The Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers will start a series on Monday in a battle for first place in the National League Central. The Cincinnati Reds have won five straight games and are now 55-46 on the season. The Brewers are coming off a loss on Sunday to the Braves and are 55-45 on the season.
This is the fourth series between the two teams. They played their first series in June, with Milwaukee winning three out of four in Cincinnati. Then, the Reds went to Milwaukee just before the All-Star Break and lost two out of three. After the All-Star Break, they played again, and the Brewers won all three games, scoring just a total of 8 runs.
The Milwaukee Brewers are slight favorites in this game at home. The Brewers are listed at -125, while Cincinnati is at +105. The total for this game between two National League Central divisional rivals is 9.5 runs.
Monday’s Pitching Matchup
Graham Ashcraft will get the start for the Cincinnati Reds. The 25-year-old is in his second season and has made 17 starts this season. He sits with a 5-7 record on the season and a 5.77 earned run average. Ashcraft has thrown well lately, allowing just 5 earned runs over his last four starts, which span 24.2 innings.
Colin Rea will get the nod for the Milwaukee Brewers. Rea is a 33-year-old from Cascade, Iowa. Rea has been in Major League Baseball since 2015. This season, he is 5-4 on the season, with a 4.64 earned run average. Rea has made 15 starts on the season and has struck out 70 batters over 85.1 innings.
Milwaukee Seeking a Spark
The Milwaukee Brewers will see a spark on offense as they remain at home. The Brewers are scoring just 3.5 runs per game over their last 6 overall. Milwaukee has dropped to 23rd in all of Major League Baseball, with 4.2 runs per game. The Brewers are 28th in hits, with 7.6 per game.
Christian Yelich continues to lead the team with a .286 batting average, while Willy Adames has struggled this season at .211. The Brewers have five guys in double figures in home runs, with Adames at 17, Yelich at 14, two guys with 12, and a guy with 10.
Red Hot Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are red-hot right now. The Reds have won five straight games and are scoring more than 5 runs per game during that time. Even in their last loss on July 18th, they scored 11 runs in the game. The Reds have moved into the Top 10 in Major League Baseball with just shy of 5 runs per game on the season.
Elly De La Cruz hit his 5th home run of the season on Sunday, which came one day after Cincinnati batters went back to back to back. The Reds used 7 pitchers in the game and allowed just 2 hits from the 5th inning on.
Brewers Win at Home
Right now, the Milwaukee Brewers have the Cincinnati Reds‘ number. The Brewers’ pitching has figured out how to pitch the Reds. No matter how hot the Reds have been since they quit playing Milwaukee, the Brewers got this one. We are going to take the Brewers to win this game. Betting the Brewers -125 and the under 9.5 runs is the bet to make on Monday.
