Steve Merril's MLB Report (Wednesday, May 23)

GIANTS at BREWERS (Over 8, Even) – 1:10 pm ET #903-904

Not an official play, but I would rate the Over as a light lean today.

The Brewers close out the homestand on Wednesday afternoon with the Giants. Marco Estrada makes his sixth start of the season for the Brew Crew. He's 0-3 with a 4.97 ERA in those outings giving up 17 runs and 28 hits in 29 innings. The righty has been able to keep the walks down with only four so far as a starter. Estrada has never faced the Giants as a starter. The one thing we do know is that his lack of durability means that the San Francisco bullpen will be involved and that unit has been terrible at home. They have a losing record and an ERA over 6.00. San Francisco's offense has put up 4 runs or more in five of their last six games as the unit starts to put things together.

Barry Zito has come down to earth a bit after a hot start. The southpaw has given up 10 runs and 18 hits in his last 17.3 innings. Zito has won two straight starts after beating the A's and Diamondbacks. He has not seen the Brewers since 2010 when he went 1-0 in two starts. He was rocked a bit the last two times he pitched in Milwaukee going only 8.7 innings while allowing 4 runs and 10 hits. Ryan Braun (5-13), Corey Hart (6-15) and Aramis Ramirez (4-13) hit Zito well. The Brewers are hitting right around .250 in their last eight games. Milwaukee’s offense has put up their best numbers at home where they are averaging right around 5 runs per game. The Giants’ bullpen has been vulnerable on the road sporting a losing record. Three of the four games between these two teams have gone Over the total. With these two pitchers on the mound, we expect another high-scoring game this afternoon.

RANGERS at MARINERS (Over 8, +105) – 3:40 pm ET #923-924

Not an official play, but I would rate the Over as a light lean today.

Texas wraps up a 3-game series with Seattle on Wednesday afternoon. Kevin Millwood is looking to continue his hot pitching after throwing a complete game two hitter in Colorado his last time out. The righty is 2-4 with a 4.17 ERA in eight starts. Millwood has made three home starts allowing 17 runs and 25 hits. Millwood did hold down the Rangers in Arlington back on April 11th after giving up just 1 run and four hits in six innings. That's not the norm as he allowed 6 runs in six innings in 2010. Josh Hamilton (3-7), Mike Napoli (6-16), Yorvit Torrealba (3-7) and Michael Young (4-12) have good numbers against Millwood. The Texas offense continues to put up great numbers hitting over .300 on the road and right around .290 as a unit this season. The Seattle bullpen has been mediocre posting an ERA right around 4.00 on the season.

Scott Feldman will be making his third start of the season. He took the loss against the Royals in his last outing after giving up 2 runs and three hits in just under five innings of work. Feldman has thrown just 15 innings total this season between the rotation and the bullpen so he may not be able to go that long. The righty hasn't seen Seattle since 2010 when he lost two straight starts to them. Ichiro (9-29) and Franklin Gutierrez (6-18) enjoy facing the Rangers’ starter. Seattle's offense is actually putting up runs as a unit. Before Tuesday, they had scored 34 runs in their previous six games. We expect a high-scoring game between the Rangers and Mariners this afternoon.