The visiting Milwaukee Brewers look to continue their power surge against the Cincinnati Reds, who want to avoid being swept in the three-game series on Sunday.
The Brewers have connected for five home runs and have not trailed in taking the first two games, improving to 4-4 on a nine-game road trip.
The Reds will turn to veteran lefty Mike Minor (1-2, 7.36 ERA), who is coming off his first win in a Reds uniform after being acquired in mid-March for lefty reliever Amir Garrett in a trade with the Kansas City Royals.
Minor allowed four runs and eight hits over 6 1/3 innings but recorded the win in Cincinnati’s 5-4 victory at Arizona on Monday.
Minor will be making his eighth career start against the Brewers and first this season. He is 4-2 with an impressive 2.20 ERA in the previous seven. He has won his last three starts against Milwaukee, all with different teams, striking out 21 and walking just four over 20 2/3 innings.
The Brewers counter with right-hander Adrian Houser (3-7, 4.21 ERA), who will be out to snap a personal five-game losing streak. Houser is making his 13th start of the season and third against the Reds.
The Brewers are just 4-8 in his 12 previous starts, and Houser is 0-5 with a 4.79 ERA over his last seven starts. His last win came against Cincinnati on May 5. Houser is 2-4 with a 5.88 ERA in 13 career games (10 starts) against Cincinnati, including 1-1 with a 7.00 ERA in two starts this season.
The Brewers designated former star outfielder Lorenzo Cain for assignment on Saturday, the day the 2014 American League Championship Series MVP reached the significant milestone of 10 years of major league service.
There has been much speculation in Milwaukee that the 36-year-old Cain might retire after reaching the 10-year milestone. Cain is batting just .179 with one homer and nine RBIs in 43 games this season.
“It’s been a great ride for me, a fun ride. I put a lot of work in,” Cain said. “I put this body through a lot through the years. At the same time, I think the body is ready to rest a little bit, for sure.”
The Brewers brought Cain back in 2018 when they signed him to a club-record $80 million free-agent contract and traded for Christian Yelich on the same day.
“He was a big part of starting what we’ve created here over the past few years, the winning ways,” Yelich said. “We’ll miss him. He’s been a big part of this group, and I’m glad he popped in and said goodbye to the guys.”
A day after reliever Tony Santillan landed on the injured list with low back pain, the Reds moved right-hander Lucas Sims to the 60-day IL from the 15-day injured list with ongoing back pain that returned after back-to-back scoreless appearances in early May.
“No one real setback or new injury or anything like that, it’s just taking longer for him to recover,” Reds manager David Bell said. “It’s taken definitely longer than he wants it to. By the time he comes back to pitch with us, it’s going to be beyond the 60 days.”
–Field Level Media
