New York at Milwaukee

New York enters this series with a losing record that's not close to competitive, and Milwaukee owns the best record in the National League, so there's no dressing up the gap between these two rosters. But the pitching matchup tonight cuts against the standings. Zac Thornton has made just three big-league starts, and the results have been outstanding: a 2.60 ERA, and his last time out he threw seven scoreless innings against a Boston lineup that's been the hottest offense in baseball. Brandon Sproat is the bigger concern for Milwaukee. He's walked 39 batters and hit nine more across 82 innings this season, and that wildness caught up to him again last weekend in Pittsburgh, when he hit three batters and needed just three innings to lose control of the outing. This is also Sproat's first start against the team that traded him away, which adds an edge that cuts either direction. New York doesn't need to win this game outright, just keep it inside a run and a half, and a rookie pitching like this against a control-limited arm gives them a real path to that number. New York is the right side on the runline tonight.