Milwaukee @ Cincinnati preview
Great American Ball Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 24, 2014 ) Milwaukee 5, Cincinnati 0
The Milwaukee Brewers' pitching staff has done all it could to keep the team's playoff hopes afloat, but the offense has done too little — and now it might be too late. The Brewers are on the brink of elimination going into the rubber match of a three-game series at Cincinnati. Milwaukee is four games behind San Francisco for the second National League wild card and will be eliminated with one loss or one Giants win.
Milwaukee's offense showed signs of life in Wednesday's 5-0 win, ending a streak of six straight games with two or fewer runs. Brewers right-hander Yovani Gallardo has a tough act to follow after teammate Kyle Lohse tossed a two-hitter Wednesday, while the Reds send their second straight rookie to the mound with left-hander David Holmberg making his sixth big-league start. The teams have split 18 meetings in 2014; the Reds have not lost the season series to the Brewers since 2006.
TV: 12:35 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Yovani Gallardo (8-10, 3.46 ERA) vs. Reds LH David Holmberg (1-2, 5.25)
Gallardo is coming off a dominant outing at Pittsburgh in which he struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings but didn't get any help from his offense or bullpen in a 4-2 loss. The 28-year-old Mexican is winless in his last six starts, but his last five victories have come on the road. Gallardo is 7-8 with a 4.12 ERA in 24 starts against the Reds including a 3-5 mark in 14 outings at Great American Ball Park.
After a pair of disastrous spot starts earlier in the season, Holmberg has been solid in September, posting a 1.45 ERA in two starts and two relief appearances. The 23-year-old was a tough-luck loser last time out, allowing two runs over six innings in a 2-1 loss at St. Louis. He beat the Brewers on Sept. 13 for his first major-league win, holding them to one run and two hits over six frames.
WALK-OFFS
1. Milwaukee starting pitchers have recorded 10 quality starts in their last 13 games with a 1.39 ERA over that span.
2. Reds CF Billy Hamilton left Wednesday's game with what the team termed a "mild concussion" suffered while robbing Ryan Braun of a home run and is not expected to play Thursday.
3. Brewers C Jonathan Lucroy has 45 doubles as a catcher this season (52 overall), which is tied for the major-league record set by Ivan Rodriguez in 1996.
PREDICTION: Brewers 4, Reds 2