WP: Aroldis Chapman (1-0; first Major League win)
LP: Todd Coffey (2-3)
HR: Ryan Hanigan (5)
MVP: Chris Narveson (.362 on the bump, .167 at the dish)
LVP: Coffey (-.586)
Graph of Lukewarm Coffey
SB Nation Coverage
To the surprise of many -- not the least of whom was some chucklehead who wrote a recap of the game before the game even started -- the Brewers and Reds got mixed up in a pitchers' duel for the first six innings of tonight's game. Johnny Cueto scattered five hits and a walk over six innings, allowing only one earned run on a two-out single by his counterpart, Chris Narveson, in the top of the fifth.
Narveson was up to the task tonight, blanking the Reds over 6.1 innings. But after Narveson walked Ramon Hernandez with one down in the seventh, Ken Macha decided it was time to send the NarvDog to his kennel for the night. What followed was a parade of bed crapping by three Brewer relievers: Todd Coffey gave up a double, a single, and a three-run homer, Mike McClendon ceded a walk and a single, and Zach Braddock allowed a two-RBI single to Scott Rolen. That was enough to put away the Brewers, who mustered only a Casey McGehee single in the last three innings.
On a happier note: Jeremy Jeffress made his Major League debut in the eighth inning. His fastball command was a bit spotty, as you'd expect with the adrenaline going, but he touched 97.7 on the gun (according to GameDay) and was consistently at 96 with the heater. Jeffress allowed an opposite-field single to Miggy Cairo, but induced a 4-6-3 double play from Paul Janish on a tasty, low-and-away curve, and then retired Ryan Hanigan on a groundout to Rickie Weeks.