Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers Series Preview

Well, the Cincinnati Reds may be out of it, (they are in fact the first team to be eliminated this year), but there are still plenty of reasons to tune in and watch the Reds. First off, the September call-ups are upon us, and we can get a chance to look at the future of the Reds. The young rookie rotation is showing a lot of promise, and Anthony DeSclafani and Raisel Iglesias in particular are giving Reds fans hope for the coming years. And last but certainly not least, Joey Votto looks to be in his prime right now and is an absolute joy to watch. The Reds might not be in title contention any more, but Votto should certainly be in the mix with the likes of Bryce Harper and Paul Goldschmidt for the 2015 NL MVP.

Game 1
9/4 7:10 p.m. EST
MIL: Matt Garza (6-14, 5.56)
CIN: Keyvius Sampson (2-2, 6.43)

The Reds are coming back home to Great American Ball Park and will start the home stand with a divisional game that will see Garza and Sampson start for the Brewers and Reds respectively. Garza vs. Sampson is a rematch from the last time these two teams met, in a game that saw Garza only pitch 3 2/3 innings while giving up seven runs to the Reds.

Sampson pitched only slightly better that game, allowing five earned runs in 3 2/3 innings, in a wild game that ended as a 12-9 victory for the Reds. Scooter Gennett has been perfect at the plate against Sampson, going 3-for-3 with two RBIs, but look for Jason Bourgeois, Jay Bruce, Todd Frazier and Skip Schumaker to have big nights off Garza, as all have batting averages north of .300 off the Brewers’ starter.

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Game 2
9/5 1:10 p.m. EST
MIL: Wily Peralta (5-8, 4.30)
CIN: John Lamb (0-3, 5.24)

Game 2 will feature another rematch fromm the last series and will hopefully see Lamb finally get his first professional win. Lamb seems to be getting better with each start, and had the first quality start of his career in his last game against the Brewers. Despite receiving the loss in that game, Lamb pitched six innings and gave up just two runs while striking out eight Brew Crew batters.

Peralta earned the win in that game, and typically has success against many Reds hitters, but Schumaker and Votto have teed off against Peralta in the past, and will look to continue that trend in this game.

Game 3
9/6 1:10 p.m. EST
MIL: Jimmy Nelson (11-10, 3.70)
CIN: Michael Lorenzen (3-8, 5.66)

Game 3 is the only game in this series that won’t feature a pitching rematch from the previous series but will feature Brewers’ starter, Nelson, starting against the Reds for the fourth time this season. Nelson has been up and down in his starts against the Reds, and its hard to predict how Cincinnati will do against him. In his first start against the Reds this year, he went head-to-head with Johnny Cueto, and went eight innings while only giving up one run and earned a no-decision. In his next start, just a week later, he had a disastrous outing, going just 2 1/3 innings and allowing seven runs. In three starts, the Reds have a combined .250 batting average against Nelson, with six extra-base hits in 72 at-bats.

Lorenzen is pitching in his second game since return to the Reds and will try to improve upon his performance in his last start where he pitched 4 2/3 innings and allowed five runs to the Chicago Cubs. Lorenzen will be starting against the Brewers for the third time this year after going 0-2 against Milwaukee and allowing six runs in two starts. Lorenzen will have to be particularly careful when pitching to Ryan Braun, Adam Lind and Jonathan Lucroy who all have batting averages of .400 or better against him.

Next: Who will the Reds have in left field in 2016?

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