Brewers-Reds Preview (5/1-5/4)

Brewers previews to get you ready for the series where we have five things to watch, pitching matchups and prediction. We add a YouTube video in the mix, it could be really anything.   

Pitching Matchups
Thursday: Marco Estrada (2-1 2.87) vs. Homer Bailey (1-2 6.15)      6:10 pm FSNWI
Friday:     Wily Peralta (3-1 2.56) vs. Mike Leake (2-2 3.82)             6:10 pm FSNWI
Saturday:  Yovani Gallardo (2-0 1.91) vs. Johnny Cueto (2-2 1.15)    6:10 pm FSNWI
Sunday:     Kyle Lohse (4-1 2.70) vs. Alfredo Simon (4-1 1.60)         3:10 pm FSNWI

Five Things To Watch
1.) No Disabled List for Braun, Ramirez and Segura return - Brewers decided to send down Elian Herrera and bring up Rob Wooten as Aramis Ramirez and Jean Segura return to the lineup tonight. Ryan Braun will be missing from the lineup for the fifth straight game. There is no Disabled List appearance, but you wonder if he will be there by Saturday when Logan Schafer's stint is up on Saturday. Getting Ramirez and Segura will definitely help this offense, and hopefully, their injuries will not affect their play this weekend.

2.) Why is Wei-Chung Wang on the team? - I am even more convinced if Wei-Chung Wang would get put back with say Seattle or Kansas City, he wouldn't be on this roster, but since, Milwaukee would give him back to Pittsburgh, they want to avoid it if they can. Yet it would be really nice to have Caleb Gindl, a quality outfielder with a little bit of pop. The other thing is Mike Fiers is dominating Nashville right now striking out everybody in sight, and he has already proven to be an adequate long reliever. Same goes for Jimmy Nelson who did okay his first time around.  This is a very timely article from Jim Owczarski from OnMilwaukee about Wang.

3.) Mark Reynolds is playing right field for two games, is this real life? - With Milwaukee only having two infielders, my guess is Reynolds plays right field tonight which could get real ugly. At least Great American Ballpark is bandbox which means it could be easier for Reynolds than other places even like Miller Park. The other thing is keeping  Lyle Overbay's hot bat in the lineup plus add Reynolds' home run ability at GABP is a sneaky part of it and yes, I just talked myself into having Reynolds in right field. Also Dan provides a solid point here.

@SnoTap12 We'll get through it. Can't be any worse than Kotsay in Center in a crucial NLCS game.
— Dan Maciejewski (@dmaciejewski) May 1, 2014

4.) Gallardo vs. Cueto should be quite good - While Yo has been good so far this season, Cueto is having one of the best seasons thus far as a pitcher. He isn't getting run support, but Cueto has not allowed more than five hits in any of his starts this season.  Additionally, he struck out 27 batters in the last three outings. If you want a silver lining, Ramirez handles Cueto pretty well. Gallardo is not a slouch against Cincinnati either. He shut them out three times last season, once at GABP. I think we are in for a dandy on Saturday night.

5.) Great American Ballpark struggle bus - My apologies for not finding the statistics on what Milwaukee's exact record at this stadium, but they have not played well there in the past. Weird shit always tends to happen especially late in games. One of those places that makes you nervous as a fan.

Appropriate YouTube Video


I wish I could have some Skyline Chili. It's freezing in Milwaukee today. Also the mascots are TERRIFYING.

Prediction
I am seeing a split. Cannot expect them to beat both Simon and Cueto plus today's game with a still beat-up bullpen makes me a bit nervous even if Cincinnati is not playing well.