Posted by Dan
Pitching Matchups:
Monday – Capuano vs Harang
Tuesday – Gallardo vs Belisle
Wednesday – Suppan vs Lohse
Thursday – Bush vs Livingston
Monday: Capuano may have finally broken out of his funk (7 IP, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5K) in his last start. He’s 2-0 with a 3.79 ERA at the Great American Ballpark, and should neutralize the Reds power left handed bats (Griffey and Dunn mostly). Harang, however, is just a stud. The Crew is 9th in the league in K’s, and I don’t see anyway the Crew doesn’t whiff 8-10 times tomorrow, and being on the road, I think the Reds get this one.
Tuesday:
Gallardo has been awesome in his starts this year (2.13 ERA in 25.1 IP). Belisle… hasn’t. He has a 5.96 Home ERA this season, and is allowing nearly 1.5 HR/9 at the GAB. I think the Crew takes this one and probably give Reds fans a few souveniers.
Wednesday:
Suppan has made 2 decent starts in a row for the Crew (5 IP/3 ER and 6 IP, 3 ER). I’m going to hope Suppan turns things around at GAB however. His line in 4 starts involves a 7.94 ERA and 1.85 WHIP. Lohse is actually pitching slightly better than his 5-12, 4.71 line indicates, and nowhere is that more evident then at home. He has a 2.67 ERA there this year. I still don’t buy it, and if Suppan can give them a quality start I think (hope?) they take this one.
Thursday:
In his last 3 starts, Bush has a 3.32 ERA. He’s been pitching well for a while now, with 6 QS in his past 9 turns (2 of the non QS were 6 IP, 4 ER outings). For the Reds, Bobby Livingston gets his 5th start. In 200 Innings at AAA, Livingston posted an unimpressive 4.60/1.40 ERA and WHIP. Hopepully, the Crew can rough him up a bit and take this series.
Prediction: I realize that has the Brewers taking 3 out of 4 on the road, which seems like a tall order (19-26 on the road this season), but the Reds are bad. Cinncinati’s .414 Winning % is 2nd last in the league. Even though all signs point to a series win here, I’m not going to complain with a split. All we can hope, is for David Eckstein to roll up his sleeves and sweep the Cubbies.
