Milwaukee @ Cincinnati preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 14, 2014 ) Cincinnati 2, Milwaukee 9

The Milwaukee Brewers take their flickering playoff hopes into Cincinnati for a three-game series beginning Tuesday against the Reds. Milwaukee trails San Francisco and Pittsburgh by five games in the National League wild-card race, so the Brewers must win their final six contests and need the Giants and/or Pirates to lose five of six to force a one-game playoff. "It looks bad, but as (long) as you have a chance, you still continue to fight for it," Milwaukee's Carlos Gomez told reporters after Sunday's 1-0 loss in Pittsburgh.

Milwaukee, which led the NL Central by 1 1/2 games Aug. 26 but has gone 7-18 since, finishes the regular season with three at home against the Chicago Cubs. Ryan Braun (.273, 19 home runs, 81 RBIs) has one homer in 60 September at-bats while the Brewers scored only eight runs in the first six contests of their nine-game road trip (2-4) despite the pitching staff yielding just 12 runs. Milwaukee's Mike Fiers took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of his last start - his first since hitting Miami's Giancarlo Stanton in the face with a pitch - and opposes Johnny Cueto, who needs to win his final two starts to reach 20 for the first time.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FSN Ohio (Cincinnati)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Mike Fiers (6-3, 1.78 ERA) vs. Reds RH Johnny Cueto (18-9, 2.33)

Fiers allowed two runs (one earned) and three hits while striking out seven in seven innings of a 2-0 loss in St. Louis on Wednesday, and didn't appear to be shaken by the scary incident Sept. 11 in Milwaukee. "Obviously, everyone knows what happened," the 29-year-old Florida native told reporters, referring to Stanton. "But we've got games in front of us, important games, and this was an important one." Fiers is 6-2 with a 1.68 ERA in eight starts since joining the rotation Aug. 9.

Cueto yielded more than four earned runs for only the second time in 2014 when he allowed six and a season-high five walks in 5 2/3 innings of a 7-0 loss to the Cubs in Chicago last Tuesday. ''I was not getting the location the way I want,'' the 28-year-old Dominican told reporters after having a three-start winning streak snapped. ''That's baseball - sometimes you have good outings and bad outings, and (Tuesday) was a bad outing.'' Cueto, who won a career-high 19 games in 2012, is 6-3 with a 3.22 ERA in 15 career starts against Milwaukee -- including a 6-2 victory May 3 when he struck out 10 while allowing two runs and three hits in eight innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Milwaukee RHP Francisco Rodriguez is tied with Randy Myers for 10th on the career saves list with 347.

2. The Brewers' Jonathan Lucroy has a major league-leading 52 doubles - Detroit's Miguel Cabrera leads the American League with 49 - and is all but assured to become the first catcher in history to lead his league in two-base hits with Atlanta's Freddie Freeman 11 behind.

3. Milwaukee 3B Aramis Ramirez is hitting .219 with a home run and five RBIs in 73 September at-bats, but is 14-for-42 with five homers and 11 RBIs versus Cueto.

PREDICTION: Brewers 3, Reds 2