Starting pitchers are unknown as Brewers face Reds with chance to clinch

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The Milwaukee Brewers welcome the Cincinnati Reds to American Family Field for a three-game series beginning Sept. 11 and there's a chance Milwaukee clinches not once during the series, but twice.

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OK, that's maybe far-fetched, but still.

The Brewers will clinch a playoff spot in the National League with one more victory and could also secure the National League Central title with a sweep and two Chicago Cubs losses during their three-game set at Wrigley Field against Pittsburgh.

Or, if the Brewers win two of three and the Cubs get swept, Milwaukee could still be celebrating a division title Sunday, Sept. 13 before leaving for a three-city road trip.

More likely, the Central will have to wait until the road, but the Brewers are on the cusp of securing a fourth consecutive division title after a sweep of the Cubs this week.

Here's what to know about the Brewers-Reds series:

When will the Brewers clinch a playoff spot?

The next win will do the trick. The Brewers can't quite lock up a playoff spot without a win Friday, but any other win this weekend (or a combination of losses by the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres) will seal at least a wild-card berth.

When will the Brewers clinch the National League Central?

The Brewers need five of six outcomes to go right this weekend – either a sweep over the Reds and two Cubs losses to the Pirates or a sweep by the Pirates over the Cubs and two wins over the Reds.

That's probably a longshot, but it's still possible Sunday. After that, however, the Brewers head to Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Philadelphia on a three-city road trip.

Who's pitching in the series between the Brewers and the Reds?

We don't really know; the Brewers have listed "TBA" across the board, although it'd certainly be easy to expect Shane Drohan (7-5, 4.09) working that first game Friday.

What we do know is that Friday's game will air on AppleTV, while the other games will air on Brewers.TV (and all three will be on AM-620 WTMJ radio).

  • Sept. 11, 6:45 p.m.: Milwaukee TBA vs. Cincinnati LHP Andrew Abbott (6-10, 4.43 ERA)
  • Sept. 12, 6:10 p.m.: Milwaukee TBA vs. Cincinnati RHP Brady Singer (6-13, 5.03)
  • Sept. 13, 1:10 p.m.: Milwaukee TBA vs. Cincinnati RHP Chase Burns (15-3, 2.73)

Burns is a Cy Young candidate, but the Reds are determined to limit his innings at this stage of the season. He only worked three innings against the Dodgers on Sept. 7 (with five strikeouts and no hits allowed), and that was after a week between starts. He'll be a considerable challenge, but it's unclear if he'll be out there for long.

The Brewers just faced Abbott and Singer, getting to the former for two runs (one earned) in four innings Sept. 5 and tagging the latter with six earned runs in five innings Sept. 6.

What is the Reds' record?

It's 69-77, which is last place in the NL Central.

How did the Reds do over the weekend against the Dodgers?

Poorly. After taking two of three against the Brewers in Cincinnati, the Reds went to Los Angeles and got swept in three games by the Dodgers, including an ugly 14-1 outcome Sept. 9.

Cincinnati still has four more games against the Dodgers at home, starting Sept. 14, followed by three games against the visiting Cubs and three in Atlanta.

So, Cincinnati should still have some say in the Brewers' postseason fortunes.

Elly De La Cruz is white-hot

Though the Reds have struggled, star player Elly De La Cruz is thriving, hitting a home run in five consecutive games. He's the first Reds player since Joey Votto in 2021 to do that; Votto homered in seven straight.

De La Cruz also got notice for his laser-beam throw to keep Dodgers batter Teoscar Hernandez from completing an inside-the-park home run.

The 24-year-old has a hit in every September game and multiple hits in six of eight. For the year, he has an .873 OPS with 26 homers and 25 steals.

One thing to note: Reds rookie of the year candidate Sal Stewart slipped and twisted his left ankle Wednesday, Sept. 9 in the series finale with the Dodgers. He was pulled in the seventh inning, though the score was 14-1 by then, and manager Terry Francona said Stewart was fine.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Starting pitchers are unknown as Brewers face Reds with chance to clinch

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