Stoppable Reds offense hits road to take on movable Brewers pitching

It’s a matchup for the ages!

With the obvious caveat being it’s insanely early, there will be two distinct trends on display when the Cincinnati Reds begin their four-game weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night.

Despite the 14 run outburst on Monday and the overall exploits of both Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain, the Reds offense boasts a collective wRC+ of just 71, to date. Their 5.3% walk rate is second lowest in the league, though since it’s the Colorado Rockies (5.1%) who are lower and they don’t really count we can basically just say it’s the worst.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee pitching got absolutely obliterated in its season opening series in the Bronx and currently boasts a league-high marks of 2.89 HR/9 and a 7.81 ERA.

With both clubs dealing with serious warts and each boasting 2-4 records in an otherwise soft National League Central division, this is the first real chance for either to land a major blow against their peer. Or, they’ll split the four game series and everyone will just think they’re OK.

All games are set to be played at American Family Field in Milwaukee, and its retractable roof means the gargantuan amount of rain in the forecast should not, in theory, disrupt the schedule. As for said schedule, well, all four games are set to begin at different times over the course of the weekend, so put on your memorization cap to ensure you don’t miss out.

Pitching Matchups

Thursday (7:40 PM ET)

LHP Nick Lodolo (1-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. LHP Nestor Cortes (0-1, 36.00 ERA)

Friday (8:10 PM ET)

RHP Nick Martinez (0-1, 6.00 ERA) vs. TBD

Saturday (7:10 PM ET)

RHP Brady Singer (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Elvin Rodriguez (0-1, 9.00 ERA)

Sunday (2:10 PM ET)

RHP Carson Spiers (0-1, 1.50 ERA) vs. RHP Chad Patrick (0-0, 3.18 ERA)

How to Watch

Saturday’s game will be carried nationally on FS1 and will also be broadcast locally on both FanDuel Sports Wisconsin+ and FanDuel Sports Ohio. The FanDuel networks will carry broadcasts of all four games of the series for in-market streaming, while an MLB.tv subscription will allow you to stream games from outside markets.

Or, if you’re a purist with more patience and imagination than most, you can listen to the dulcet tones of the radio broadcast via 700 WLW (or the MLB At-Bat app).