Garrett Mitchell Leads To The Better Team's Win

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

For the Reds there is no sugar coating it.

The Milwaukee Brewers illustrated winning baseball and used Garrett Mitchell's four hits, wisely to beat the Reds for the sixth straight time, 4-2 and clinch the four game series with a hot pitching matchup set for Thursday.

Mitchell accounted for half the Brewers hits with two doubles, a triple and a single. Ashby got the win, his 12 which leads the Major Leagues.

Andrew Abbott was able to keep the Brewers off the scoreboard after he labored through a two-run first inning, however the inning illustrated how the Brewers play winning baseball and the Reds do not, at least to this point.

Abbott issued one of his five walks to Jackson Chourio to start the game. Brice Turang doubled.

The illustration comes right now. The Brewers were fundamentally sound. William Contreras put the ball in play, a soft ground ball to second baseman, Edwin Arroyo, who recorded the out with Chourio scoring and Turang moving to third. Jake Bauers hit a sacrifice fly to left. One hit, they score two runs.

Tyler Stephenson singled in front of a home run by Noelvi Marte. His fifth of the season off Shane Drohan, tied the game.

Abbott pitched out of a bases loaded jam of his own making in the bottom of the inning. Chourio and Turang walked with two outs. Contreras hit an infield single. Elly De La Cruz saved a run by getting to the ball on the outfield grass. Abbott struck out Bauers.

Mitchell hit his first double in the third and went to third on a bad pickoff throw by Abbott. Gary Sanchez walked. Mitchell and Cooper Pratt tried the suicide squeeze. Spencer Steer fielded in quickly and threw home to get Mitchell. The close play held up on appeal.

Mitchell doubled again with two outs in the fifth but was stranded.

This is where the comparison between the Reds and Brewers execution of plays illustrates the reason the Brewers are 14 and a half games better than the Reds in the standings.

Spencer Steer walked. Eugenio Suarez doubled into the left field corner. Chourio got to is quickly enough to make Steer hold at third with no outs. Runners are on second and third with no outs. Stephenson hits a slow roller to Pratt at shortstop. He threw Stephenson out at first. Steer did what he was supposed to do and get down the line and hold but Suarez took off for third. Steer was tagged out and it turned into a rally killing, weird 6-3-2 double play.

"Steer did a good job," Terry Francona said. "He went down the line and held but when Suarez went to third, he had to go."

Aaron Ashby got the final out.

The game was still tied but the chance was squandered.

Abbott pitched five innings, allowed two runs on five hits, but the five walks pushed his pitch count to 96. 

Tejay Antone pitched a scoreless sixth.

Brock Burke took over for the Reds in the seventh it was his National League leading 42nd game. He got the first two outs in the inning but lefty nemesis Andrew Vaughn doubled on a 3-2 pitch. Mitchell drilled a ball to the right centerfield gap for a triple to put the Brewers ahead. Burke threw a wild pitch and Mitchell scored.

The Reds got a leadoff single by De La Cruz in the eighth off Abner Uribe but Sal Stewart hit into a 4-6-3 double play.

Stephenson doubled off Trevor Megill, who earned his 12th save by striking out pinch hitter, JJ Bleday to end the game.

Andrew Abbott The Dragon Slayer? New Position And MLB Debut

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Dateline: Cincinnati 

Andrew Abbott's turn to take on the Milwaukee Brewers monster. The Reds need a dragon slayer. They have lost five straight to Milwaukee.

Abbott is 5-4 with a 3.90 ERA. He pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing four runs, three earned on six hits. and a walk. He struck out six but gave up three home runs. 

Abbott is 3-4 lifetime against the Brewers with a 3.74 ERA in eight starts. He made two starts against Milwaukee last season with a 0-1 record. On June 4, Abbott pitched six innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits and a walk. He gave up home runs to Jackson Chourio and Daz Cameron in a 9-1 loss. His last start was on August 17, Abbott pitched seven scoreless innings on four hits in the Reds 3-2 10-inning win.

Left hander Shane Drohan pitches for Milwaukee.

He has a 3-2 record with a 3.12 ERA. His last start was against the Reds on June 24. Drohan pitched 4 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball in the Brewers 6-5 win. He allowed five hits and three walks with five strikeouts. It was his lone appearance against the Reds.

The Reds are sending Matt McLain to center field for his first Major League start at that position. Ivan Johnson will get his first Major League start ever in left field. He struck out in his first career at bat on Tuesday.

Reds Lineup:

Elly De La Cruz SS

Sal Stewart 3B

Spencer Steer 1B

Eugenio Suarez DH

Tyler Stephenson C

Noelvi Marte RF

Ivan Johnson LF

Matt McLain CF

Edwin Arroyo 2B

Brewers Lineup:

Jackson Chourio LF

Brice Turang 2B

William Contreras DH

Jake Bauers RF

Andrew Vaughn 1B

Garrett Mitchell CF

Gary Sanchez C

Cooper Pratt SS

Joey Ortiz 3B

Brewers Surgical Offense Performed Excision On Reds

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

The Milwaukee Brewrs sliced, diced and trimmed the Reds in a fifth straight confrontation with a 7-2 win.

Though the Brewers mixed in three extra base hits after a decisive four run fourth inning. They drew their strength from stringing singles together in two scoring innings.

By contrast the Reds had six hits with Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart hogged four of them.

 They were 1-for-8 with runners on second. They never put a man in third.

TJ Friedl was on second with no outs in the third and Stewart was stranded on second after reaching with no outs in the sixth.

Stewart belted his 16th home run in the first inning to give the Reds a quick lead.

That run was more that Brewers starter allowed the Reds in his last start. The Reds had one hit off him last Tuesday.

Rhett Lowder was touched for consecutive hits by Jake Bauers, Garrett Mitchell and Sal Frelick to tie the game.

William Contreras, Bauers, Mitchell and Frelick opened the inning with singles. Frelick’s drove in the go-ahead run. Joey Ortiz high bounder over Stewart’s head at first. The fifth straight hit scored two runs. After David Hamilton was thrown out on a bunt. Christian Yelich walked and Jackson Chourio singled home the fourth run of the inning.

Bauers opened the bottom of the fifth with his 15th home run.

Lowder was removed with two outs in the fifth. He was charged with six runs in 4 2/3 innings. Lowder gave up a career-high 11 hits, 10 were singles. He walked one and struck out a career-high eight, including all three batters in the first on 10 pitches.

Caleb Ferguson entered to strand Ortiz at first.

The Reds fought back against Sproat in the sixth. Elly De La Cruz and Stewart opened with doubles. It was the 61st RBI for Stewart.

The Brewers put two on with one out in the bottom of the sixth  Julian Garcia replaced Ferguson.

Garcia saved the bullpen with 2 2/3 innings but gave up a solo home run to Chourio, his 12th.

Noteworthy in the loss Matt McLain was positioned in center field for the bottom of the eighth. It was the first time as a pro outside of the Arizona Fall League in 2024. He was rehabbing an injury but had to play center to get at bats. He did play center field as freshman at UCLA.

Ivan Johnson, who was called up when  Dane Myers was placed on the injured list. He struck out in his first big league at bat. He is the fifth player to make his Major League debut with the Reds this season, joining Garcia, Edwin Arroyo, Zach McCambley and Jose Franco.

Rhett Lowder Tries To Halt Brewers

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

Rhett Lowder and Brandon Sproat hook up in the second game of this four-game series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Reds.

Lowder is 3-5 with a 4.81 ERA in 12 starts. His last was against the Brewers was on Wednesday June 24 against them. 

He allowed three earned runs in 5 2/3 innings on eight hits and one walk with six strikeouts. He gave up home runs to William Contreras and Jake Bauers.

 Sproat is 2-4 with a 5.43 ERA in 13 starts. His last start was against the Reds on Tuesday June 23 against the Reds.

He was the winning pitcher in Milwaukee’s 2-0 triumph at Great American Ball Park.

Sproat pitched six innings, allowed one hit with no walks and on hit batter. He struck out 10,

The Reds lineup:

Elly De La Cruz SS

Sal Stewart 1B

JJ Bleday LF

Eugenio Suarez 3B

Nathaniel Lowe DH

Noelvi Marte RF

Edwin Arroyo 2B

Jose Trevino C

TJ Friedl CF

Brewers lineup:

Christian Yelich DH

Jackson Churio LF

Brice Turang 2B

William Contreras C

Jake Bauers 1B

Garrett Mitchell CF

Sal Frelick RF

Joey Ortiz SS

David Hamilton 3B

Reds Roster Ups And Downs

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

The Reds roster is changing with the ebb and flow of injuries. 

As expected Emilio Pagan was activated from the injured list with a healed left hamstring.

He used just 15 pitches in two rehab appearances, the last on Sunday to prove his health.

 Zack McCambley, called up to replace Tony Santillan, was returned to Louisville.

Dane Myers suffered a left shoulder contusion while slamming into the outfield wall, robbing Andrew Vaughn of extra bases in Monday’s game.

His replacement is not Will Benson, not the hot hitting Hector Rodriguez but Ivan Johnson.

Johnson was the Reds fourth round pick in the 2019 draft out of Chipola College in Marianna, Florida. He attended the same high school as Tyler Stephenson at Kennesaw Mountain High School near Atlanta.

Johnson, who was invited to major league camp the last two springs, was hitting .290 in 55 games in Louisville with an on-base-percentage of .388. He hit eight doubles and nine home runs. He stole 11 bases in 13 attempts. In 208 plate appearances he walked 26 times and struck out 49 times.

He played four games in the World Baseball Classic for Great Britain where he played third base.

The Reds drafted him as an infielder but moved him to the outfield. Johnson started 24 games at second base this season, one at third. He started two games in center field and 15 in left field.

Joey Ortiz Dramatic Blast Bums Reds

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

Joey Ortiz picked a dramatic moment to belt the second home run of the season. The blast provided the margin in the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-3 win.

The Brewers are 4-0 against the Reds after sweeping a three-game series in Cincinnati last week.

 Nick Lodolo left the game with a 3-0 lead. He pitched five scoreless innings, allowing one hit. It gave him nine scoreless against the Brewers. In his last start he finished four innings even after Jackson Churio lined a ball of his left wrist.

Lodolo walked four and struck out four, including Churio on a 12-pitch dispute.

The Reds scored early against Brewer starter Robert Gasser. With two outs Spencer Steer singled. JJ Bleday walked. Dane Myers double to score Steer.

Elly De La Cruz hit his 13th home run of the season after Edwin Arroyo singled.

Myers had to leave the game on a cart after he robbed Andrew Vaughn of an extra base hit leading off the fourth.

“It was an amazing catch,” Terry Francona said. “He’s fearless. I’m surprised he held onto it but he paid a price.”

The Reds too x-rays but sent him to the hospital.

“They’re checking for a lot of things, shoulder, neck, ribs. He was really hurting and it wasn’t going away,” Francona said.

Chase Petty surrendered the lead.

Vaughn doubled off Sal Stewart’s glove with one out. Pinch hitter Christian Yelich walked. Pinch hitter Jake Bauers singled to score Vaughn. Petty threw a wild pitch on ball four to Sal Frelick. The inning ended on a fly out by pinch hitter, David Hamilton and strike out of Joey Ortiz to end the sixth.

Brice Turang hit his 12th home run to tie the game in the seventh.

Sam Moll struck out Yelich to end the seventh. He got Bauers to fly out. Hamilton bunted him to second. Tejay Antone gave up Ortiz’ second home run of the season on a 1-1 pitch.

“He threw three breaking balls in a row,” Francona said. “I don’t think he got it where he wanted to.”

Dane Myers Leaves The Game After Awesome Catch

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

Dane Myers had to leave the game with the Milwaukee Brewers after a long running catch to rob Andrew Vaughn of an extra base hit.

Myers raced to deep center to control the ball before crashing into the fence with his shoulder and the left side of his face.

series.

 He was able to sit up before trainers Sean McQueeney and Tomas Veras ordered the cart.

Myers had an RBI double in first inning with two outs to give the Reds a 1-0 lead.

TJ Friedl, called up on Sunday when Blake Dunn was placed on the 10-day injured list, took over for Myers.

Nick Lodolo Take Two Tonight In Milwaukee

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

Nick Lodolo may still be smarting from the line drive that Jackson Churio sent at 107 mph off his left wrist. 

He finished the inning getting out of a bases loaded fourth inning jam but left when it swelled between innings.

His four scoreless innings were unrewarded in a 2-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

  Tonight (062926) Lodolo will cart his 2-2 record with a 5.59 ERA into the rematch and his 10th start. 

Lodolo is 4-2 in his six starts with a 2.52 ERA against Milwaukee lifetime.

Left hander Robert Gasser with a 1-3 record and 4.50 ERA will oppose Lodolo.

Gasser was drafted in the second round of the 2021 draft out of the University of Houston. The Brewers sent Josh Hader to San Diego for Gasser and three others in August 2022.

He broke in with the Brewers in 2024. He made seven starts combined for 2024 and 2025. 

Gasser made seven starts in Nashville before starting for the first time for the Brewers on May 17. His last two starts have been his best. He pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings against the Cleveland Guardians allowing two hits and a pair of walks. He struck out five. Gasser earned his first winning decision in a 9-4 verdict against the Atlanta Braves with six innings of two-run baseball on four hits and a walk. He struck out a career tying high seven. 

Gasser walked 12 and struck out 31 in 30 innings. He surrendered six home runs, including four in his start against the Athletics on June 9.

He has one start against the Reds, a losing 7-4 decision in which he allowed four unearned runs on four hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings.

The Reds lineup:

Elly De La Cruz DH

Sal Stewart 3B

Spencer Steer 3B

JJ Bleday LF

Dane Myers CF

Noelvi Marte RF

Tyler Stephenson C

Matt McLain SS

Edwin Arroyo 2B

Milwaukee lineup: available later 

The Cavalry Is Coming Starter And Closer On Their Way

      

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

Hunter Greene made a rehab start against the St. Paul Saints on Sunday.

Greene was scheduled to throw 85 pitches. This may be his last rehab start as long as he recovers normally.

The 26-year old right hander pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings in Louisville. He allowed one hit. He struck out four with no walks. He threw 84 pitches with 54 strikes.

 Greene made two starts in Louisville and one in the Arizona Complex League. In Triple A he totaled 10 1-3 innings with no runs on three hits and a walk.

Greene had bone chips removed in March after not retiring a single batter in the first inning in his lone spring training start against the Milwaukee Brewers. He could join the Reds in Milwaukee but likely won’t be activated until the team returns home against the Baltimore Orioles. If he stays on a five day rotation routine. His first start would be Friday.

Emilio Pagan finished his second rehab appearance also on Sunday. It took him a total of 13 pitches in two scoreless outings in Louisville. Pagan will likely be activated sooner. 

The Reds placed Tony Santillan, the substitute closer, on the injured list on Friday.

The Reds have 11 pitchers who recorded a save this season. Pagan still leads with six even missing 44 games (25-29) since May 6 when he was placed on the injured list with a strained left hamstring.

Ryan O’Hearn Keeps Pirates Afloat In Series Finale

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

Ryan O’Hearn hit two home runs and Tyler Callihan haunted the Reds to account for seven of the Pittsburgh Pirates runs in a 9-4 win to salvage a game in the series.

Brady Singer pitched seven scoreless innings in his last start. The Pittsburgh Pirates reversed his fortunes with a four-run second inning.

The big hit came from Callihan, who broke in with the Reds last year but tore his shoulder. He was traded for Kyle Nicolas.

 Callihan hit his third home run of the season, a three-run blow that followed an RBI ground rule double by Esmerlyn Valdez.

The Reds evened the game against Mitch Keller with two runs in the fourth and fifth.

Elly De La Cruz reached on an error by second baseman Brandon Lowe. Sal Stewart slammed a double off the high right field wall. De La Cruz stopped at third. JJ Bleday delivered them with a single to right center.

Singer was able to escape a bases loaded no out jam in the bottom of the inning, Callihan singled. Jake Mangum reached on an error by second baseman Edwin Arroyo. Henry Davis bunted for a hit. Konnor Griffin forced Callihan at the plate. Lowe struck out and Bryan Reynolds grounded out.

Noelvi Marte walked to start the fifth. Tyler Stephenson delivered an RBI double over Callihan’s head in left.  Arroyo singled to score Stephenson with the tying run.

Singer started the fifth. Ryan O’Hearn hit his 12th home run to give the Pirates the lead. It was the 21st home run given up by Singer. He is third behind former Red, Zach Little and Jeffrey Springs from the Athletics.

Singer pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on nine hits and six strike outs. He didn’t walk anyone. The bullpen walked eight to aid and abet the Bucs.

Julian Garcia got the last two outs in the fifth and struck out David and Griffin to start the sixth. Then he walked, Lowe, Reynolds and Gonzales. Zach McCambley retired O’Hearn in a fly to right.

McCambley caught the walk bug in the seventh. He walked the first three batters in the seventh. The six walks in seven batters was reminiscent of the seven straight walks the Reds issued the Pirates in a 17-7 loss in May.

Brock Burke entered the game for the 42nd time which is second in baseball to Toronto Blue Jays’ Mason Fluharty’s 44 appearances.

Burke got Davis on an infield fly. Griffin hit a one hopper to Stewart at third. He stepped on third and threw home to get Valdez at home.

The Reds left two runners on base in the seventh and eighth.

Burke struck out Lowe to start the eighth. The Reds opted for Pierce Johnson.

The game was delayed by an hour and five minutes.

When the game resumed. Johnson couldn’t find home plate and walked Reynolds, who has now reached base in 33 straight games. 

O’Hearn hit his 13th. Valdez followed with his fifth of the season and third of the series to break the game open.