NL Central Showdown: Cincinnati Reds at Milwaukee Brewers Betting Preview

One of the most critical series left in the National League Central race begins on Tuesday at 8:10 PM EST as the Cincinnati Reds travel to Miller Park to take on the Milwaukee Brewers for a three-game series. The Reds (69-57) will look to cut into the Brewers' (76-49) lead in the division as the Brewers are ahead of the Reds by 7.5 games. 

They are both 7-3 in their last 10 games. This could be Cincinnati’s last hope of winning the division, as this will be their final meeting of the season. A series loss could be an insurmountable feat to come back from.

The Reds will come into this game on Tuesday with a game lead against the Padres, who just lost their last 3 series to the Phillies, Rockies, and Diamondbacks. St. Louis, who is also in the wild card race, has dropped games recently, as well. They are now 4.5 games back from the Reds in the 2nd wild card spot.

Season Series

The overall series is tied at 8-8 as games 17-19 take place this week to close out the season series. The last series resulted in a Brewers sweep of the Reds right after the All-Star break.

Odds

The moneyline for Tuesday’s game favors the first-place Brewers at home at -263 as opposed to the Reds at +185. The runline is +1.5(-122) for the Brewers and -1.5(-111) for the Reds. The over/under for total runs in the game is +/- 7.

The Brewers are 70-55 against the spread this season compared to the Reds, who are 62-64. The total runs has hit the under 5 out of the last 6 Reds’ games. The under has also hit in the Reds’ last 6 games playing the Brewers at Miller Park.

On the flip side, the total has hit the over in 4 of Milwaukee’s last 5, but the under in 6 of Milwaukee’s last 9 against Cincinnati.

Pitching Matchup

The Reds’ Tyler Mahle(10-4) will face Corbin Burnes(8-4) of the Brewers on Tuesday. Mahle has an ERA of 3.78 with 160 strikeouts compared to Burnes’ ERA of 2.13 with a whopping 175 strikeouts. 

The last time out, Tyler Mahle pitched 5 innings, letting up 5 runs on 8 hits and striking out 5 batters against the Cubs. Burnes pitched against the Cardinals for 6 innings giving up 0 runs and only 2 hits with 3 strikeouts.

Burnes will be a tough pitcher to face for this Reds’ offense. They are hoping to continue their hot streak after their sweep of the Marlins.

Injury Updates

Nick Senzel and Jesse Winker continue to be held out for injuries. Winker is expected to be out until at least September 3rd. Tejay Antone is set to return back from the 10-day injured list for the series opener against the Brewers on Tuesday.

Three recent updates on the Brewers’ injury list include Angel Perdomo, Daniel Vogelbach, and Eduardo Escobar. Perdomo (RP) is expected to be back on August 27th at the earliest. Vogelbach (1B) is expected to return September 1, and Escobar (3B) is expected to be back for this series against the Reds.

The Reds’ Hunt for October

Although the Reds have now secured a wild card spot, they are looking to move in closer to the divisional race. They took care of business against the Marlins, getting a much-needed sweep. They will be looking to continue that momentum into this series against a Brewers pitching staff that has been exceptional all season long.

Brewers Fight to Keep First Place

The Brewers have been in first for most of this season, and there has never been a huge second-place contender. They will be looking to end any hope for the Redlegs to make it a race in the Central to stay away from the wild card spot. Their pitching and hitting production will need to continue as they have one of the toughest schedules remaining in the majors.

Key to a Reds Win

Although the Reds played a subpar team in the Marlins, the pitching staff did a better job of holding their opponent to fewer runs, only giving up 9 to the Marlins in the 4 game series. They will need to build on this improvement against a much better ball club in the Brewers. If the pitching comes around for the Reds, they will be dangerous come playoff time.

Another issue the Reds have dealt with is injuries. Their main focus needs to be to get their players like Winker and Senzel healthy so that they can add depth as we get later into the season. Keeping the team healthy will be a key to a series win against the Brewers, and hopefully, many more series wins to come.