Christian Yelich, Brewers seek series win vs. Reds

Christian Yelich looks to remain hot and lead the visiting Milwaukee Brewers to a series win over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday afternoon.

Yelich homered again in Milwaukee's 7-2 win over the Reds on Wednesday, his second long ball through the first three games of the four-game set. Yelich, who is batting .316, extended his on-base streak to 22 games dating to the end of last season.

Yelich has five home runs this year, tied with Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Marcell Ozuna of the Atlanta Braves for the National League lead.

"He's been unbelievable," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "This looks like a version of Yeli that I don't even want to talk about because if it happens, that bodes well. People are starting to look at him like, 'Whoa, is this the Yeli of (old)?' No, it's the Yeli of 2024. And it's damn good."

Meanwhile, it hasn't been a good start for two key Cincinnati everyday players.

Jeimer Candelario and second-year slugger Christian Encarnacion-Strand have struggled through the season's first 12 games. Entering play Thursday, Encarnacion-Strand is 8-for-52 (.154), with one home run and five RBIs. His homer won a game on March 31 against the Washington Nationals and represented his first hit of the season in 13 at-bats.

Candelario is batting .152 (7-for-46) with one homer and four doubles — a big disappointment after he was signed to a three-year, $45 million free agent deal in the offseason to solidify and deepen the Reds' lineup.

He has shown power in his career, totaling 89 home runs, including a career-high 22 last season, which was split between the Nationals and a second stint with the Chicago Cubs.

"I think every hitter goes through stretches," Reds manager David Bell said. "I think it's magnified at the beginning of the year. I think if we're talking a month from now, I wouldn't even notice it. So I'm not going to make a bigger deal out of anything through the first 10 games, especially a guy (like Candelario) with a long track record. He's working at it. He's done it before. He's a professional hitter."

The Brewers will send out right-hander Freddy Peralta (1-0, 3.09 ERA) on Thursday for his third start of the season. Milwaukee's Opening Day starter received a no-decision last Friday in the Brewers' 6-5 win over the Seattle Mariners. He allowed three runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings while striking out seven and walking one.

Peralta is 5-2 with a 2.88 ERA in 19 career games (13 starts) against Cincinnati. He went 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two starts covering 12 innings vs. the Reds last season.

In nine career games (eight starts) at Cincinnati, Peralta is 3-1 with a 2.85 ERA.

The Reds will counter with right-hander Nick Martinez (0-0, 7.20 ERA), who is also making his third start of 2024.

Martinez is 0-0 with a 4.96 ERA in two career starts and two relief appearances against Milwaukee.

In his latest outing, Saturday against the New York Mets, Martinez was charged with five runs on eight hits over five innings before Cincinnati rallied for a 9-6 win.

—Field Level Media