KSReds: Cincinnati Reds Lose Two of Three to Milwaukee

The Cincinnati Reds looked like world beaters on Friday night in Milwaukee. Nick Lodolo was mowing down the Brewers on the mound and the offense produced 17 hits at the plate. However, the Brew Crew bounced back with wins on Saturday and Sunday to secure the series victory. Cincinnati is now 56-82 overall on the season. Against the Brewers, the Reds are 6-9 on the season with four more games to play later in September.

Up next, the Reds return home to Great American Ball Park for four games with the Pittsburgh Pirates featuring a Tuesday doubleheader. Mike Minor is set to start the opener on Monday night at 6:40 p.m. EST. Then, Luis Cessa will start game one of Tuesday’s doubleheader. Game two’s starter hasn’t been announced, but Nick Lodolo will be back to pitch on Wednesday.

Nick Lodolo Dominates, Reds Take Series Opener

The Cincinnati Reds put runs on the board early and often on Friday night in Milwaukee. It started with a T.J. Friedl leadoff home run. After a Jonathan India triple, Kyle Farmer drove him in with a single to the opposite field. Donovan Solano, Nick Senzel, and Jose Barrero all drove in runs in the inning as well to spot the Reds a 5-0 advantage.

On the mound, Nick Lodolo turned in his best performance of the season. That is a sentence we have typed several times on this website throughout his rookie year. The left-hander turned in eight dominant innings allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out a career-best 11 batters. The Brewers’ only two runs came via a third inning two-run shot from Tyrone Taylor. In Lodolo’s last five starts he has pitched 33 1/3 innings allowing just nine earned runs while striking out 38 batters.

In the top of the ninth, the Reds added some insurance runs via a pair of long balls. Jonathan India hit a two-run shot and then Jake Fraley hit a solo home run to set the final score of 8-2. Lodolo earned the series-opening victory to move to 4-5 on the season with a 3.78 earned run average. In his last five starts, that ERA has been 2.43. He is a star in the making.

Reds Get One-Hit, Fall to Even Series

It is hard to win Major League Baseball games when you only record one hit. That is what the Cincinnati Reds did on Saturday in Milwaukee. In contrast to the hot start the Reds got on Friday night, the Brewers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning in this one. Willy Adames homered to left-centerfield driving in leadoff batter Christian Yelich to secure the early advantage. That would prove to be all the run support that starter Adrian Houser would need.

The lone Cincinnati hit came via a leadoff double by Jose Barrero in the third inning. After advancing to third base, Barrero scored on a T.J. Friedl sacrifice fly to cut the Brewers lead to 2-1. However, that is as close as the Reds would get. Yelich knocked one in with a single in the seventh inning and Andrew McCutcheon hit a two-run home run in the eighth to make it a 5-1 game. That would go on to be the final score as Milwaukee evened up the series at one run a piece.

Brewers Secure Series Win With Early Offensive Explosion

Rowdy Tellez just about took down the Cincinnati Reds by himself in Sunday’s rubber match. Or at least that’s how things seemed to be going early in the game. The Brewers’ first baseman drove in two runs in the first inning with a double to right field. Then, he blasted home runs to right field in both the second and fourth innings to extend the Milwaukee lead. Tellez finished the game with a 3-4 performance at the plate, posting two home runs and three runs batted in.

Alongside Tellez, Christian Yelich singled in a run in the second inning and Willy Adames drove him in with a two-run home run. The Brewers held a 6-2 advantage after the first two frames. Cincinnati had gotten on the board in the top of the second as Alejo Lopez and Matt Reynolds added runs that briefly tied the game at 2-2.

Lopez also delivered a two-run homer in the seventh inning that brought the score to 7-4. Then, the Reds really made things interesting in the top of the ninth. Rookie Spencer Steer scored on an overthrow of first base as all runners advanced to load the bases with one out at 7-5. T.J. Friedl delivered a sacrifice fly to make it 7-6 bringing Jonathan India to the plate with a chance to put the Reds on top. However, India struck out as the Brewers took the game and the series with a 7-6 win.