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Free Baseball Predictions: San Francisco Giants vs. Milwaukee Brewers Preview May 22

Giants vs Brewers MLB Betting + Handicapping Picks

The Milwaukee Brewers halted a four-game losing skid on Sunday, and will now look to get back on the rails during their three-game series against the visiting San Francisco Giants in Game 2 tonight.

SF: Matt Cain (3-2, 2.67 ERA ) v MIL: Shaun Marcum (2-2, 3.31 ERA)
Date/Time: Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 8:10 PM ET
Venue: Miller Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Broadcast: CSBA (San Francisco), FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
Spread: Brewers -104
Over/Under: 6.5

Matchup | Preview

Five games out of the lead in the NL Central heading into the series on Monday. The Brewers did some juggling with their lineup, sticking catcher Jonathan Lucroy in the cleanup spot.

Lucroy responded by, well, cleaning up. Knocking in an impressive career-high seven RBIs including his first grand slam among his two homers in a 16-4 annihilation of the dismal Minnesota Twins.

Could this be a reason from Brewers fans to get excited?

The end may be in sight, as not only did the move boost Lucroy’s production, but also NL MVP Ryan Braun’s too. Braun had three hits and four RBIs Sunday and carried a nine-game hitting streak into the opener on Monday after going 8-for-12 in the three game series against the Twins.

But now the Brewers must once against face Giants pitcher Matt Cain who owned them in his first appearance this season, allowing just two earned runs over seven innings, while striking out 10. He got the no-decision in the outing as the Giants don’t always provide him with a lot of run support though.

Still, Cain continues to mow down batters, and has struck out 54 batters and walked just 10 so far this season with a solid 2.67 ERA.

The 27-yeard righty got his third win of the season on Thursday, giving up four earned runs off eight hits–including a two-run shot to Matt Holliday in the third–to the Cardinals over six innings of work. Cain would fan six batters and issue one walk before turning the ball over to the bullpen. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]

Meanwhile, the Giants had won three straight heading into Monday’s opener, but lost just their second game in their last eight, dropping the finale to Oakland on Sunday.

One of the biggest reasons for the Giants recent success, is the play of left fielder Melky Cabrera, who went 8-for-11 against the Athletics with his major league-high 20th multiple-hit game.

Cabrera’s effort has helped inch San Francisco back into second place in the NL West, seven games behind the red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers.

Thirty-year old Shaun Marcum will start opposite of Cain in an effort to halt Cabrera and the rest of the Giants lineup that put up 13 runs in their prior three-game series with the Brewers earlier this month.

However, he will have to do much better than his nine-hit outing that resulted in a 4-0 loss to the Houston Astros his last time on the mound.

The loss dropped Marcum to 2-2 on the year for the Brewers, with 3.31 ERA.

In his first meeting with San Francisco this season, Marcum gave up three runs over six innings of work and got the no-decision.

Matt’s Free Prediction: Milwaukee– This has all the makings of a pretty good pitching duel. However, the Brewers bats seemed to have awakened and I expect them to be just the thing that makes the difference in a close one here.

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By Cappers Picks

Articles on CappersPicks.com are written by Q (the Head Honcho) at Cappers Picks or by our resident "in house" handicapper Razor Ray Monohan! Enjoy the free picks folks! "Pad that bankroll one day at a time!"