So, if the Brewers can go 9-0 against the Reds the rest of the way, they'd only need to be four games better than the Reds in other games (and eight games better than the Cardinals overall) to win the NL Central.
It starts tonight.
Current Series
3 game series vs Reds @ Great American Ball Park
Milwaukee Brewers Monday, Aug 30, 2010, 6:10 PM CDT Randy Wolf vs Homer Bailey Clear. Winds blowing from right to left field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around .
Complete Coverage > | ||
| Tue 08/31 | 6:10 PM CDT | |
| Wed 09/01 | 6:10 PM CDT | |
Ok, so it's pretty unlikely that a Brewer postseason run actually starts tonight. But nonetheless, follow us after the jump for tonight's lineup, pitching matchup and more!
Homer Bailey (4.83 ERA, 4.05 FIP) is 24 years old and is pitching his fourth consecutive partial season with the Reds. He's spent time in the minors in each of the last four seasons, and in 2010 he's also spent some time on the DL with shoulder inflammation. In three starts since his return to the big leagues, Bailey has posted a 2.95 ERA over 18.1 innings, with two very nice starts and one near disaster (5.1 IP, 9 H, 5 ER) his last time out.
Bailey works in the low 90's (92.7 mph average fastball) but is using his fastball less often this season: He had thrown it 71% of the time in previous seasons, but it's down to 67% in 2010. He also has a slider, curve and split that each account for between 10-12% of his pitches. The fastball, curve and slider have all been above average. Two Brewers have faced him ten times or more:
| Player | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Ryan Braun | 12 | .182 | .250 | .545 | .795 |
| Prince Fielder | 11 | .375 | .545 | .875 | 1.420 |
He'll face Randy Wolf (4.74 ERA, 5.18 FIP). I could tell you about how Wolf has been better lately, but I'll let Jack Moore do it instead.
Wolf has faced four Reds ten times or more:
| Player | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Joey Votto | 16 | .286 | .375 | .357 | .732 |
| Scott Rolen | 13 | .300 | .462 | .300 | .762 |
| Brandon Phillips | 12 | .250 | .250 | .583 | .833 |
| Jay Bruce | 10 | .300 | .300 | .400 | .700 |
Via Adam McCalvy, here's tonight's lineup:
Rickie Weeks 2B
Corey Hart RF
Ryan Braun LF
Prince Fielder 1B
Casey McGehee 3B
Lorenzo Cain CF
Alcides Escobar SS
George Kottaras C
Randy Wolf P
And in the bullpen:
Trevor Hoffman pitched .2 innings (10 pitches) yesterday and also pitched on Saturday.
Mike McClendon pitched .2 innings (14 pitches) yesterday and also pitched on Saturday.
Zach Braddock pitched .2 innings (16 pitches) yesterday.
Manny Parra pitched 3 innings (36 pitches) Saturday.
Todd Coffey pitched 1 inning (24 pitches) Saturday.
John Axford pitched 1 inning (18 pitches) Saturday.
Kameron Loe pitched 1 inning (12 pitches) Saturday.
Enjoy the game!