The Reds come into Wednesday night at American Family Field trying to claw back a little pride after dropping the first two games of the series in Milwaukee. A win would at least give Cincinnati a chance to salvage a split, while the Brewers can lock up the series with a victory and stay unbeaten against the Reds in 2026.
First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. ET, and the game will air only on ESPN.
Cincinnati is sending Andrew Abbott to the mound, with Shane Drohan getting the ball for Milwaukee.
Abbott’s season has taken a clear turn. After six starts, his ERA sat at 6.59.
Since then, in his last 11 outings, he’s trimmed that down to 2.64 and started looking much more like the All-Star version of himself from 2025. He did not face the Brewers when the teams met last week, and in his most recent start he gave up three earned runs over 5.1 innings against Pittsburgh.
The left-hander’s numbers show a pitcher who has settled in, especially after the early-season rough patch. Right-handed hitters have done most of the damage against him, while lefties’ early success has faded. Abbott has also been better away from home, carrying a 3.17 ERA on the road.
Drohan has quietly become an important arm for Milwaukee after a start-and-stop beginning to the year. He opened the season by allowing three runs in 2.2 innings, then didn’t get back into a big league game for another two and a half weeks.
Since returning, he has logged 49.1 innings with a 2.74 ERA for the Brewers while bouncing between relief work and starts. June was spent entirely in the rotation.
His last outing came against Cincinnati, and it was a strong one: 4.1 shutout innings with three walks and five strikeouts.
The rookie’s splits are fairly balanced. Right-handed hitters haven’t done much against him in terms of average, on-base percentage, or power.
Lefties have gotten more hits, but they haven’t drawn walks and haven’t hit for much power. One notable wrinkle: all four home runs Drohan has allowed this season have come in Milwaukee.
Cincinnati’s lineup features Elly De La Cruz at shortstop, Sal Stewart at third, Spencer Steer at first, Eugenio Suarez at DH, Tyler Stephenson behind the plate, Noelvi Marte in right, Ivan Johnson in left, Matt McLain in center, and Edwin Arroyo at second.
Milwaukee counters with Jackson Chourio in left, Brice Turang at second, William Contreras at DH, Jake Bauers in right, Andrew Vaughn at first, Garrett Mitchell in center, Gary Sanchez at catcher, Cooper Pratt at short, and Joey Ortiz at third.
There’s also a small bit of organizational news for Cincinnati: top prospect Alfredo Duno is the club’s lone representative for this year’s Futures Game. He and Sal Stewart represented the organization there in 2025.
Duno was just promoted to Double-A, and his first game there was suspended by rain last night. At Dayton, he posted an OPS over .900 and hit 16 home runs in 65 games.
One other note from around the Reds: Jay Jaffe of Fangraphs recently looked at team defense in 2026, and Cincinnati came out near the bottom of the list. That won’t shock anyone who has watched this team closely all season, even if defensive metrics still come with some built-in noise.
In the division race, Milwaukee sits on top at 52-31 with a 98.1% playoff odds mark. Chicago is next at 48-38, followed by St.
Louis at 44-38 and Pittsburgh at 43-43. Cincinnati is down at 39-45, with playoff odds of 2.6%.
In Other News...
Reds Cannot Afford To Get This Chase Petty Decision Wrong
With Eugenio Suarez out and Elly De La Cruz dealing with ankle concern, the Reds are already navigating the kind of injury pileup that can quickly tighten a roster. In the middle of that, Chase Petty has given Cincinnati a useful look in relief, showing enough promise to matter in the present while also reminding the club why he remains more than just a short-term bullpen arm.
The larger question is whether the Reds should keep treating Petty like a help-now reliever or use this stretch to pull him back into a starters path before the deadline reshapes the rotation. Hunter Greenes return could change how Cincinnati handles the innings ahead, especially if the front office decides to move pieces such as Brady Singer or Nick Lodolo, and Pettys next decision may say as much about the clubs long-term planning as any trade it makes this month. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Are Back In The Same Center Field Dilemma Again
The Reds are right back in search mode in center field, and TJ Friedls return from Triple-A gives them the most familiar option to sort through the mess. Friedl was recalled after being optioned in early June, a reset that followed an 18-game stint in Louisville, while Blake Dunn landed on the injured list with an elbow strain and opened up another hole in the lineup mix.
For now, Friedl looks like the leading candidate to handle center, with Dane Myers, Noelvi Marte, JJ Bleday and Matt McLain all in the picture as the staff keeps shuffling pieces around. Dunns injury also nudged Elly De La Cruz into the leadoff spot, which only adds another layer to the clubs latest lineup puzzle as it tries to stabilize the middle of the diamond. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Fans Had Every Reason To Fear This Gavin Lux Trade
When the Reds sent Mike Sirota to the Dodgers for Gavin Lux, the move was sold as a chance to get an established big leaguer while dealing from a prospect stash. It also immediately carried the kind of downside Cincinnati fans know too well with player-for-player swaps, because the club was betting on Lux stabilizing the infield and adding some needed offense while giving up a young talent with plenty of upside.
Instead, the trade has quickly tilted the wrong way for Cincinnatis side of it. Lux did not give the Reds the lift they needed, and his time in the field and at the plate never really delivered the payoff the front office was chasing before he was later flipped again for Brock Burke. Meanwhile, the loss of Sirota keeps looking more painful, which is why this deal keeps coming up as a cautionary tale every time the Reds are reminded how thin the margin can be on deadline-style roster moves. [Read more 🡒]