The Cincinnati Reds blew their second game in a row against Milwaukee thanks in large part to multiple defensive blunders, but also do another night of an offense that couldn’t get much done. The Brewers continuously took advantage of the extra chances they were given and made them all count as they won their 14th game in a row.
Final
R
H
E
Milwaukee Brewers (78-44)
6
8
0
Cincinnati Reds (64-60)
5
9
3
W: Megill (4-2) L: La Sorsa (0-1) SV: Mears (1)
Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread
The Cincinnati defense failed another pitcher early on in Saturday’s game. With a runner on first and two outs in the 2nd inning Brice Turang hit a line drive to right field, but Noelvi Marte misread it and watched it go over his head. Since he never touched the ball it wasn’t an error and instead an RBI double to put the Brewers in front 1-0.
The Reds offense, who went the final seven innings of the game on Saturday without reaching base, kept that streak going until TJ Friedl led off the bottom of the 4th with a single. He was quickly erased on a double play. Elly De La Cruz and Miguel Andujar would both come through with 2-out singles, but Gavin Lux grounded out to the pitcher to end the first threat Cincinnati had made in 11 innings.
Zack Littell kept getting his job done. In the 6th inning he’d give up a 1-out single but would strike out Christian Yelich and then get Andrew Vaughn to ground out to end the top of the frame. Ke’Bryan Hayes stepped up to lead off the bottom of the inning and slugged a home run down the line in left field to tie the game up at 1-1. After TJ Friedl flew out to the warning track in right-center, the Reds continued to hit the ball hard against Quinn Priester as Spencer Steer turned on a 95 MPH fastball and launched the ball 365 feet and into the seats in left field to put the home team up by a run.
Elly De La Cruz would walk on four pitches and then Miguel Andujar singled up the middle to put runners on the corners for Cincinnati. That was the end of the night for the Brewers starter and they called on Aaron Ashby to enter from the bullpen. Cincinnati then brought Austin Hays off of the bench to hit for Gavin Lux to try and get a better matchup with a lefty on the mound. The move didn’t pay off as Ashby struck out Hays and then Noelvi Marte to strand both runners.
Caleb Durbin led off the top of the 7th inning with a double into the left field corner and that would lead to Terry Francona heading to the mound to bring in Graham Ashcraft to relieve Zack Littell. After a strikeout to start his outing, Ashcraft walked Tyler Black to put the go-ahead run on first. He rebounded with a strikeout, but a wild pitch to Sal Frelick moved both baserunners up a base. But the Reds reliever would get out of the jam with about as routine of a grounder to second base as you could imagine, holding onto the 2-1 lead.
Tony Santillan found himself in trouble in the 8th inning when he walked the first two batters he faced. He would rebound by striking out Christian Yelich and then got Andrew Vaughn to fly out, but Anthony Seigler was able to tag up and take third on the out. That left the tying run just 90 feet away with two outs. Caleb Durbin laid down a bunt but it was slightly too hard and to the wrong guy as Ke’Bryan Hayes charged it, made a barehanded grab, and fired a strike to first base to beat him by a step to end the inning.
Emilio Pagan entered for the top of the 9th and started out by walking Brice Turang on seven pitches. He then walked Tyler Black on seven pitches. That resulted in a mound visit from pitching coach Derek Johnson. Brandon Lockridge failed to get the bunt down twice before popping up to first base. That brought Sal Frelick to the plate and that’s when tragedy struck. He hit a grounder to second base and Matt McLain fielded it and flipped to Elly De La Cruz for the out at second, but De La Cruz’s throw to first bounced and got by Spencer Steer, bringing in the tying run in the process. A strikeout would end any further threat, sending the game to the bottom of the 9th.
The bottom of the 9th inning did not start out well after a groundout and a strikeout. Noelvi Marte kept things alive with a single back up the middle and then he took second base two pitches later on a wild pitch. That’s where he would stay, though, as Matt McLain struck out for the 4th time on the night to end the inning and the game headed to extras.
With the free runner at second base to start the inning, William Contreras singled into left field and was initially held at third but Jake Fraley would not field the ball cleanly and then also caught hit cleat caught in the grass causing him to injure himself and the Brewers would send Anthony Seigler to the plate to score the go-ahead run. Fraley exited the game after the play.
The Reds would avoid any further damage and headed to the bottom of the 10th to face Trevor Megill. Matt McLain began the inning at second for Cincinnati with Jose Trevino at the plate for the home team. He would make one attempt at a bunt before striking out. Ke’Bryan Hayes then lined a double to the wall in right field that hit the wall and then hit the ground and hit Sal Frelick in the foot and bounced over the wall for an RBI ground-rule double that tied the game up. Spencer Steer drew a 2-out walk to bring Elly De La Cruz to the plate with a chance to potentially make up for his 9th inning error. He wasn’t able to this time, striking out on a check swing.
Joe La Sorsa entered the game in the 11th for Cincinnati. An attempted sacrifice bunt turned into a hit when Ke’Bryan Hayes and La Sorsa nearly collided on the play, limiting the throw from Hayes to first base. The next pitch landed 382 feet from the plate and into the seats in left field as the Brewers took a 6-3 lead.
Cincinnati send the middle of the order to the plate in their half of the 11th. Miguel Andujar would fly out to begin the inning before Santiago Espinal would hit a sacrifice fly to bring Elly De La Cruz in from third to make it 6-4. Noelvi Marte took the second pitch he saw and hit a solo homer into the upper deck in left to make it a 1-run game. That left the game in the hands of Matt McLain, who entered the inning 0-4 with four strikeouts. He wouldn’t make it five strikeouts, and he hit the ball hard, but it was caught on the warning track in center to end the game as the Brewers held on for a 6-5 win and extend their winning streak to a franchise record 14 games.
Key Moment of the Game
Maybe it was the “non-error” by Noelvi Marte in the 2nd inning. Maybe it was the error by Elly De La Cruz in the 9th. Perhaps it was the error by Jake Fraley in the 10th. All three led to a run. And each of those runs led up to the 3-run pinch hit home run in the 11th from Andruw Monasterio that was a dagger to the soul of Great American Ball Park and tens of thousands of fans watching and listening to the game away from the park.
Notes Worth Noting
Before hitting the go-ahead home run in extra innings, Andruw Monasterio had hit five home runs in 190 career games. It was only his second home run of the season.
The Reds bullpen walked six batters and had just four strikeouts.
There will rightly be some more talk about the Reds shoddy defense and miscues that cost them once again. But there should also be just as much talk about how this offense continues to be atrocious night after night after night.
The Reds have lost 13 straight series to the Brewers.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers vs Cincinnati Reds
Sunday August 17th, 1:40pm ET
Jose Quintana (10-4, 3.44 ERA) vs Andrew Abbott (8-3, 2.41 ERA)
