Brewers Seek 4-Game Sweep as 100.3 mph Misiorowski Faces Reds' Burns

Q: With their season on the brink, will today's loss trigger a trade deadline fire sale for the Cincinnati Reds?

Probably not from this one game alone, but another loss would push the Reds closer to seller territory and make a deadline sell-off much more likely. Cincinnati’s broader trend matters more than the result of a single afternoon. The Reds enter the game 39-46, have lost four straight, are 9-18 since June 1, and are 0-6 against Milwaukee in this stretch. Their bullpen has been a major reason: a 5.13 ERA, a league-high 54 meltdowns, and injuries to key arms including Emilio Pagán, Graham Ashcraft and Pierce Johnson. With Elly De La Cruz also sidelined, the roster has looked too thin to sustain a wild-card push. If the Reds lose again, they would fall to 39-47, eight games under .500. That would strengthen the case for president of baseball operations Nick Krall to pivot toward selling ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline, especially if the club remains well below .500 through late July. Reporting around the team already points to expiring or movable veterans such as Nathaniel Lowe, Tyler Stephenson, Caleb Ferguson, Brock Burke and Eugenio Suárez as possible trade candidates. That said, a true fire sale still appears unlikely. Core pieces such as Chase Burns and Elly De La Cruz are viewed as off-limits, and the front office is expected to wait for a larger sample before making final deadline decisions. So today’s loss would not by itself trigger a teardown, but it could mark the point where selling becomes the organization’s clearest path.

3 articles · Updated · Brew Crew Ball · Jul 2

Milwaukee closes its four-game set in Cincinnati at 1:10 p.m. ET with Jacob Misiorowski facing Chase Burns in a matchup of two of baseball’s top young power arms.
Misiorowski, 24, averages 100.3 mph on his fastball, while Burns sits at 97.9 mph; they rank first and fourth in FanGraphs’ Stuff+ and first and sixth in ERA.
The duel comes as the clubs head in opposite directions: the Brewers are 53-31, have won eight of 10 and are 6-0 against the Reds in that span.
Cincinnati enters 39-46 after losing seven of nine and going 9-18 since June 1, underscoring the gap despite Burns’ emergence.
Christian Yelich returned to Milwaukee’s leadoff spot after a day off, and the Brewers head to Phoenix next for a series against the Diamondbacks.