Brewers, Reds Split, Trade Bombs in Battle at the Bottom

I think me and Mike are in a similar state at this point, in a manner of speaking. Both of us are out of contention, we sold at the deadline, there's not a ton else for us to do except run out the clock. I've had some decent second half luck, as I tend to, but I also know that Mike's teams tend to match up well against me because there's no lefties for me to bash [or in Eli White's case, fail to bash despite all the opportunities to do so]. 

So getting a split out of this Reds series, which happened Tuesday night, almost tracks. It very nearly wasn't a split, but the way we got to that outcome wasn't a way I can be terribly mad at.

Here now the writeup:

Game 1: Brewers 9, Reds 6

W: Jacob Misiorowski

L: Michael Wacha

SV: Lake Bachar

Looking at the score, and looking at the first inning, it may not exactly match up. Michael Wacha started the game by fleecing the top three batters of the Brewers, while the very first batter the Miz faced, ex-teammate Kyle Stowers, was a no-doubter into the seats. I was thinking it'd be one of those games, but immediately next things turned around. 

As the Brewers tend to, we found ways to score runs. With two men on, Nacho Alvarez singled Heliot Ramos home, then a walk loaded the bases, then Carlos Santana singled 2 more guys home. That ended Wacha's day. J.P. Crawford would single one more run in before Hurston Waldrep calmed things down...only for the heat to rise again the following inning thanks to a Nacho Alvarez 2-run homer [big day for Nacho, he went 3 for 4 with a walk and 5 RBIs]. 

It is interesting to note that, despite a 9-K day for the Miz [very much a taste of things to come], he did give up three solo home runs, including one to Elly de la Cruz in the 2nd and one to Ketel Marte in the third. But, as Mike lamented, they were only solo shots. 

It was 6-3 for a while, but in the eighth, Mike made it close thanks to Daniel Palencia loading the bases and Adrian Del Castillo and Joey Bart singling guys home. Anthony Bender, another ex-Brewer, would add insurance, thanks to a Jackson Chourio solo homer, an infield error that resulted in two bases for Drake Baldwin, and an infield split roll that made a sac into a single with 2 more RBIs for, you guessed it, Nacho Alvarez. Mike would muster one more run on a Rafael Devers sacfly in the ninth, but it would not be enough.

Game 2: Reds 7, Brewers 2

W: Merrill Kelly

L: Zack Littell

Like last game, the team to score first would not be indicative of the end result. Bryan Reynolds smoked an RBI double that Jackson Chourio also could have scored on, had he not gotten picked off on a 1-16 safe chance. But then the Reds would prove that while Mike may not have found the rolls in Game 1, he certainly would in Game 2. First Ketel Marte homered, then in the second Ramon Laureano had a 2-run shot, then in the sixth Brandon Nimmo and Mike Yastrzemski would single home 3 more runs. The 4 column that had been so elusive to Mike in the first half was coming up a lot more in this game.

Merrill Kelly, meanwhile, almost completely shut down the Brewers. Through 7 and a third, he only gave up 2 runs [the other on a Xander Bogaerts solo shot right before he left], struck out 8, and stranded 6 baserunners. Masterful pitching performance from the veteran, made even better by the inefficiency of the Brewers lineup. One more run would come in during the 8th for the Reds, but aside from that this one sort of petered off after Kelly left the game.

Game 3: Brewers 2, Reds 0

W: Sonny Gray

L: Kodai Senga

SV: Jhoan Duran

That this Brewers team shut out this Reds team, while stranding seven baserunners throughout the game, including one that got to third on an error to the second baseman, is insane. Sonny Gray doesn't even have the greatest card [this year], but he pitched six scoreless innings, with 8 strikeouts and only 2 hits allowed. I'd say Senga was a little shakier, but the only mar on his record was that RBI double in the 2nd to J.P. Crawford that got the two runs in. 

Aside from that, he and the rest of the Reds' pitching staff stranded FIFTEEN BASERUNNERS, including THREE that got to third. That's the part that blows my mind. This was a close game, but the Brewers were constantly at the point to make it a runaway. J.P. Crawford was never called out during this game, made it on base all five times he batted, and went 3 for 4 with a walk and a fielder's choice, plus two doubles. And this man never made it home. Twice he was left on third, twice he was left on second. And twice Bryan Reynolds, ex-Red, screwed up the opportunity to get him home. Unbelievable. If it weren't for the Brewers bullpen  being equally strong, including a lights-out save from Duran, I'd be madder about it.

Game 4: Reds 5, Brewers 4 [F/11]

W: Robert Suarez

L: Daniel Palencia

Hey, here's a fun statistic. During the first half of this season, the Milwaukee Brewers went to extra innings THIRTEEN TIMES. And in that stretch, the Brewers went 7-5. The Brewers won 16 games during the first half, and 7 of them were in extras, meaning only 9 wins were in regulation. Anyway, I bring this up because in the second half, the Brewers have gone to extra innings...one time. And it was this game. 

I gotta be honest, guys. I had this one. I think of decisions I could have made to prevent this outcome, and a few come to mind. I was winning 3-0 in the sixth, thanks to three solo homers off Edward Cabrera. One from Liam Hicks, one from Connor Norby in his return from the IL, and one from Eli White. Matt Boyd was working a clinic for me through 5, with 6 Ks and 1 hit, despite a few baserunners reaching on errors from White and Boyd. If I had taken out Boyd for the 6th to conserve an inning and brought in my longman, Hayden Birdsong, there is a chance I would have avoided this loss. But I thought that Boyd was cruising so I kept him in.

Here's how the sixth inning went. Joey Bart walks. Eugenio Suarez homers. 3-2. Marte grounds out. Ramon Laureano singles. KYLE FARMER homers. 4-3. So there went my lead. I'd tie the game in the 8th off of Brad Keller with another solo shot from ELI WHITE. So for those keeping score, Eli White, who's supposed to crush lefties, cannot do a damn thing whenever I start him against a lefty...but against Mike's army of right handed pitchers he hits 2 home runs. Make it make sense. 

The other decision that altered the fabric of this game. Nick Fortes tripled, and two walks loaded the bases in the eighth. Heliot Ramos was set to bat, but I decided to pinch hit Jackson Chourio, who I sat for conservation's sake. Chourio popped out to end the inning. I checked what that same roll would have given me on Ramos's card, and it would have been an HBP, which would have gotten Fortes home, untied the game, and kept extras from happening. But no, we remained knotted up in the ninth, and kept going.

My other mistake was keeping Daniel Palencia in for the 11th, but...honestly I was exhausted, I woke up at like 7:30 at the shore that morning. So Brandon Nimmo having a 1-9 homer chance with two outs in the 11th...yeah, why not. It was a low roll, Nimmo walked it off, and at least it ended entertainingly. 

Thanks to Mike for coming by and rolling. Was a fun series despite us trading off who'd have horrible luck. The Brewers are now 33-47, which, fun fact, was exactly our record with 2 series' remaining last season. We ended up at 37-51 in 2025 thanks to splitting the last two series. My goal has been to meet this standard, and possibly even exceed it. Only the Dodgers and Nationals remain this year for me, and...I'm not exactly guaranteed a 4-4 record from those series. But I'll certainly try. It'd just be very funny if, despite the effort that went into this team this year, we end up with the exact same record as we did in 2025, and the exact same place in the standings.