The Milwaukee Brewers are set to host the Cincinnati Reds for a four-game series at American Family Field beginning Thursday night as they wrap up their first homestand of the year. The series with the Reds also marks the first divisional series this season in the NL Central.
After a disappointing series in New York and another blowout loss in their home opener on Monday, the Brewers bounced back with back-to-back wins — including a hard-fought extra innings win Wednesday afternoon — against the Royals to clinch their first series of the year as they moved to 2-4 on the year. On the other side, the Reds have dropped back-to-back series to the Giants and Rangers, including a pair of 1-0 losses. In fact, the Reds haven’t scored in 19-plus innings.
The Brewers offense is led by Jackson Chourio, William Contreras, and Christian Yelich, though all three have gotten off to fairly slow starts by their standards. Chourio has been the best of the bunch so far with eight hits, three doubles, and four RBIs, all of which lead the team, but he also leads the team with 12 strikeouts. Six players have a home run for the Crew, and Yelich is the leader with two steals. Isaac Collins and Eric Haase have both provided value (albeit in limited appearances), with Collins 4-for-9 with three doubles and Haase 2-for-5 with a homer and a pair of runs scored. Brice Turang also (quietly) has a six-game hitting streak to start the season, extending it with a safety squeeze to end Wednesday’s game.
Offensively for the Reds, Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz lead the way. McLain leads the team with three homers this year, while De La Cruz leads the team with eight hits and eight RBIs, as he’s hitting .333/.360/.667 with a pair of homers and two steals. Other key names on the Reds have struggled so far. Spencer Steer has just one hit in 15 at-bats, Jeimer Candelario is 4-for-21 to start the season, and TJ Friedl, Gavin Lux, Jake Fraley, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand are all hitting under .250 thus far. Not great.
Milwaukee’s bullpen is anchored by closer Tyler Megill, while Abner Uribe and Bryan Hudson have also been just about perfect thus far (Jake Bauers too). Jared Koenig leads the team with four appearances, while Joel Payamps and Elvis Peguero have both struggled. The bullpen is rounded out by Grant Anderson and Rule 5 pick Connor Thomas.
Closer Alexis Díaz is on the IL to start the season for Cincinnati, leaving Emilio Pagán as the expected closer for the time being. The Reds’ bullpen also features former friends Brent Suter and Taylor Rogers, as well as Sam Moll, Tony Santillan, Ian Gibaut, Scott Barlow, and innings-eater Graham Ashcraft, who worked out of the rotation the last three seasons.
Probable Pitchers
Thursday, April 3 @ 6:40 p.m.: Nick Lodolo (3.00 ERA, 5.19 FIP) vs. Nestor Cortes (36.00 ERA, 40.85 FIP)
Lodolo, 27, has had an inconsistent career up to this point, making 48 starts with a 4.48 ERA and 4.20 FIP across parts of four seasons with the Reds. After a 4.76 ERA in 21 starts a year ago, Lodolo picked up the win in his season debut on Friday, allowing two runs on five hits with one strikeout over six innings. In four career starts against the Crew, Lodolo has a 3.38 ERA with 25 strikeouts across 24 innings.
Nestor Cortes had arguably the worst Brewers debut in franchise history Saturday, as he got beat up by his former team at Yankee Stadium. He’ll look to bounce back in his second start in another matchup of lefties. He made one start against the Reds back in July 2022, striking out four and allowing one run on four hits and a walk across seven frames.
Friday, April 4 @ 7:10 p.m.: Nick Martinez (6.00 ERA, 6.02 FIP) vs. TBD
Martinez, 34, is coming off the best season of his career as he split his time between the rotation and the bullpen, making 16 starts and 26 relief appearances. In his first start of 2025, he allowed four runs on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts in a loss to the Giants. He’s made eight appearances (four starts) against the Brewers in his career, with a 3.73 ERA and 26 strikeouts over 31 1⁄3 innings.
The Brewers haven’t yet announced a starter for Friday’s game, as this would be the spot normally filled by Aaron Civale, who hit the IL with a strained hamstring earlier this week. It’s unclear if the Brewers will go with a bullpen game or look for some help in the form of a minor league arm, such as Logan Henderson or Carlos Rodriguez. FWIW, Adam McCalvy is expecting Tyler Alexander to get the start.
Saturday, April 5 @ 6:10 p.m.: Brady Singer (0.00 ERA, 1.42 FIP) vs. Elvin Rodriguez (9.00 ERA, 5.35 FIP)
Brady Singer, 28, joined the Reds this offseason in the Jonathan India trade. Across parts of five seasons with K.C., Singer made 127 appearances (124 starts) with a 4.28 ERA, 3.97 FIP, and 645 strikeouts across 685 1⁄3 innings. In his Reds debut on Monday against the Rangers, he went seven shutout frames, allowing just one hit and two walks with eight strikeouts. He’s made one start against the Brewers in his career, allowing one run on five hits and a pair of walks with four strikeouts across 5 1⁄3 innings last May.
Rodriguez made his Brewers debut on his 27th birthday earlier this week. Across four innings against the Royals, he allowed four runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts. In nine career MLB appearances (six starts), he now has a 9.49 ERA and 7.26 FIP with 33 strikeouts in 37 innings. This marks his first career appearance against Cincinnati.
Sunday, April 6 @ 1:10 p.m.: Carson Spiers (1.50 ERA, 4.85 FIP) vs. Chad Patrick (3.18 ERA, 5.15 FIP)
Spiers, 27, is in his third season with the Reds, having made 26 appearances (12 starts) entering 2025. In his season debut on Tuesday night, he allowed one run across six innings on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts but picked up a tough-luck loss as Nathan Eovaldi threw a Maddux in a 1-0 win. Spiers has made three appearances (one start) against the Crew, allowing 15 runs (14 earned) across 11 innings (11.45 ERA) with 11 strikeouts.
Patrick made his first career start in Tuesday’s win over the Royals, putting together 4 2⁄3 solid innings as he kept the Royals off the board. He allowed two runs in an inning of relief against the Yankees over the weekend, both of which came on a homer by Oswald Peraza. This marks his first career appearance against the Reds.
How to Watch
Thursday, April 3: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin, and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Friday, April 4: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Saturday, April 5: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin+ and FS1 (national); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Sunday, April 6: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin, Telemundo Wisconsin, and MLB.TV (out-of-market viewers); listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network
Prediction
Let’s hope the Brewers can keep the good times rolling as they wrap up the homestand. Given Cincinnati’s lack of offense (especially given the fact that happened at notoriously hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark) I’ll take the Brewers to swipe three of four before they head out West.
