MILWAUKEE -- The Reds’ pitching problems have spilled into the record book, and not in any way anyone in Cincinnati wants to remember.
Saturday’s 13-9 loss to the Brewers at American Family Field marked the first time since at least 1900 that Reds pitchers have allowed 13 or more runs in three straight games. Over that stretch, Cincinnati has been outscored 47-10, with the previous high-water mark coming back in 1901, when the club allowed 50 runs from Sept. 23-25 and 51 from Sept. 22-24.
Brady Singer was in the middle of the storm again. The right-hander was tagged for eight runs and eight hits in four innings, throwing 95 pitches while issuing five walks and striking out five. Milwaukee jumped on him right away, as Brice Turang and Garrett Mitchell each launched two-run homers in the first inning to put the Brewers ahead 4-0.
Cincinnati’s offense, at least, didn’t fold the way it did in Wednesday’s 14-1 loss to the Dodgers or Friday’s 20-0 defeat in the opener of this series. Eugenio Suárez opened the comeback push with a solo homer in the second, then Elly De La Cruz followed with an RBI double in the third.
By the fourth inning, the Reds had trimmed the margin to 5-2, and then the game briefly flipped. JJ Bleday doubled in a run, and Juan Brito tied it with a two-run homer to left-center, suddenly making it 5-5.
That reset didn’t last long. After a walk and a single, William Contreras drilled a first-pitch sweeper to left for a three-run homer, and Singer’s night spiraled back out of control.
“I think the thing I'm probably most mad at is that the bullpen was taxed yesterday [and] I’m not getting deep in that game, but I gave it everything I had," Singer said. "I almost get through the inning, and then I walk a guy and then the inning unfolds, which is obviously frustrating.
I’m just getting kicked in the teeth recently, and just trying to figure out ways during the week to get stuff figured out. Keep trying again this week.”
Singer’s recent run has been rough. Over his last nine starts, he is 1-5 with a 7.23 ERA.
“It’s a lot of traffic," manager Terry Francona said of Singer. "But I’ll tell you what, though, he competes his [butt] off. He was pleading with me to go back out, and on a night when things aren’t looking very good, it kind of gives you some hope."
The game unraveled further in the fifth when Graham Ashcraft entered and could barely slow Milwaukee down. He threw 34 pitches to eight batters, got only one out and surrendered five runs and six hits. Mitchell capped that burst with a bases-loaded, two-run double to right in his final at-bat.
Milwaukee’s 33 runs over the last two games against Cincinnati set a franchise record for the Brewers.
The Reds did make one more push, opening the top of the eighth with six straight hits and four runs, but the deficit was too large to erase.
Cincinnati is now 69-79 and a season-high 10 games under .500 after dropping the first five games of its six-game road trip through Los Angeles and Milwaukee.
In Other News...
Reds Rotation Has A Problem That Goes Beyond Injuries
The Reds have spent much of 2026 trying to patch together a starting rotation that has been hit hard by injuries to Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo, but the trouble goes deeper than simply missing names on the injury report. Even with Chase Burns giving them a bright spot, the group as a whole has not resembled a rotation that can consistently carry a staff through games and keep Cincinnati in control deep into the night.
The numbers point to a more troubling issue: the Reds have been near the bottom of the league in two-strike strikeout rate, opponent OPS with two strikes and average exit velocity in those counts. In other words, even when pitchers get ahead, they are not finishing at-bats often enough, and hitters are still doing damage in spots where the advantage should belong to the pitcher. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Pitching Collapse Is Making Brewers Dominance Even Harder To Watch
The Reds keep finding new ways to make a bad stretch look worse, and the latest chapter came in Milwaukee. Cincinnati has been outscored 34-1 in recent games, capped by a 20-0 loss to the Brewers that went down as the worst shutout defeat in franchise history. Even with Matt McLain scratched and Ke'Bryan Hayes and Juan Brito making defensive adjustments, the Reds could not stop the bleeding, and the sight of the division leader pulling away has only made the slide sting more.
Saturday brought a different kind of frustration, with the offense showing some life in a 13-9 loss while Hunter Greene had a rough outing and Eugenio Suarez went deep. The problem for Cincinnati is that one spirited night at the plate does little to change the bigger picture as the club approaches elimination from playoff contention. Chase Burns is lined up for the next start, and the Reds are trying to stabilize things before the seasons final stretch gets away from them entirely. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Avoided A Brewers Sweep Despite One Lingering Pitching Concern
Chase Burns took another step through his new limited role Sunday, working three innings in his second start since the Reds scaled things back. The right-hander allowed two runs on a home run and still struck out five, a short outing that fit the plan but also kept Cincinnatis pitching picture front and center as it tried to stop Milwaukee from completing a sweep.
The Reds got enough help to pull it out 4-3, with Eugenio Suarez and Elly De La Cruz supplying key offense and Brandon Williamson doing his part in relief before the Brewers pushed across a tying run in the seventh. Cincinnati still escaped with the win, but the way the game unfolded left the club with another reminder that the middle innings and the late-inning workload remain worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]