The Cincinnati Reds discovered that up close and impersonal Friday night in Great American Ball Park, an unfathomable 10-8 loss to the Brewers.
The Reds sent 12 batters to the plate in the second inning and seven straight reached base as they constructed a seemingly insurmountable 8-1 lead.
But these are the Brewers, now winners of 13 straight to tie a franchise record, 13 in a row to start the 1987 season.
It was a complete and total collapse by the Reds as they helped the Brewers as if to say, “We don’t want it, you take it.”
They failed to complete two easy double plays that would have ended two innings with no runs. They made three errors that led to runs — miscues by left fielder Austin Hays, second baseman Gavin Lux and center fielder TJ Friedl. All three led to runs. And catcher Tyler Stephenson committed a passed ball that let in another run.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
And to add total insult to the fatality, after the Reds scored seven runs in the second inning for the 8-1 lead, they never put another runner on base.
Six Brewers relief pitchers retired the last 23 Reds in a row, 10 via strikeouts. Nick Mears, Aaron Ashby, Jared Koenig and Trevor Megill all pitched 1-2-3 innings and each one struck out two.
In the third inning, slow-footed catcher William Contreras hit a double play grounder to shortstop Elly De La Cruz. But he couldn’t get the ball out of his glove cleanly and his flip to second baseman Lux was off-line and Contreras beat the throw.
The Brewers then scored five runs to cut the Reds’ lead to 8-6.
Contreras did it again in the fourth inning, another double play ball to end an inning with no runs. This time second baseman Lux completely booted the ground ball.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The Brewers then scored two runs to tie it, 8-8, and it was obvious the Brewers were alive and the Reds were dying.
And what is it about Christian Yelich? When he plays against the Reds he makes Babe Ruth resemble a banjo hitter.
Yelich’s contribution was four hits — two homers, a double, a single and five runs batted in.
It is Players’ Weekend all over MLB and players are permitted to wear specially painted shoes and custom-painted bats.
As a tribute to former Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker, who passed away in January, Yelich’s bat was a tribute to Uecker. Uecker’s name was on the bat and the words of his home run call, “Get up, get up, get out.”
“I wasn’t going to use it, but I tried it out in batting practice and said I’d use it my first time up,” Yelich told reporters after the game.
By the way, Uecker played six years in the majors and never had a four-hit game.
Yelich’s first time up he homered off Reds starter Nick Martinez, tying it 1-1 after the Reds scored a run off Milwaukee’s rookie sensation, Jacob Misiorowski, on a run-scoring single by Lux.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“We all thought that homer with the Uecker bat was funny and he would think it was awesome,” said Yelich. “But he probably would have thought my jam-shot double my second time up was better. It was a good time and a good joke.”
It was no joke to the Reds.
Misiorowski, 4-1 with a 2.70 earned run average in seven major league starts, was coming off the injured list after getting hit on the shin by a line drive.
His second inning was a wipeout. With one out, he hit Stephenson with a pitch. Then he walked three straight to force in a run.
In succession, Elly De La Cruz doubled for two runs, Miguel Andujar singled for a run. Lux singled for his second RBI and Noelvi Marte singled for a run.
There it was, 8-1, and most of the 25,470 were in a frenzy.
But Martinez was not up to the hold-em assignment.
During Milwaukee’s five-run third, Yelich, still using his Uecker bat, blooped a jam-job run-scoring double and Andrew Vaughn hit a three-run homer, his ninth in the 28 games since he arrived via trade at the deadline from the Chicago White Sox and it was 8-6.
Yelich’s two-run bases-loaded single in the fourth off Brent Suter tied it and his second homer, 25th on the year, this one off Scott Barlow, gave the Brewers a 9-8 lead.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
It was Milwaukee’s biggest comeback of the year and they are 25-9 against the Reds over the last three seasons.
Of the comeback, Yelich said, “We were just saying in the dugout, ‘Let’s just chip away. Let’s make this thing interesting. We have seven or eight innings to go. We don’t need to get it all back in one inning.’”
But they nearly did.
“It was a great win for us because we just battled and got great contributions from people,” he said. “That’s what our team is about.”
Manager Pat Murphy calls his 77-win Brewers, best record in baseball, “The Milwaukee Nobodies, just a team of average Joes.”
But it is a team with togetherness and the players wear t-shirts that say, “Power of Friendship.”
Fortunately for the Reds, the New York Mets also lost and the Reds remain just a half-game behind the Mets for the third wild card spot.
NEXT GAME
Who: Milwaukee at Cincinnati
When: 6:40 p.m.
TV: FanDuel Sports
Radio: 1410-AM, 700-AM
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