For much of the season, the Cincinnati Reds have led the NL Central. Much of the media has been skeptical of their success, pointing to their strong record against weak teams and poor record against good teams. They then proceeded to go a major league-best 19-8 in August to establish a comfortable seven-game lead for first place. On Wednesday, the Reds look to continue their August success into September by facing the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Reds are listed as heavy favorites in baseball odds at -180 with the Mets paying +155. The over/under is 7.5.
Cincinnati Reds (77-55, 40-27 home) look headed for their first winning season since going 85-77 in 2000. They have been led by the strong play of first baseman Joey Votto. Votto is a serious contender for the Triple Crown, as he leads the NL in batting average (.327) and RBIs (97) and is in third place in home runs (32).
Johnny Cueto (12-4, 3.49) will be Cincinnati’s starting pitcher on Wednesday. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 2.97 ERA in six career starts against the Brewers. In his last start, he gave up one run in eight innings in a 7-1 win over the Chicago Cubs.
The Milwaukee Brewers (62-70, 29-35) will go into Wednesday night’s game trying to avoid a sweep. They lost Monday’s opener 5-4 in the 10th inning and dropped Tuesday’s contest 8-4. The Brewers are 1-6 against the Reds in 2010 and have dropped ten out of the last eleven games between the two.
Chris Narveson (10-7, 5.52 ERA) will take the mound for the Brewers. The left-hander gave up two runs in seven innings of a 7-2 win over Pittsburgh in his last start, giving him his tenth win of the season. In his only other start against the Reds, he was the losing pitcher after giving up three runs in five innings of a 10-2 loss on July 28.
