KSReds: Cincinnati Reds Drop Another Series to the Brew Crew

Rain, rain go away. This entire series was played in and around some less than stellar weather. Then, on Thursday afternoon, things finally got completely washed out. The Cincinnati Reds were sent away from their home stand at Great American Ball Park without getting to finish the four game series with the Milwaukee Brewers. After an exciting series opener that saw Elly De La Cruz put together a historic performance, the Reds’ bats went cold as they would drop the next two games. Without the chance to even things up on Thursday, it left Cincinnati with a second straight series loss. The makeup date was announced as the first game of a split doubleheader on Friday, August 30th.

Given the impromptu day off allowed David Bell to skip Nick Martinez’s spot in the rotation. Now, Andrew Abbott will take the ball on Friday night against the Chicago White Sox. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. Eastern Time. Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott are also set to start on the south side.

Cincinnati is now an even 6-6 on the season after their second straight series loss. However, three games against the 2-10 White Sox could serve as the perfect get right opportunity. They then will remain on the road and head out west to face the Seattle Mariners to begin next week. This will be an important six game road trip heading into a seven game home stand.

Elly De La Cruz is the Most Electric Player in Baseball

Elly De La Cruz has had his share of miscues to begin this season. He is inconsistent in the field and still strikes out a lot at the plate. However, it can be easy to forget that he is just 22-years old. Whatever he provides at the Major League level is very unique for his age. On Monday night, the Cincinnati Reds young star proved why he is arguably the most electric player in all of baseball.

Before De La Cruz got going, the Reds got on the board in the second and then blew it open in the fourth inning. After a Santiago Espinal RBI ground out, Will Benson smashed a solo home run making it a 2-0 game. Later, in the fourth, Espinal and Benson produced back-to-back RBI once again. Spencer Steer then came to the plate delivering a two-run double that ballooned the lead up to 7-0. Finally, Jeimer Candelario capped off the big inning with a run-scoring single to right field. Despite the 8-0 lead, the game would prove to be far from over for Cincinnati.

The Milwaukee Brewers finally started to get to Graham Ashcraft in the fifth and sixth innings. Brice Turang got the party started with a two-run home run, but the Brew Crew would go on to scored six runs, five earned, off of the Reds’ starter. By the middle of the seventh inning, after a two-run bomb by Christian Yelich, the Brewers had cut their deficit to one at 9-8. Luckily, Elly De La Cruz smacked a 450-foot home run in the bottom of the fifth to add one to the Reds score column.

Speaking of De La Cruz, he would give Cincinnati a bit of cushion in the bottom half of the seventh. After Milwaukee’s centerfield missed a diving play, De La Cruz’s single turned into an inside the park home run. Hitting a 450-foot home run and an inside the park home run in the same game is an extraordinarily rare occurrence. Then, when you factor in they came from both sides of the plate, you make Major League Baseball history. Most importantly though, that 10-8 score would hold for the final. Alexis Diaz slammed the door in the ninth to earn his second save of the season.

Christian Yelich Powers Brewers Past the Reds

Whenever Christian Yelich retires it will be a good day for the Cincinnati Reds and the National League Central. The veteran outfielder drove in three runs on Tuesday night to help Milwaukee even the series. Blake Perkins also drove in three runs for the Brewers. All in all, the Brew Crew scattered 13 hits on their way to a 9-5 victory.

It was Frankie Montas’ first loss of the young season as he allowed five runs, three earned, on six hits in his five innings of work. Then, Carson Spiers ate up four innings allowing four more runs, three earned, on seven hits while also walking three batters. It certainly wasn’t Cincinnati’s sharpest performance on the mound of the season.

At the plate, both Jake Fraley and Spencer Steer stayed hot delivering a pair of hits and a RBI each. They are both hitting exactly .400 through 11 games. However, the Reds were also just 3-15 at the plate with runners in scoring position. That won’t get it done when you allow the opposing team to score nine runs.

Greene Struggles, Defensive Issues Continue, Reds’ Bats Go Cold

For the second straight game, Christian Yelich was a thorn in the side of the Cincinnati Reds. He connected on a two-run home run in the top of the first inning and the Brew Crew never looked back from there. That 2-0 advantage would balloon to 6-0 before the Reds finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Then, in the fifth, Elly De La Cruz provided a little life with a solo home run making it 6-2. However, that is as close as the comeback would get.

Hunter Greene was able to get through six innings, but allowed seven runs, six earned, while scattering six hits. He struck out nine batters while allowing just one walk so that was at least encouraging. However, timely hitting by Milwaukee doomed the Reds. They left just five runners on base and were 4-8 with runners in scoring position. You don’t need a lot of hits when they consistently come with guys on base and in scoring position.

For the Brewers, former Red Wade Miley took a no-hitter into the fourth inning before Stuart Fairchild poked one into right field which also scored Christian Encarnacion-Strand. Bryse Wilson then went three innings in relief to earn the win. The Brewers 7-2 victory gave them the advantage in the series going into Thursday afternoon’s fourth and final game at Great American Ball Park.