NL Central Division rivals will clash on Thursday afternoon, when the Cincinnati Reds battle the Milwaukee Brewers from American Family Field. The Reds (69-59) are three games above .500 on the road and hold a half-game lead over San Diego for the final NL Wild Card spot. Last night, Cincinnati OF Nick Castellanos hit his 23rd home run of the season during a 4-0 road loss against Milwaukee.
Thirty-one year old righty Sonny Gray (5-6 4.15 ERA) will take the mound for the Reds in this matchup. Last time out, Gray allowed just one hit across seven shutout frames during a 5-3 home victory versus Miami.
The Milwaukee Brewers are riding a four-game winning streak and hold a 9.5 game lead over Cincinnati for first place. On Wednesday, All-Star SP Brandon Woodruff improved to 8-7 by striking out ten batters across six shutout frames. Christian Yelich scored a pair of runs for the Brewers, who improved to 78-49 on the season.
The Brewers will counter with thirty-three year old southpaw Brett Anderson (4-7 4.15 ERA) on Thursday. Milwaukee has lost Anderson’s last three starts and he has given up ten runs over his last 13 plus innings.
