Cincinnati Reds vs. Milwaukee Brewers
The Reds enter tonight playing to the tune of a 55-46 record. They trail the Brewers by just 0.5 games for first place in the NL Central.
The Reds entered the all-star break atop of the division but struggled to begin the second half of the season.
The Brewers entered Cincinnati and swept the Reds on the first weekend after the all-star break. Since then, the Reds have played much better as they enter play winners of five games in a row.
The recent hot streak has put the Reds back into the postseason as they hold first place in the NL Wildcard. The race remains tight in the wildcard, with five teams separated by one game.
Elly De La Cruz is the young star of this Reds team. De La Cruz does something new every week that makes you scratch your head.
De La Cruz has been one of the top prospects in all of baseball, and he has shown us why this season.
Matt McClain is another one of the young stars for the Reds. McClain is hitting .305 on the season and enters this series red-hot, as he is 8-22 over the past week.
Joey Votto is the veteran presence of this team. He has produced a borderline hall-of-fame career and now gets the opportunity to play second fiddle to these young stars. Votto dealt with injuries early on in the season, but since he has returned, he is batting just .186 on the campaign.
The main reason for the success of the Reds has been their bats. The Reds rank 9th in baseball averaging 4.92 runs per game.
Tonight the Reds will send Alabama-born righty Graham Ashcraft to the mound. Ashcraft enters play with a record of 5-7 and an ERA of 5.77.
Milwaukee will look to rebound after losing two of their three games vs. the Braves this weekend. Losing a series to the Braves is not something that they should hang their head on, as the Braves appear to be the best team in all of baseball.
Milwaukee will have an opportunity to open up their lead in the Central and get some breathing room in the standings.
Christian Yelich has been the star of this Brewers lineup. The former MVP has bounced back nicely after struggling in his past two seasons.
Yellich is hitting .288 on the year and recently went over the century mark for hits on the season (105). The Brewers will need the two-time all-star to continue his production if they want to go on a run come the postseason.
The Brewers would love to improve on their overall numbers as a team from an offensive standpoint. The Brewers rank 25th in baseball, scoring just 4.14 runs per game.
Pitching has been the team's strength as the Brewers enter play tonight, ranked 10th in baseball, representing a team ERA of 3.96.
Veteran right-hander Colin Rea will get the ball tonight and look to improve on that team ERA. Rea is 5-4 on the year with an ERA of 4.64
Pick: Reds ML (+102, FanDuel)
Graham Ashcraft has pitched better on the road this season. Ashcraft has an ERA on the road of 4.42 compared to a home ERA of 6.71.
Ashscraft enters play, playing his best baseball of the season. Ashcraft has allowed just four earned runs in the month of July across eighteen innings.
Colin Rea has struggled against this current Reds lineup. The Reds have a lifetime average of .333 vs. Rea in 42 at-bats.
One guy who has seen Rea well is left-handed hitting outfielder Will Benson. Benson is 3-4 vs Rea with a home run and a triple.
Rea has struggled to pitch in Milwaukee this season, as he reps an ERA of 5.31 at home. Rea now has to face a Reds lineup that have hit him well in their appearances.
The numbers point to the Reds tonight on the moneyline.
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