Check out the Betway Insider's MLB predictions page for the best bets throughout the 2021 season.

Milwaukee Brewers to beat Pittsburgh Pirates

The Brewers have been on a tear of late, winning nine straight to go top of the NL Central at the halfway stage of the season.

Their winning streak is the longest current run in baseball, and includes a 7-2 win in the series opener against divisional rivals Pittsburgh.

They should have little issue following that up in game two of this series against a Pirates team that has won just 29 games this season – the third-worst record in the majors.

Adrian Houser will take to the mound for Milwaukee. He has an underwhelming 4-5 record and 4.16 ERA on the season, but the Brewers have won the last four games he has started.

Starting for Pittsburgh is JT Brubaker, whose 4-7 record doesn’t really reflect the consistency shown in his 3.82 ERA.

The Pirates simply do not provide enough run support for their pitchers – they rank second-bottom for runs this season – and that is likely to be the story again here.

Washington Nationals to beat Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers claimed the first of this three-game set on Thursday, with rain ending things when they were 6-2 up after five.

Washington has a great chance to hit straight back on Friday, though, with Max Scherzer set to start.

The future Hall of Famer is 7-4 on the season with a 2.14 ERA, and is coming off a long run of brilliant performances, having given up no more than two runs in each of his last 10 starts.

Washington’s offense has looked good recently, too, and they were ahead on Thursday before a five-run fifth from LA.

Starting for the Dodgers is Julio Urias, who has nine wins on the season but has stuttered of late, giving up 27 hits and 15 earned runs over his last five starts.

With both offenses looking pretty even at the moment, it’s worth backing the veteran Scherzer to come out on top in this quality pitching battle.

Los Angeles Angels to beat Baltimore Orioles

The Angels are coming into this after an impressive 2-1 series win at Yankees Stadium, but remain two games below the .500 mark on the season.

This three-game set against Baltimore is a good opportunity to climb above that, though, with the Orioles owning the second-worst record in the bigs at 27-54.

Baltimore’s starting pitcher will be Keegan Akins, and he has struggled recently to say the least.

Akins has taken a loss in four straight, giving up 22 runs in that time, and is unlikely to get a reprieve against an Angels offense that ranks in the top five in MLB for average and home runs.

Griffin Canning will take to the mound for LA. He is 5-4 on the season with a 4.95 ERA, and has given up no more than three runs over his last three starts.

Oakland Athletics to beat Boston Red Sox

Oakland is just about clinging on at the top of the AL West, and now faces a tough three-game set against a red-hot Boston.

The Red Sox have won seven straight coming into the series, including a 15-1 destruction of Kansas City on Thursday, but that run could come to an end here.

The Athletics took two of three against the Sox at Fenway earlier this season, and look to have a slight pitching advantage in game one at the Coliseum.

Frankie Montas will start for the A’s on Friday having gone 7-7 with a 4.72 ERA on the season. Those numbers aren’t great, but he is coming off a solid two-hit performance over five innings in San Francisco.

Eduardo Rodriguez will be on the mound for Boston, and although he is 6-4 on the season, his 5.83 ERA suggests that is more down to offensive support than anything else.

Rodriguez has given up at least five hits in his last 12 starts, and if he allows this Oakland team to get runners on base it could be a short outing.

Visit Betway's MLB betting page.