The Cincinnati Reds will host the Milwaukee Brewers in the second game of a three-game series on Tuesday. This head-to-head matchup is one of the most critical in MLB entering the final week of the regular season.
The Reds are 27-27 battling with the 26-26 Brewers and San Francisco Giants for the eighth and final National League playoff spot.
Heading into this series, the Reds hold a 4-3 edge head-to-head in the season series against the Brewers.
Brewers on four game winning streak
The Milwaukee Brewers won their fourth straight game on Sunday with a 5-3 home win over the Royals. Milwaukee will end their season with three games against the Reds and five games against the Cardinals, all away from Miller Park.
Offensively the Brewers rank 23rd with a .228 batting average and 20th scoring 4.4 runs per game. Among players with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title, Avisail Garica leads the team with an underwhelming .250 AVG and just 15 RBI. Keston Hiura has been the team's standout offensive performer, with a team-leading 13 home runs and 32 RBI, despite only batting .220. Chrisitan Yelich, the 2018 National League MVP, is only hitting .215 this season, below his usual standards, but is second on the team with 11 home runs, and third with 21 RBI. Among players who do not have enough plate appearances to qualify among the league leaders, Ryan Braun is batting .264 with 25 RBI this season, and Jed Gyorko has a .272 AVG with eight home runs.
Brett Anderson, a left-handed throwing 12-year veteran, will get the start on Tuesday. Anderson is 3-3 with a 4.38 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and 24:9 strikeout to walk ratio in 30 innings pitched on the season. In Anderson's career, he is 3-2 in six appearances and five starts against Cincinnati with a 4.88 ERA and 1.50 WHIP.
Reds take series from White Sox
The Reds won for the seventh time in their last eight games with a 7-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. Cincinnati now only trails St. Louis by one game for second place in the National League Central; however, the Cardinals do have an extra four games to play than the Reds do.
Sonny Gray, who is 5-3 with a 3.94 ERA this season, will start on Tuesday. Gray has made eight career starts against Milwaukee and is 3-2 with a 2.56 ERA and 1.27 WHIP.
The Reds bats are hitting an MLB worst .211 on the season, and 28th, scoring just under four runs per game. However, the Reds have been able to generate a good portion of offense from the long ball, ranking 7th in MLB with 80 home runs this season.
Jesse Winker leads the Reds with a .261 average and has added 11 home runs and 22 RBI. Eugenio Suarez has a team-high 31 RBI and is tied for the team lead of 13 homers with Nick Castellano,s who is second with 30 RBI.
Notable Trends
- Reds are 1-4 in their last 5 games vs. a left-handed starter
- Brewers are 4-0 in their last 4 games overall
