Cincinnati Reds at Milwaukee Brewers Series Preview and Odds
Milwaukee is Class of NL Central

While much of the NL Central has jockeyed for position all season, the Milwaukee Brewers have been in first place for much of the year and have a comfortable lead.
Even after losing their manager to the division rival Cubs, trading former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes, having star closer Devin Williams on the injured list, and dealing with a host of rotation ailments, Milwaukee is 12 games over .500 and will look to stay hot as they host the Cincinnati Reds for three games this weekend.
- The Reds vs Brewers MLB odds have Milwaukee as -140 moneyline favorites in Friday’s opener. The total is eight runs.
The Brewers are coming off a low-scoring series win over the Toronto Blue Jays, fitting Milwaukee’s gameplan of timely hitting, good-enough starting pitching, and shutdown relief work.
Pat Murphy’s team doesn’t win in flashy ways, but it’s very strong defensively and extremely opportunistic. If you commit a mistake against the Brewers, they’ll make you pay. That’s why they’re always one of the MLB best bets you can make on a nightly basis.
Cincinnati Reds just split a two-game set with the MLB AL Central-leading Guardians as the Reds got a really nice start from lefty Nick Lodolo on Wednesday night. They obviously won’t have Lodolo for this series but do have Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, and Frankie Montas lined up as Cincinnati tries to get back to .500 for the first time since early May.
Cincinnati Reds vs Milwaukee Brewers 
📅Day/Time: Friday, June 14th, 8:10 p.m. ET
📍Location: American Family Field; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee’s Lineup Is Deep
One major reason the Reds vs. Brewers MLB odds favor Milwaukee, even though Cincinnati seems to have an edge in the pitching matchups, is the Brewers’ offense.
Led by William Contreras, Willy Adames, and a resurgent Christian Yelich, Milwaukee is fourth in the Majors in batting average, third in on-base percentage, sixth in OPS, and seventh in runs scored.
Most of the lineup has a better-than-league-average OPS+, and they draw a lot of walks, which often turn into scoring chances because the Brewers have stolen the third-most bases in baseball.
The Brewers’ lineup doesn’t have many weak spots so it’s hard to get through the order unscathed. The team speed puts a lot of pressure on opposing pitchers who always have to keep an eye on the running game.
No wonder making MLB free picks on the Brewers all year would be incredibly profitable thus far. Even with all the offseason tumult, Milwaukee continues to make the most of what it does have. And, it helps that their former MVP, Yelich, is back to hitting with a high average even if his power is down.
Cincinnati’s rotation has been relatively middle-of-the-pack this season, and even though Greene and Abbott are impressive young arms, they are susceptible to walks — as is Montas — and you can expect Milwaukee to run wild against Greene, who has allowed 10 stolen bases. Without a ton of pop, the Brewers sometimes need to force the issue on the basepaths to generate scoring opportunities.
Reds Rely On De La Cruz
Elly De La Cruz is the straw that stirs the Reds’ drink on offense, so to speak, and as he goes, Cincinnati follows. He leads them with 42 runs scored, is tied for the team lead in home runs (11) and hits (57) and has stolen the most bases in baseball (34).
However, the Reds vs Brewers MLB odds don’t love Cincinnati because the lineup outside of De La Cruz, the suddenly hot Jeimer Candelario and Spencer Steer leaves a lot to be desired.
Cincinnati strikes out a ton and has the fourth-lowest batting average in baseball despite looking like a very promising offense a year ago.
The Reds are 13th in runs, to be fair, but a lot of that is due to De La Cruz’s sheer force of will. Injuries to Christian Encarnacion-Strand and TJ Friedl have limited the lineup and runs haven’t been as easy to come by as you’d expect for a team that recently went on a seven-game winning streak.
They’ll have a tough matchup in Friday’s game against Freddy Peralta but could do some damage against swingman Bryse Wilson on Saturday and Colin Rea on Sunday. Rea has an impressive 3.31 ERA but has mediocre peripheral stats and doesn’t strike many people out so he could be due for some regression.
His run prevention has been a major reason why the Milwaukee Brewers standings are so impressive right now.
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Take Milwaukee In Opener
- Go with the Brewers on Friday to win straight-up at -140 even if the Reds look like they have a decent shot to win on Saturday and/or Sunday.
Peralta is striking out nearly 12 batters per nine innings and he has done an awesome job with the running game, allowing just four steals on seven attempts.
His recent starts haven’t been great but he’s a much better pitcher than he has shown and his ability to neutralize would-be base stealers is incredibly important when facing the Reds.
- The under eight runs (-120) is enticing as well.
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