Cincinnati Reds take on Milwaukee Brewers today in hot Cactus League action

A pitcher with a 6.75 ERA takes on another with a 7.71 ERA today. One is a recent National League Cy Young Award winner, the other a top prospect and prized trade return.

Spring stats are often disgusting, and purposefully ignored. Still, I’d expect to see better from both Corbin Burnes, the former, and Brandon Williamson, the latter, when the Milwaukee Brewers play host to the Cincinnati Reds this afternoon.

Williamson is still very much vying for a spot in the Reds Opening Day starting rotation, especially given the lackluster performances (and injuries) to those pitchers competing against him. The lefty could launch himself back to the top of that pecking order in a hurry with a solid outing today, especially since it will come against a Beers starting lineup that’s stacked with lots of right-handed hitters. Navigate that nemesis and it’ll be hard to justify keeping him down in the minors much more.

The Reds, meanwhile, will roll out a lineup with a lot of will-be Opening Day starters, the hope being they can improve upon their disappointing outings over the weekend.

First pitch is set for 4:05 PM ET, and there’s no televised coverage of it. Listen at your normal outlets accordingly, of course.

Reds Lineup

Brewers Lineup