Series 1 Preview

Watch Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, as the Reds
play host to the Milwaukee Brewers in what looks to be
a battle between the two best teams in the NL Central.

By:  Cooper Ledford


The Cincinnati Reds will take on the Milwaukee Brewers, tomorrow.  What's special about tomorrow? OPENING DAY!  In Cincinnati it is basically a holiday that nearly everyone celebrates.  From the Findley Market Parade to the actual game, people are getting in the baseball spirit and looking forward to the Reds season.  Now let's talk about the first series of the season, Reds vs Brewers.


Game 1 (Thursday, 2:10 PM ET, FS Ohio/Local 12): In game 1, Edinson Volquez will be pitching for Cincinnati, while Milwaukee will have Yovani Gallardo pitching.  It looks like this will be a great pitchers duel.  But for some Reds, they are looking forward to facing Yovani.  One of those players is Scott Rolen.  Rolen has a career average of .636 against Gallardo in 11 at-bats.  Jay Bruce has a .500 average on 8 at-bats, Brandon Phillips has a .412 average in 17 at-bats.  The highest average any Brewer has against Volquez is Rickie Weeks who has a .571 in 7 AB's.  Ryan Braun has faced him more than anyone else on the team, as he has 15 at-bats vs. Volquez, and a .333 average.  So the Reds have the offensive advantage.  But, there is still one thing most Reds fans are worried about, that is weather or not Edinson Volquez has fully recovered from Tommy John's Surgery.  He looked very shaky in his last starts of 2010, some looked good, but some were terrible.  In spring. Edinson did not look very good at all, as he had an ERA of 8.38, and walked 11 in only 9 2/3 innings.  He better look better than he did in Spring.


Game 2 (Saturday, 7:10 PM ET, FS Ohio): In game 2, the Reds will send out lefty, Travis Wood, while the Brew Crew will send out Shaun Marcum.  Wood looked very good last year, you would never know he was a rookie with the way he pitched last year.  I think Travis will be the next Cliff Lee one day, but for now, he will focus on the Brewers.  He has not really had much of a chance to do anything against the Brewers yet, the highest batting average anyone has in .200, that is Weeks, Braun, and McGehee, they each have only 5 at-bats against him.  So he has not really faced the Brewers much.  Now let's talk about Marcum, he has only faced 3 Reds batters, Edgar Renteria, Jonny Gomes, and Ramon Hernandez.  Edgar Renteria has some experience against him, as he has 7 AB's and a .571 average.  Hernandez has the most experience against Marcum, as he has seen him 19 times, but has not done too well, only a .158 average.  Jonny Gomes has 2 AB's against him, and a .000 average.  


Game 3 (Sunday, 1:10 PM ET, FS Ohio):  Game 3 looks like a very good pitching match-up, as it is Bronson Arroyo pitching for Cincinnati, and Randy Wolf for Milwaukee.  Arroyo had a somewhat challenging Spring, as he was ill, and still is, but he showed no signs of it in his last Spring start, he looks like he will be fine and ready to go by Sunday.  In Arroyo's career versus the Brewers, he is 9-7 and has a 3.77 ERA, not that great, but not that bad.  Now on to Randy Wolf.  The veteran lefty has had his way with the Reds in his career, as he is 10-3 and has a 3.13 ERA.  Yeah, pretty nice.  Jonny Gomes has done very well against Wolf in his career, as he has a .625 average in 16 at-bats.  Jay Bruce has done well against him too, as he has a .438 average in 16 AB's, and 2 homers to go with it.  


So, there you have it, a Series 1 preview.  Looks like the Reds have more of an advantage.  The toughest game for them to win will be Opening Day, as Edinson Volquez may be a little....bad.  Hopefully he is fine, and pitches well.  GO REDS!