Garion Thorne gives you a preview, prediction and pick for tonight’s game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Detroit Tigers.
It appears that the Brewers are back on track.
After a six-game losing streak earlier this month, Milwaukee has rebounded to take five of its past six contests, including a lopsided 12-4 victory on Tuesday evening against the Tigers. Brice Turang continued his torrid start to the season in the win, picking up a team-high four RBI. For 2026 as a whole, Turang is now slashing .307/.430/.560 with a 175 wRC+ and a .428 expected wOBA. If not for the presence of Shohei Ohtani in the National League, this is what an MVP candidate looks like, people.
Can Turang keep swinging a hot bat? Or will Detroit find more success in the second game of this series? Let’s preview this interleague clash and make a couple picks on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Brewers vs. Tigers prediction, preview
Top prospects have been a major storyline with the Tigers in 2026. Whether it’s the sterling performance of the new kid on the block (Kevin McGonigle) or the troubling struggles of a former No. 1 overall pick (Spencer Torkelson), Detroit’s ability to develop talent will be the defining arc of its season. However, let’s not forget about Casey Mize, yet another No. 1 overall pick of this franchise. It’s sort of shocking that the right-hander is now in his sixth MLB campaign, but this might be the best we’ve seen Mize at the professional level. Over four starts and 22.2 innings of work, Mize has maintained a 2.78 ERA and a 3.14 FIP. Most encouraging of all is a career-high 26.6% strikeout rate that’s supported by a career-high 12.3% swinging strike rate. If Mize can begin to consistently miss bats, he might have the makings of the top-end rotation piece that the Tigers thought they were getting all the way back in 2018. Or, at the very least, it could make Mize a rich man heading into his upcoming free agency.
On the other side of this matchup, we find Chad Patrick. I want to take nothing away from Patrick, who has only allowed two earned runs over his first 19.0 innings of the season, but regression is on the horizon for the former fourth-round pick. His .241 BABIP will not sustain, especially if Patrick continues along with his fifth percentile strikeout rate (12.0%). That’s just too much contact allowed to keep getting this lucky. Same goes for his 97.1% strand rate — the third-highest mark among all pitchers with at least three starts made in 2026. Patrick proved his worth in his rookie campaign, mustering a 3.53 ERA and an identical 3.53 FIP. He’s good. But he’s not this good.
Still, he might need to be that good if we wants to pick up a win on Wednesday. Even with their 12-run outburst last night, the Brewers have had a hard time scoring runs as of late, as the club is starting to feel the void left by Christian Yelich (groin) and Jackson Chourio (hand). Over the past two weeks, Milwaukee ranks 26th in average (.216), 26th in wRC+ (86) and 27th in ISO (.115). For the entire season, the Brewers’ .227 expected batting average is the lowest mark in the NL. This is not a team that is going to score a lot of runs very often, until it gets healthy again.
Brewers vs. Tigers pick, best bet
Both starting pitchers have been great to begin the season, while neither lineup is particularly stout. The Brewers own the NL’s lowest expected batting average (.227).
Strong Lean: Chad Patrick Under 4.5 Strikeouts (-146)
Patrick has a fifth percentile strikeout rate (12.0%) and has yet to exceed this prop in an outing in 2026. Meanwhile, the Tigers own the league’s second-lowest strikeout rate over the past two weeks (18.5%).