Cincinnati at Milwaukee

Cincinnati is 69-78 and just hit a wall: a 14-1 blowout that closed out a series in Los Angeles, then a 20-0 shutout last night in the opener here at Milwaukee that pushed the Reds' bullpen so deep that a position player had to finish it on the mound. That's four straight losses, and there's no spinning it. But a 20-run outburst is the outlier, not Milwaukee's identity, and laying that kind of number back-to-back against the same opponent is exactly the spot where a market chases yesterday's box score. Brady Singer gets the ball for Cincinnati carrying a 5.03 ERA, and he doesn't need to beat this Milwaukee lineup tonight, just keep it from turning into another laugher. Milwaukee's bullpen barely worked last night and will be fresh, but running up another lopsided score in the same series, against a team that just got embarrassed and knows it, is a tall order even for a 92-win club. I'm taking Cincinnati, and the insurance run on the runline tonight.