The sizzling Milwaukee Brewers seek their 11th consecutive victory when they host the middling Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 7:40 p.m. ET from American Family Field.
The Brewers (74-44) now sit 6.5 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central, and their MLB-leading 74 wins are five more than the Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays, all of whom enter Tuesday with 69 wins each.
Milwaukee has been powered by efficient baseball in nearly every significant metric. Even the surface-level numbers are impressive, as the Brewers rank No. 4 in MLB at 5.03 runs per game, just percentage points behind the top-ranked Dodgers (5.17). They also rank third in baseball in team ERA at 3.62, not far behind the league-leading Texas Rangers (3.32).
During their current winning streak, Milwaukee has notched road sweeps of the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves, followed by a weekend home sweep of the New York Mets. The Brewers also registered a 7-1 victory over the Pirates in the series opener Monday.
However, the Pirates (51-69) have a potential series equalizer in sight Tuesday as they send out NL Cy Young front-runner Paul Skenes (7-8, 1.94), who could arguably have at least double his win total if the tough-luck pitcher had just a little more run support.
The 6-foot-6 right-hander, who won National League Rookie of the Year and finished third in the Cy Young voting last season, has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 21 of his 24 starts this season. He has allowed four earned runs or more three times, with a season-worst of five.
Even so, Milwaukee starter Freddy Peralta (13-5, 3.03) is no slouch in his own right. The right-hander is 7-1 with a 2.13 ERA in 12 home starts this season.
The Brewers are -127 betting favorites (risk $127 to win the $100) in the sportsbook MLB odds, while the Pirates return a price of +107.
In addition to the 15-game MLB slate, the WNBA features a two-game card and we’ll look ahead to the 2025 BMW Championship. Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet at the top sportsbooks on Tuesday, Aug. 12. All times Eastern.
MLB best bets today, where to watch
Pirates at Brewers
Time: 7:40 p.m. | Location: Milwaukee | TV: FanDuel Sports Network | Stream: Fubo (Start watching, save $20!)
SportsLine picks — Model: Brewers money line (-127), A-rated selection | Expert: Brewers -1.5 +180 (Matt Snyder)
The SportsLine Projection Model sees Milwaukee continuing its winning ways and is providing a top-rated selection based largely on the thin price for the hottest team in baseball. The model projects the Brewers winning 63% of the time, a huge value position against the sportsbook implied odds of 56%.
SportsLine MLB expert Matt Snyder (10-5, +609 last 15 MLB picks) agrees and is willing to take it a step further, laying the run line to fetch even juicier odds on the Brewers. He notes Milwaukee has touched Skenes for four runs in an earlier matchup and simply doesn’t see any pitcher slowing down a lineup that is averaging 7.7 runs per game during its current winning streak.
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WNBA best bets today, where to watch
Dallas Wings at Indiana Fever
Time: 7:30 p.m. | Location: Indianapolis | TV: ESPN | Stream: Fubo (Start watching, save $20!)
SportsLine picks — Experts: Wings/Fever Over 169.5 points (Calvin Wetzel and Aaron Barzilai)
SportsLine WNBA analysts Calvin Wetzel and Aaron Barzilai say they anticipate a high-paced game from these offense-minded teams, who have combined to clip this total in two of their previous three meetings. The Fever rank fourth in the WNBA in scoring at 84.7 points per game, while the Wings are posting 81.6 points per game.
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Looking ahead: 2025 BMW Championship
Time: 9 a.m., Thursday | Location: Owing Mills, Md. | TV: Golf Channel | Stream: Fubo (Start watching, save $20!)
SportsLine picks — Expert: Mike McClure’s projected leaderboard
The 2025 FedEx Cup Playoffs launched last weekend with a compelling finish as Justin Rose outlasted J.J. Spaun in a playoff in the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and the playoffs continue with the 2025 BMW Championship this week. The top 50 players in the FedEx Cup standings will congregate at Caves Valley Golf Club, where they will tee off for the first round Thursday. No. 1-ranked Scottie Scheffler still holds a significant lead atop the standings, while the top 30 players after this weekend will move on to the Tour Championship.
Scheffler is the +220 favorite (risk $100 to win $220) in the 2025 BMW Championship odds, while Rory McIlroy is +800 after sitting out last week’s competition. Other 2025 BMW Championship contenders include Xander Schauffele (18-1), Tommy Fleetwood (20-1), Patrick Cantlay (25-1) and Justin Thomas (25-1).
SportsLine golf analyst Mike McClure’s model has nailed 16 majors entering the weekend and is up over $8,500 on best bets since the June 2020 PGA restart. Click to see his projected leaderboard for the 2025 BMW Championship.
