The small-market Brewers traveled to Los Angeles to start the second half and greeted the free-spending Dodgers the same way they did before the break in Milwaukee, once again pulverizing the club with the sport’s highest payroll.

Their lead in the NL Central grew to 6 ½ games on June 17. They haven't even been playing poorly lately -- they are still on pace to win 97 games -- but the lead has dwindled. In fact, the Cubs and Brewers are tied for first place.

And it boosted them to a season-best No. 3 position in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings. They supplanted the Dodgers in that spot, a battle that would seem an unfair fight on paper. After all, the Brewers tote a payroll of around $120 million;

A California native, Melton played college baseball at San Diego State and was selected by the Tigers in the fourth round of the 2022 MLB Draft. He is currently ranked as the Tigers’ No. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline. Scouting reports praise his mid-90s fastball and deep arsenal, which includes a cutter, curveball, slider and changeup.

For Triple-A Toledo, Detroit Tigers right-hander Troy Melton posted a 2.72 ERA with nine walks and 56 strikeouts across 36⅓ innings in eight games.

See all the player props bets with current odds for the MLB matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Twins on }{ day_of_week model.date }}, July 21,

Its Monday, July 21 and the Twins (48-51) are in Los Angeles to take on the scuffling Dodgers (58-42). David Festa is slated to take the mound for Minnesota against Shohei Ohtani for Los Angeles. The Dodgers continue their homestand after a weekend that saw them lose three straight to the Brewers.

Abner Uribe retired Mookie Betts with the bases loaded for the final out, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 for their 10th straight victory

Isaac Collins and Joey Ortiz hit home runs, William Contreras added a two-run double, and the visiting Milwaukee Brewers extended their winning streak to a season-best nine games while remaining perfect against the Los Angeles Dodgers with an 8-7 victory on Saturday.