Milwaukee Brewers vs. Cincinnati Reds Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 5/11/2022

Time: 12:35 p.m. ET

Venue: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH

Where to watch: YouTube

DraftKings: Brewers -195, Reds +165

BetMGM: Brewers -200, Reds +165

Caesars: Brewers -179, Reds +160

Brewers: 19-11

Reds: 6-23

Another day, another chance to question why the Cincinnati Reds are still a baseball team right now, and why they haven't been relegated to Triple-A right now. It's almost mid-May and the Reds are still at six wins this season. Alas, they continue to play and will face the Milwaukee Brewers again on Wednesday.

To be completely fair, and I sincerely mean this, the fact the Brewers have been just as awful as of late with losing three in a row, including the first of this series to the Reds by a final of 10-5. But the Brewers did find a way to bounce back with a 5-4 win on Tuesday.

Josh Hader, who might be the best player on this team, recorded his 500th strikeout and went 12-for-12 on saves this season to pick up the win. Freddy Peralta also got the win, but it might be fair to say the best pitcher outside of Corbin Burnes might be the Milwaukee closer.

"It's certainly made my job easier," Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. "We never take him for granted."

As you shouldn't because without him, your bullpen isn't that better, chief. When your offense is a blah of a mess and your leading batter is Rowdy Tellez batting .245, there's really not much to go off of in terms of your run production. Yet for them to be atop the NL Central right now is some sort of thing that doesn't make sense.

Adrian Houser will get the call for the Brewers, taking on Vladimir Gutierrez and the Reds, who are just trying to find some sort of consistent happiness in their life. Winning two straight before losing Tuesday is a good start, but it's not a matter of how you do it at this point. Just do it.

"It was a huge step, finding my rhythm as I went on," Reds starter Hunter Greene said following his fifth straight loss. "You hope to find it on your first pitch, but sometimes, it doesn't work out that way. I need to constantly mix. Obviously, I had to make adjustments from my last outing."

The Reds have already traded everyone under the sun, so another few names wouldn't hurt at this rate. Joey Votto, come on down. You deserve to pick which contender you'd like to go to at this rate.

Not really expecting much from Cincinnati at this point. Any chance you get to bet against them seems safe, especially when it involves the Brewers. It'd be risky to play your money on the Reds because the consistency just isn't there. Give me Milwaukee to finish this one off for good. Brewers win 7-3

Brewers are 14-6 against division opponents this season.

Brewers are 15-5 against right-handed starters this season.

Reds are 44-87 since 1997 as a home underdog between +150 and +200.

Brewers:
Kolten Wong (L) 2B
Willy Adames (R) DH
Christian Yelich (L) LF
Rowdy Tellez (L) 1B
Luis Urias (R) SS
Tyrone Taylor (R) RF
Jace Peterson (L) 3B
Lorenzo Cain (R) CF
Victor Caratini (S) C
SP - Adrian Houser

Reds:
TJ Friedl (L) CF
Brandon Drury (R) 3B
Tommy Pham (R) LF
Mike Moustakas (L) DH
Tyler Stephenson (R) C
Colin Moran (L) 1B
Tyler Naquin (L) RF
Kyle Farmer (R) SS
Matt Reynolds (R) 2B
SP - Vladimir Gutierrez

Batting average: Rowdy Tellez -- .245

Hits: Willy Adames -- 26

Home runs: Willy Adames -- 8

RBI: Rowdy Tellez -- 26

Wins: Three tied -- 3

Saves: Josh Hader -- 12

ERA: Corbin Burnes -- 1.86

Batting average: Brandon Drury -- .272

Hits: Brandon Drury -- 23

Home runs: Brandon Drury -- 6

RBI: Brandon Drury -- 18

Wins: Many tied -- 1

Saves: Three tied -- 1

ERA: Tyler Mahle -- 6.46