Happy 4th of July, Nation! The Cincinnati Reds (40-44) will go for a series win against the first place Milwaukee Brewers (46-41) this afternoon at 2:10 PM. The Reds have crept with 4.5 games of first place in the NL Central, and they are just 3.5 back from the second wild-card spot. The Reds are now 11-6 in their last 17 games against the Cubs and Brewers.
Starting Pitchers
Cincinnati Reds All-Star Luis Castillo continues to get good results despite walking way too many batters. Castillo finished the month of June with 20 walks in 28.2 IP. That is a recipe for disaster and something that Castillo must improve on if he wants to avoid a second half regression.
Castillo dominated the Brewers in his first start of the season in April (7.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 9 K), but he has got beat around in his two short starts since: 6.1 IP, 10 H, 8 ER, 3 HR, 8 BB, 8 K. Overall, he has a 4.08 ERA in 7 career starts against the Brewers (19 BB, 51 K) and a 8.31 ERA in 3 starts at Miller Park.
Brandon Woodruff is having a fantastic season for the Brewers. Woodruff’s 2.8 fWAR is tied for 4th best in the NL. His only start this season against the Reds came last Sunday, and it was a good one: 7.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 HR, 1 BB, 12 K. Woodruff has a career 5.93 ERA in 4 appearances against the Reds (2 starts).
Starting Lineups
Cincinnati Reds Starting Lineup
- Jesse Winker – Left Field
- Joey Votto – First Base
- Eugenio Suarez – Third Base
- Yasiel Puig – Right Field
- Derek Dietrich – Second Base
- Nick Senzel – Center Field
- Jose Peraza – Shortstop
- Luis Castillo – Starting Pitcher
- Curt Casali – Catcher
Milwaukee Brewers Starting Lineup
- Yasmani Grandal – Catcher
- Christian Yelich – Right Field
- Mike Moustakas – Third Base
- Keston Hiura – Second Base
- Eric Thames – First Base
- Tyler Saladino – Left Field
- Ben Gamel – Center Field
- Orlando Arcia – Shortstop
- Kyle Woodruff – Starting Pitcher
News and notes
The Cincinnati #Reds have called up Josh VanMeter from Triple-A Louisville and placed left-handed reliever Amir Garrett on the injured listhttps://t.co/hiwZwwWymY pic.twitter.com/w9uRqVPxXK
— Doug Gray (@dougdirt24) July 4, 2019
Left-handed pitcher Alex Wood is set to begin a rehab assignment with the Louisville Bats on Saturday in Columbus.
Conclusion
This is a huge game for the Reds. The difference in a win or loss is being 3.5 back or 5.5 back in the division. The Reds playoff odds have cracked > 10% at Fangraphs, which is a far cry from last year’s 0.0% at this point in the season. The Reds have got me believing they can hang around and make this a special 2019 campaign. Go Reds!