| Finale | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (7-8) |
4 | 5 | 0 |
| Milwaukee Brewers (5-7) |
1 | 4 | 2 |
| W: DeSclafani (1-0) L: Anderson (0-1) SV: Churches (2) |
|||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Discussion | |||
An early 3-run moonshot of Eugenio Saurez stopped when Anthony DeSclafani and the bullpen ended the Milwaukee Brewers (5-7) offense on Saturday night. The win moved the Cincinnati Reds (7-8) to second place in the National League Central.
It Strikes
Phillip Ervin ended the game with an infield single on a dribbler on third baseline. After Nick Castellanos ran out, Joey Votto made a spectacular save. That put Eugenio Suarez on the plate and he wasted no time taking advantage of the extra baserunner provided by the Brewers defense when he beat a home team to Cincinnati. Sure, Hawk-Eye measured it at 427 feet, but they were wrong, because it’s much further to Cincinnati’s home plate at Miller Park than that.
The offense was a bit quiet in the 2nd and 3rd, but that changed in the 4th. Jesse Winker was hit by a pitch with one out, and then Freddy Galvis singled out to set up two men. Kyle Farmer had what was essentially a swinging bunt to move the rounds each a base. That turned the lineup around and Phillip Ervin followed with a 4-pitch walk to load the bases and run Brett Anderson out of the game. Milwaukee went after their bull, allowing Corbin Burnes to meet Nick Castellenos with the bases loaded and two outs. Burnes came up ahead in this match, after a full count before a 97 MPH fastball went on its knees for a swinging strike three to end the threat.
Kyle Farmer got the offensive back in the 7th inning by drawing a bases-laden walk to start the frame. David Bell went to his bench to hit for Phillip Ervin and Shogo Akiyama came through with a three-point lead to make it 4-0 for the Reds. Joey Votto hit a ball into shallow center and after trying to tag, Akiyama was thrown with 6 feet on the plate to end the end.
After a quiet 8th inning, the Reds threatened again in the 9th. Freddy Galvis and Kyle Farmer went down to start the inning, but Shogo Akiyama ran and then Nick Castellanos was hit by a pitch in the shoulder on a fastball that came too close to his head for comfort. But Joey Votto struck out on three pitches to end the threat and send the game to Raisel Iglesias for the bottom of the 9th.
The Pitching
Anthony DeSclafani made his second start of the season and he looked good early on. He worked around a 1-out walk from Kestron Hiura in the 1st inning, knocked the side out in the 2nd, and faced the minimum in the 3rd after a leadoff single was cleared on a baseball double play.
The middle three innings of the game were also there for DeSclafani. In the 4th inning he got a 1-2-3 from Hiura, Yelich, and Morrison. The next frame was another 1-2-3 effort where he needed just seven pitches. The 6th inning began with a strikeout by Brock Holt and Orlando Arcia started from the ground up – but both went to full counts. Eric Sogard almost put the reducer away having drawn the entire left side defense away, but the shot went straight into the arms of the goalkeeper. That ended a streak of 10 consecutive outs. The Reds righty came back to knock out Hiura to end the inning and maintain a 3-0 lead through six. That would end the night for DeSclafani, who fired six shutout innings on just two hits and a walk.
Amir Garrett took the mound to start the 7th inning to convert the heart of the lineup for the Brewers. He knocked out Christian Yelich on four field goals, and then got Logan Morrison to ground after shortstop for the second from the inning. Garrett had to work to retire Avisaild Garia, but at the 7th pitch of the at-bat he locked himself on a 95 MPH fastball to send the game to the 8th inning and his ERA to 1.59 early this season to lower.
Michael Lorenzen came up to start the 8th inning and things just can never be easy. Ben Gamel led off with a double to center field. Omar Narvaez appeared on cue near the post, and steered it past the goalie. Brock Holt hit a fairly deep flyball to get the Brewers on the board with a sacrificial fly. Lorenzen buckled against Orlando Arcia and Eric Sogard, banished Arcia and got Sogard to fly out to send the game to the 9th with a 4-1 lead.
With a deflected save situation, David Bell went to Raisel Iglesias to try things out. After a first pitch ball to Keston Hiura, Iglesias went 96, 89, then 97 for three straight lines for the first out. Christian Yelich jumped forward with 2-0, but would go to the second from ground. Just as he started the inning, Iglesias finished it off – with a strikeout that allowed Logan Morrison to swing over three straight substitutions.
Notes worth noting
Jesse Winker, who was hit by a field goal in the 4th inning in the elbow, was removed from the game. Travis Jankowski came in to finish the match. Phillip Ervin took the field to the left.
David Bell said Winker will be fine, came out to HBP #Reds
– C. ???????????? (@ctrent) August 9, 2020
Joey Votto’s strike in the top of the 9th was only his second of the season. He has had 52 record appearances this year. Two strikeouts, 10 walks.
Anthony DeSclafani threw 11.0 shutout starts to start the year and has just one catcher running.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Sunday, August 9 14:10 ET
Sonny Gray (3-0, 0.96) vs. Brandon Woodruff (1-1, 2.08)
