(My Sportsbook) - Right-hander Micah Owings makes his pitching debut in a Cincinnati uniform tonight, when the Reds visit Miller Park in the third and final matchup of a three-game early-week series with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Owings, a 6-foot-5, 220-pounder from Tulane University, was acquired by the Reds at last year's trading deadline as the player to be named later in a deal that sent slugging outfielder Adam Dunn to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The now 26-year-old was shut down for the season after the trade due to injuries, but performed well in spring training and earned the fifth spot in the rotation after beating out former phenom Homer Bailey.

A lifetime .322 hitter in the majors, Owings actually has appeared in several games for the Reds as a hitter, going 2-for-4 with a double and three runs batted in last season and posting a double in two pinch-hit at-bats so far this season.

On the mound, he faced the Brewers once in 2008 and took a loss, allowing eight hits and four earned runs in three innings.

For Milwaukee, right-hander Braden Looper tries to make it two straight successful outings in a Brewers uniform when he pitches tonight.

A long-time reliever and later a starter with three other National League teams - most recently the St. Louis Cardinals - Looper signed a one-year deal with the Brewers in February that includes an option for 2010.

He transitioned from closer to starter while with the Cardinals, going from 69 relief appearances in 2006 to 63 starts over the subsequent two years, when he compiled a 24-26 record.

His initial performance for Milwaukee was solid, if not decisive, as he allowed five hits and a run in five innings while getting a no decision in the team's 4-3 defeat of the Chicago Cubs on Friday.

Against the Reds in 2008, Looper was 2-1 in four starts, including one complete game, while allowing 23 hits and 10 runs in 29 innings.

On Tuesday, Jerry Hairston Jr. hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the third inning, as the Reds topped Milwaukee, 6-1.

Joey Votto had a double and batted in a run for the Reds, who have won three in a row, while Bronson Arroyo was improved in his second start of the season.

Arroyo allowed five runs in a six-inning outing against the Mets last Thursday, although he still got the win. In Tuesday's contest, he allowed only one run on four hits and four walks in 6 1/3 frames to move to 2-0 this season.

J.J. Hardy homered for the second consecutive game to provide the lone run for Milwaukee, which has dropped four straight contests.

Manny Parra (0-2) was solid in a six-inning start for the Brewers, as he allowed three runs on three hits and four walks with four strikeouts. It was certainly an improvement of his first outing of the season, in which Parra gave up five runs in 4 1/3 frames.

The Reds took 10 of 18 matchups with Milwaukee last season, including six of the nine games played at Miller Park.