Reds vs. Brewers Pick
Are the Milwaukee Brewers going to stay afloat in the NL Central Wild Card race with a win Thursday afternoon over the Cincinnati Reds? First pitch is at 4:10PM EST.
Oddsmakers at sports book Bovada.lv have listed the Brewers as a -160 favorite to win on the moneyline. The Reds are a +140 underdog and the over-under is 9.5.
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On the mound for the Reds will be Sal Romano (5-7, 4.43 ERA), while the Brewers will go with Brent Suter (3-2, 3.29). Romano has a 1.46 WHIP with 66 strikeouts in 81 1/3 innings. He allowed five earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts and four walks in four innings during a 5-4 home loss to the Red Sox his last start. Romano has a 3.86 ERA in 37 1/3 road innings. Suter carries a 1.27 WHIP with 60 strikeouts over 76 2/3 innings. He allowed one earned run on six hits with two strikeouts and no walks over 5 1/3 innings in a 4-3 home win over the Cubs his last start. Suter has a 3.64 ERA in 42 home innings.
Cincinnati comes in at 67-91 overall and 28-49 on the road, while Milwaukee is 83-75 and 43-37 at home. The Reds have won six of the last 10 meetings and the total has gone over six times.
On Wednesday, Cincinnati dealt the Brewers a crushing blow to their shot at the second NL Wild Card spot as it downed the hosts 6-0. Joey Votto finished 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, two runs and two RBIs. Tucker Barnhart added a solo home run. Homer Bailey earned the win as he threw seven shutout innings with four hits allowed, four strikeouts and three walks. Eric Thames was 1-for-2 with two walks to lead the Brewers before leaving the game in the eighth inning after fouling a ball off his shin. Brandon Woodruff suffered the loss as he allowed six earned runs over 2 1/3 innings.
The Brewers are feeling the pressure in desperation mode, now trailing the Rockies by 2.5 games with four games left in the season. They can trim that number to two games today as Colorado is idle. But with Thames’ availability uncertain and a team that seems to be resigned to its fate, we’re going to go with Romano and the Reds to pull off another upset.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: CINCINNATI REDS +140