[yisman]

Milwaukee (Suppan) +
Milwaukee beat Tim Lincecum last season the only time they faced off against him, scoring five runs in six innings against the eventual Cy Young winner. The Brewers went 6-0 against the Giants last season and although San Francisco played well late in the year, Milwaukee has been a great early season team in recent years. The Brewers won 18 more games than the Giants did last season and as Cliff Lee proved yesterday, last year’s Cy Young award does not mean much on opening day, although it does create a favorable go-against price.
San Francisco finished seven games below .500 at home last season while Milwaukee was one of the few teams with a winning road record in the National League. The Brewers lost some pitching but the lineup remains one of the better units in the league and the bullpen should be improved. Jeff Suppan had an up-and-down season last year but he was a great April pitcher last season with four quality starts including a win in his first start of the season. Suppan was sharp this spring with 17 strikeouts and only six walks while posting a very respectable 3.54 ERA.
Lincecum had very average numbers this spring and he faces a steeper line that all but a few games all of last season. Last season Lincecum was actually a superior pitcher away from home and the Giants have a lot of question marks with unproven players in several key spots and a suspect bullpen. Lincecum is being turned into a big-name star player but he still plays for a lousy team while the Brewers were a playoff team last year and feature a great lineup that can produce runs in a hurry.