This is a 1* Free Play on the Cincinnati Reds

Neither of these teams is playing well of late but once the smoke clears at the end of this one, I expect the home side to find a way to get the job done. The visiting Brewers go with Mike Fiers (6-3, 1.78 ERA), who has allowed three or fewer runs in each of his eight starts since getting called up Aug. 9th. The right-hander allowed both runs-one earned- in seven innings of Wednesday's 2-0 loss at St. Louis. The Reds will go with their ace in Johnny Cueto (18-9, 2.33 ERA) who is looking to bounce back off one of his poorest starts of the season where he allowed six earned runs over 5 2/3's innings to the Cubs. The right-hander has to be liking his chances to get untracked tonight though, the last time he faced the visitors he allowed two runs and three hits while striking out 10 in eight innings of a 6-2 victory on May 3rd, giving him a 4-1 record and a very respectable 1.93 ERA in his past six starts in the series. The Brewers hopes for a playoff spot took a big hit over the weekend and I think the team will suffer a letdown here. Note that the Reds have been solid at home with a 40-35 mark, while they are also 18-7 in meetings at the Great American Ballpark between these two teams the last three seasons. The Brewers are playing the seventh game of this important nine game road trip and have to be feeling the pressure; Cincinnati meanwhile has been eliminated from contention for quite some time now and would love nothing more than to play spoiler and to put the proverbial nail in the coffin for their divisional rival. Consider the home side and Cueto.

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