The Reds and Brewers were back at it Saturday night after Cincinnati dropped a wild 10-7 decision on Friday, and the rematch didn’t get very far before the weather stepped in.
A rain delay hit in the bottom of the fourth inning with Milwaukee leading 2-1. Before the tarp came out, Andrew Abbott had already settled into a much better outing than his last one. The Cincinnati left-hander, pitching in front of the home crowd, had given up two runs and struck out five over four innings on 59 pitches.
Abbott’s start wasn’t flawless, but it was a clear step forward after a rough previous outing. Then again, the delay put a new wrinkle into a game that was already moving along with plenty of tension.
The night also had a little extra buzz before the first pitch. Fans got an Elly De La Cruz bobblehead, and De La Cruz gave them exactly what they came for in the bottom of the first inning, launching his 22nd home run of the season on a solo blast. He remains the biggest reason there are still fans hanging around at this point in the year, even with 2026 not shaping up the way Reds supporters wanted.
And the schedule ahead is not doing Cincinnati any favors. The Reds opened September against the San Diego Padres before this Brewers series.
After Milwaukee leaves town on Sunday, Cincinnati heads west to face the Los Angeles Dodgers, then goes to Milwaukee to meet the Brewers again next weekend. That’s followed by yet another Dodgers series.
The finish line doesn’t look much kinder, either. The Reds close the season against the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, and Toronto Blue Jays.
It’s a brutal stretch. If the Reds were in a real postseason chase, it would be the kind of run that would have fans chewing down to the quick.
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Greene made five starts before the injury, giving the Reds a brief glimpse of what their staff could have been if the right-hander had stayed healthy. Instead, the club is left sorting through another blow to a starting group that has already been hit hard, and the timeline now stretches well beyond this season, with Greene unavailable for 2027 as well. [Read more 🡒]
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Reds Face One Offseason Question After Another Fastball Warning
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As the offseason begins to take shape, the Reds are left weighing what has to change to close that gap. Coaching adjustments are part of the conversation, and so are roster moves, because this has been more than a short-term slump. The challenge now is finding hitters who can do more than survive those at-bats and building an approach that keeps the lineup from being rushed out of innings by the leagues hardest throwers. [Read more 🡒]