KSReds: Cincinnati Reds Lose 3 of 4 to the Brewers

This series wasn’t pretty for the Cincinnati Reds. However, they were able to avoid a four game sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers with a 2-1 win on Sunday afternoon. The Brewers had strong offensive performances in each game until they ran into Nick Lodolo. Kolten Wong hit three home runs on Thursday, Andrew McCutcheon drove in his 1000th run on Friday, and Hunter Renfroe had five RBI on Saturday. After bouncing back with the pitcher’s duel win on Sunday, Cincinnati finished the season series 6-13 versus the Brew Crew.

The Reds will begin the second to last week of the season with a three game road trip to face the Pittsburgh Pirates. Then, they finish with six consecutive games against the Chicago Cubs. Chase Anderson will take the ball on Monday night for a 6:35 p.m. Eastern Time first pitch. Hunter Greene and Luis Cessa are also slated to make starts in Pittsburgh.

Kolten Wong Leads Brewers to Victory

When Brandon Woodruff is on the mound the Milwaukee Brewers don’t need much run support. The 29-year old right hander moved to 12-4 on the season with a dominant performance on Thursday night. Woodruff allowed just one run on three hits in six innings while striking out 11 batters. In total, the Brewers pitching staff allowed only four hits to the Cincinnati Reds and recorded 14 strikeouts.

At the plate for Milwaukee, it was all about Kolten Wong. Not normally known as a power hitter, the second baseman drove it all five of the Brewers runs by hitting three home runs. It was a heck of a performance by the veteran to almost single-handily pick up the series opening victory over the Reds. Wong went deep off of each of the Reds first three pitchers. Milwaukee came away with a 5-1 win.

Hot Start Goes to Waste as Reds Lose Another

The Cincinnati Reds wasted no time getting the offense going on Friday night. Jonathan India drew a leadoff walk. Then, rookie Spencer Steer singled to put runners on first and second. Hitting in the three hold, Kyle Farmer doubled to left field scoring both baserunners to spot Cincinnati an early 2-0 lead. However, despite loading the bases, no more runs came in the first inning. That would prove to be costly as Milwaukee immediately erased the early deficit.

Milwaukee answered with two runs of their own in the top of the second to reset the score at 2-2. Veteran Andrew McCutcheon broke the tie with a RBI ground out in the fifth and then drove in two more with a seventh inning double. The three RBI performance put McCutcheon over the 1000 runs batted in milestone for his career. Game two of the series finished in the Brewers favor by a score of 5-3.

Hunter Renfroe Blasts Brew Crew to a Win

Facing the reigning Cy Young award winner, fans of the Cincinnati Reds knew Saturday’s matchup was going to be tough. Corbin Burnes turned in six and one-third innings scattering two runs on four hits while striking out eight. He is now 11-8 on the season with a 3.11 earned run average. The Brewers bullpen was nearly perfect down the stretch as well allowing just one base runner via a walk.

On the offensive side, it was the Hunter Renfroe show at Great American Ball Park. Milwaukee’s right fielder went 4-5 at the plate with five runs batted in and a pair of home runs. The Brewers 10-2 victory set up a shot at a four game sweep on Sunday. Cincinnati has lost 13 of 18 games this season to the Brew Crew.

Reds Avoid Sweep with Sunday Win

This season has certainly been one to forget for the Cincinnati Reds. However, there is a little bit of hope for the future with a strong core of rookies on the ball club. On Sunday, rookies got it done both on the mound and at the plate to avoid the sweep. Nick Lodolo continued his excellent rookie season with another strong start. The left-hander pitched six innings allowing just one run on four hits while striking out six. Lodolo’s earned run average is down to 3.75.

It was a pitcher’s duel at Great American Ball Park on Sunday afternoon. Opposite Lodolo, the Brewers went with a bullpen game that kept the Reds off balance all day long. The game was locked in a 1-1 tie until rookie outfielder Spencer Steer launched one 414 feet to centerfield that gave Cincinnati a 2-1 advantage in the eighth inning. That score would hold for the final as Alexis Diaz struck out the side to shut the door.