This Friday the (54-80) Cincinnati Reds and the (71-65) Milwaukee Brewers will play game one of this three-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 8:10 PM EST inside American Family Field. The last time these two teams matched up, the Cincinnati Reds ended up stealing two of the three games.
The Reds are coming into this one after a tough series with the Chicago Cubs. They split the first two games, as the Reds struggled in game one, but looked outstanding in game two. They finished that game with seven scored runs.
The Milwaukee Brewers are entering this one after losing their previous series to the Colorado Rockies. The Brewers struggled on the mound in the final two games, as they gave up 18 combined runs. They will have to be better on the mound if they want to bounce back in this series.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Cincinnati Reds are currently on the outside looking in at the 2022 NL Wild Card race, as they are currently 5-5 in their last 10 games played. The Reds are still in fourth place in the NL Central, as they are 25.5 games back from the first-place St. Louis Cardinals. They will need to get hot if they want a chance at playing in the postseason.
At the plate, the Reds are scoring 4.39 runs per game and they are hitting .241 as a team. This is the 17th most runs scored per game and the 18th highest overall team batting average. They have struggled to consistently reach base this season, which has made it much more difficult to score. Cincinnati has also realized that they have an average amount of power hidden inside of their lineup. The Reds are hitting 1.02 bombs per game, which is the 16th most in the league. They have multiple guys that can change the game with one swing of the bat. I also expect the Reds to stay conservative on the base paths. They have only stolen 53 bases this season, which is the 23rd least. They have allowed their bats to move runners into scoring position all season.
According to MLB.com, the Reds will be starting Nick Lodolo on the mound. He is currently 3-5 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. In his last start, he pitched for 6.0 innings and he only gave up two hits and zero earned runs. He shut down the Rockies while he was on the mound. Lodolo hasn't been great on the road, though. He is currently 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA outside of his home ballpark. The Reds bullpen has also had struggles this season, as they have the highest bullpen ERA in the league. As a team, the Reds are allowing 5.22 runs per game, which is the fourth most.