Making his return to shortstop after a three-game stint at DH due to quad tightness, Elly De La Cruz’s costly error in the top of the fifth inning helped the Milwaukee Brewers open the floodgates against the Reds on Sept. 4.
The Reds led the Brewers, 6-4, when De La Cruz mishandled a tailor-made double play ball off the bat of William Contreras.
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With the bases loaded and nobody out, the Reds went to the bullpen. Sam Moll hit Brice Turang to force in a run, then Cooper Pratt cleared the bases with a three-run triple. Pratt then scored on a wild pitch.
When the dust settled, it was a five-run frame that led to the latest chapter in the Brewers’ recent domination over the Reds, a 10-7 victory in front of 30,450 in attendance at Great American Ball Park.
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The Reds fall to 1-7 against the Brewers this season and 15-29 against NL Central opponents. The Brewers are 4-0 this season and have won nine consecutive series (and 12 of the last 13) at Great American Ball Park.
De La Cruz is now tied with San Francisco’s Willy Adames for the fifth most errors (18) in MLB this season. De La Cruz’s boot was the costliest, but he did his fair share of offensive damage (3-for-5), and it was far from the only blunder on a poor defensive night by the Reds.
Starting pitcher Rhett Lowder gave up seven runs (six earned) on six hits over four innings. Three of the four batters he walked came around to score, including a pair in the third inning when Turang’s two-run double gave the Brewers a 4-3 lead.
Lowder had gone at least five innings in each of his last seven starts since being bashed for eight runs on 11 hits in Colorado July 18. He went 3-1 with a 4.34 ERA in August.
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In right field, Héctor Rodríguez misplayed a pair of extra-base hits, though he was not charged with an error. On Pratt’s fifth-inning triple that put Milwaukee up for good, Rodríguez didn’t handle the ball cleanly when it ricocheted off the wall down the right-field line.
In the sixth inning, Luis Mey balked, which allowed Bauers to move into scoring position. He became Milwaukee’s 10th run of the night two batters later on a Contreras double.
The Reds had previously averaged just 2.85 runs per game in their first seven contests against Milwaukee. Cincinnati brought plenty of offense into this series opener, tagging Brewers’ left-hander Shane Drohan for six runs on five hits over just four innings.
Dane Myers, who made a dazzling home run robbery to end the second inning, had two hits, scored twice and stole a base. De La Cruz had his third 3-hit performance over the last eight games and Sal Stewart recorded his first RBI of September after winning NL Player of the Month honors for August.
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Matt McLain’s two-run homer in the third inning gave the Reds a 3-2 lead. One inning later, Eugenio Suarez, with a new walk-up song after becoming an American citizen, launched a three-run homer to put the Reds ahead, 6-4.
The Milwaukee bullpen then tamed the Reds’ offense after Drohan’s early exit. The trio of Chad Patrick, Antonio Senzatela and Aaron Ashby combined to permit one run on three hits over four innings, setting the table for Trevor Megill to record his 26th save of the season.
Reds’ left-hander Andrew Abbott (6-10, 4.49 ERA) gets the ball in Game 2 against the Brewers on Saturday, Sept. 5.
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Abbott is coming off a rough outing in Wrigley Field, when he tied a season-high in hits (eight) and runs allowed (seven) over just three innings in a 17-5 loss to the Cubs.
Abbott tossed five innings of two-run ball and took a no-decision in his only start of the year against the Brewers July 1.
He’s opposed by Milwaukee right-hander Dustin May (6-9, 4.69 ERA), who joined the Brewers at the deadline from St. Louis. With the Cardinals, he gave up one run over six innings against the Reds July 24.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Poor pitching, defense leads to another Reds loss to Brewers
