As predicted, the National League Central Division was expected to be a four-team race this season, and after nearly four weeks of play, pre-season projections are true to form. Over the weekend, division leaders and favorites Cincinnati Reds lost a little ground falling behind the Cardinals by a full game and Milwaukee Brewers by half a game. Tonight (8:10 PM ET) the Reds will look to rebound from their weekend series loss at St. Louis when they travel to Milwaukee to play the Brewers at Miller Park in the first of a three game set. The Brewers are listed as -145 favorites on the BetUS.com MLB Lines board to win the series.
For the Brewers, left-hander Chris Narveson gets the call to start today's game while the Reds counter with veteran right-hander Bronson Arroyo. With Narveson and Arroyo the starters, oddsmakers list the Brewers as -130 favorites for tonight's game with a 8 1/2-run betting total. If a pitching change is made prior to the games start, these odds will be declared a no-action.
The Brewers and Reds are each coming off at +1600 odds on the BetUS.com 2011 World Series Predictions board.
Narveson is currently 1-0 on the year after getting no decisions in three of his four starts. The Brewers lefty is coming off a career year in 2010 when he went 12-9 but with a lofty 4.99 ERA. So far this year Narveson's ERA is a very strong 2.19. In his last start on Wednesday Narveson tossed six innings, giving up three earned runs on four hits and walking three with four strikeouts in a no-decision against the Phillies.
Over the past five seasons, Arroyo has become a major cog in the Reds starting pitching rotation. The 11 year veteran has a career record of 105-95 with a 4.19 career ERA. In 2010 Arroyo enjoyed his best season by going 17-10 with a solid 3.88 ERA. His pitching is a big reason the Reds won the division. So far this year, Arroyo is 2-2 through four starts to go along with a 4.24 ERA.
The season is still young but this is an important series for both clubs. The Brewers were embarrassed when they were swept at Cincinnati to begin the season so we can look for some revenge motivation there. However, for today's MLB Picks I'm making the Reds my choice getting +110 ml odds.
