The Milwaukee Brewers keep finding new ways to make life miserable for the Cincinnati Reds.
On Wednesday, July 1, it was a 4-2 Brewers win at American Family Field, another chapter in a season-long grind that has tilted hard Milwaukee’s way. The Brewers have now beaten the Reds five straight times this season, seven in a row overall, and 16 of the last 18 series between the clubs. They’re 53-31 and sitting 14 ½ games ahead of Cincinnati, which is stuck in last place.
This one was tied at 2-2 heading into the seventh, and the Reds had hung around long enough to give themselves a shot. Then Milwaukee did what Milwaukee has done so often against them: wait, pounce, and leave no opening.
Andrew Vaughn lined a ball to center to start the inning, and with Matt McLain making his first professional start in center field, the play turned into a double. Garrett Mitchell, who was already 3-for-3, followed with a tie-breaking triple into the left-center gap. He scored moments later on Brock Burke’s wild pitch on a 3-and-2 count to Gary Sanchez, and the Brewers were suddenly in front for good.
That was only part of the story for the Reds, though. The first inning put them in a hole immediately.
Andrew Abbott needed 56 pitches to get through his first two frames, and Milwaukee jumped on him right away with two runs in the opening inning. Jackson Chourio walked to start the game, Brice Turang doubled, and both runs crossed on a ground ball and a sacrifice fly.
Abbott did settle in some after that, but the pitch count never really let him breathe. He worked five innings, allowing five hits and five walks, and Francona sounded like a manager who has heard this script too many times already.
“Five hits and five walks in five innings is just too much,” Francona told reporters about Abbott. “After the second inning, he competed, he battled.”
Abbott also had to wriggle out of trouble in the third after creating some of it himself. Mitchell opened the inning with a double, Abbott tried to pick him off second and threw the ball into center field, and Mitchell moved to third.
Gary Sanchez then walked on four pitches. Cooper Pratt tried a safety squeeze, but Spencer Steer fielded it cleanly and threw home.
Umpire Brock Ballou called Mitchell out on an extremely close play, Milwaukee challenged, and New York upheld the call after a long review.
Cincinnati briefly answered in the second against Brewers starter Shane Drohan. Tyler Stephenson singled, Noelvi Marte added his second hit of the season against a left-hander, and the Reds tied it 2-2. From there, though, the offense mostly had to scrape and claw.
Their best chance to take control came in the sixth, and it unraveled fast. Drohan walked Steer to open the inning, Eugenio Suarez doubled into the left-field corner, and Cincinnati had runners on second and third with no outs.
But Stephenson chopped a slow roller near the mound and Cooper Pratt charged it and threw him out. Suarez broke for third, Steer had to vacate the bag trying to score, and the result was a rundown that ended in a double play.
Francona summed it up plainly: “When Suarez broke for third, Steer had to try to score,” said Francona.
Noelvi Marte then flied to center, and the chance was gone.
Milwaukee’s offense finished the job in the seventh, while the Reds could only nibble at a comeback. Elly De La Cruz singled to open the eighth, but Sal Stewart grounded into a double play.
In the ninth, Stephenson doubled with one out against Trevor Megill, putting the tying run in the mix, but Marte grounded to first and JJ Bleday struck out to end it. Bleday is 4 for 42.
Aaron Ashby got the win for Milwaukee after throwing 1 ⅓ scoreless, one-hit innings. He’s now 12-1, the most wins by any MLB pitcher, and every one of them has come in relief.
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