• Who: Reds vs. Milwaukee Brewers

        • When: 1:07 p.m. today, 7:05 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday

        • Where: Cinergy Field

        • Radio: WLW-AM (700)

        • TV: Today (Channel 5, ESPN, Fox Sports Net), Wednesday (ESPN, FSN)

        • Records: Both 0-0

        AT THE PLATE

        RF Jeromy Burnitz is the Brewers' big bopper, hitting .270 with 33 homers and 103 RBI last year. They added 3B Jose Hernandez from the Braves (.266, 19 HR, 62 RBI) but lost C Dave Nilsson (.309, 21 HR, 62 RBI) to Japan and 2B Fernando Vina (.266) to St. Louis. CF Marquis Grissom (.267, 20 HR, 83 RBI, 24 SB) rebounded.

        ON THE MOUND

        • TODAY: RH Pete Harnisch (16-10, 3.68 in 1999) vs. RH Steve Woodard (11-8, 4.52)

        • WEDNESDAY: LH Denny Neagle (9-5, 4.27) vs. RH Jimmy Haynes (7-12, 6.34)

        • THURSDAY: RH Steve Parris (11-4, 3.50) vs. RH Jaime Navarro (8-13, 6.09)

        On paper, all three matchups favor the Reds. Woodard finished poorly last year (0-2, 10.61 August; 0-1, 6.12 September-October). Haynes was part of the A's payment for trading Mark McGwire, but never fulfilled his promise. Navarro is back in Milwaukee after a failed stint in Chicago.

        OUTLOOK

        The Brewers are almost universally picked for last in the NL Central, while many pick the Reds first. The Reds got out of the gate slow last April and paid for it down the stretch, so winning two in this series may pay dividends in October. That shouldn't be too much to ask.

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