Rockies last Thursday, which was also the most recent appearance of Houser. 

The 30-year-old righty didn’t actually have a good performance in that contest, as he allowed four earned runs on five hits, but got lucky to factor into a no-decision thanks to the Brewers’ offense.  He will look to get it together this Wednesday versus the Dodgers, whose current roster has just a collective batting average of .222 versus Houser, albeit on just a small sample size of 18 at-bats. Hopefully for Houser, Milwaukee’s offense stays hot as well. The Brewers have scored at least seven runs in three of its last four games. They are also seventh in the big leagues this August with a nice output of 69 runs through 12 games.

Home: Los Angeles Dodgers (71-46/38-20 Home)

Starting Pitcher: Bobby Miller (6-2, 3.89 ERA)

Sure, the Brewers are on a roll, but they’re still not as hot as the Dodgers currently are. After completing a four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies at home with an 8-3 victory Monday, the Dodgers managed to extend their win streak to eight games. During their undefeated run, the Dodgers have outscored opponents, 48-19. With the offense humming and their pitching looking solid, the Dodgers will look to strike anew when they welcome the Brewers at home with Bobby Miller starting. 

In his first two starts this August, Miller has been charged with only two runs (one earned) on six hits and five walks across 9.2 innings. Over his last five starts, Miller has gone 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA. Behind Miller is LA’s offense which is second in the MLB this August in both total runs (86) and in OPS (.884). 

PREDICTIONS:

Spread: The Dodgers (-1.5) cover the spread.

Over/Under: The total (9.0) hits the Under.