Cincinnati Reds vs. Milwaukee Brewers Betting Preview August 5

The Cincinnati Reds will travel to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers on Friday night at 8:10 pm EST after their off day on Thursday. 

The Reds are coming off another series win against the Marlins this week. This is their second series win in a row. Their first series win was against the Baltimore Orioles.

The Brewers will try to get back on track after getting swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates in three straight games. The Brewers are at the top of the NL Central but only a half a game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Reds are in fourth place with a half a game lead on the Cubs who are in last and a half game behind the Pirates in third.

Let’s look ahead at Friday nights’ matchup featuring the 57-48 Milwaukee Brewers and the 42-62 Cincinnati Reds.

August 5 Reds Betting Odds

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With Milwaukee holding the home field advantage and the much better record, the Brewers hold the -1.5 advantage on the Reds runline. The Brewers are 14.5 games better than the Reds and have won 26 of 46 at home this season.

The total runs for this game is set at 8.5.

The Reds, on the other hand, have struggled on the road this season with their away record of 21-30 this season. They have won six out of their past ten games compared to the Brewers who have only won five in that same span.

Pitching Matchup

Robert Dugger is expected to get his first start for Cincinnati after the Reds’ ace Luis Castillo was traded to the Mariners earlier this week. He has played in three games this season as a middle inning reliever where he has given up three runs in his first two appearances and none in his last appearance on July 7th against Pittsburgh. He has 17 strikeouts and only three walks on the season in his 11.3 innings pitched.

Left-hander Eric Lauer will oppose Dugger for the Brewers. He has a 3.75 ERA with 107 strikeouts and a record of 7-3. Hot got his seventh win in his last game where he gave up only one run in the five innings he pitched. He struck out four and walked three in that contest.

Reds vs. Brewers August 5 Betting Pick

I don’t love Cincinnati's chances in Friday’s game or this series even though they have been playing better baseball recently. You could argue that they have been playing better than the Brewers. With all that put aside, I find it hard to bet on a team with their pitcher getting his first start of the season.

I like the Brewers to win the first and third games of this series with the Reds stealing one away from the division leaders. If the Reds are able to pull off the series, on the other hand, they will be in great shape going into another hard series in New York against the Mets.