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Brewers look to bounce back vs. Reds

Sep 19, 2008 - 10:22 AM Milwaukee (84-69) at Cincinnati (70-82) 7:10 p.m. EDT

CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- After suffering a devastating blow to their National League wild-card chances, the Milwaukee Brewers will look to bounce back against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday.

With a 6-2 lead entering the ninth inning of Thursday's series finale against the Chicago Cubs, Salomon Torres retired the first two batters before allowing four runs as the Brewers went on to lose, 7-6, in 12 innings.

The loss for Milwaukee (84-69) was its sixth in seven games, dropping the Brewers 1 1/2 games behind the New York Mets (85-67) in the race for the NL wild card.

Milwaukee, which is 1-6 on its current 10-game road trip, sends Jeff Suppan (5-6, 4.31) to the mound. The righthander has struggled of late, going 0-2 with a 8.79 ERA in his last three starts.

Suppan will face the Reds for the fifth time this season. He has posted a 1-0 record with a 3.46 ERA.

The 33-year-old has surrendered 27 home runs on the season, including 17 in his last 13 starts.

Cincinnati counters with Ramon Ramirez (0-0, 2.25), who will make his third start of the season. Since being called up from Class AAA Louisville, the righthander has a 2.25 ERA.

He pitched six strong innings against the Brewers on September 9, allowing one run, one hit and four walks while striking out four in six innings.