There was a time not long ago where we would not be looking forward to a road trip. There was also a time not long ago when we would look forward to playing the Reds. My how the times have changed.
Yovani Gallardo (4-2, 3.09 ERA) will be on the bump for the Crew tonight. Yo has been pretty consistent all season. Consistently holding the other team's offense down and consistently taking a lot of pitches to do it. His previous start was more of the same: 6 IP, 2 ER against the Braves. In his eight starts this season, Yo has allowed more than 2 runs only twice and his sparkly ERA is second on the staff only to Todd Coffey. In his career against the Reds, Gallardo is 2-1 with a 3.90 ERA. Only Brandon Phillips has faced Gallardo more than 10 times; in 13 ABs he's hitting .308 with one homer and 3 RBI's against the Brewers ace.
Johnny Cueto (2-1, 4.07 ERA) will be leading the charge for the Reds. Cueto is coming off his best start of the season, a complete game one-hitter against the Pirates. This season and throughout his career, Cueto has been a lot like Gallardo, always needing a lot of pitches to get the job done. His last start was the only time this season that he made it past six innings. Three Brewers have faced Cueto more than 10 times.
PA | Slash Line | |
Ryan Braun | 15 | .143/.200/.214 |
Prince Fielder | 15 | .429/.467/.1.071 (!) |
Corey Hart | 15 | .308/.400/.769 |
Via Tom Haudricourt, the Crew line-up goes like this:
2B Rickie Weeks
SS Alcides Escobar
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
3B Casey McGehee
RF Corey Hart
C Gregg Zaun
CF Jody Gerut
RHP Yovani Gallardo
In the bullpen:
Mitch Stetter pitched one inning (14 pitches) yesterday and .1 inning (3 pitches) Saturday
Todd Coffey pitched .2 innings (18 pitches) yesterday
Carlos Villanueva pitched .1 innings (11 pitches) yesterday and 1 inning (16 pitches) Saturday
Trevor Hoffman pitchesd1 inning (7 pitches) yesterday
Claudio Vargas pitched .1 inning (27 pitches) Saturday
Jeff Suppan pitched .2 innings (10 pitches) Saturday
John Axford pitched 1 inning (17 pitches) Saturday
Manny Parra, who will be starting tomorrow, will not be available
Go Brewers!