Brewers 4, Reds 3: Into the Break

Win: Kameron Loe
Loss: Francisco Cordero

HR: None

MVP: Mark Kotsay (.368)
LVP:  Yuniesky Betancourt (-.206)

Fangraphs Win Expectancy Graph

I had the title of this post all prepared as "Brewers 2, Reds 3" but I had a feeling that something might happen and refrained from fleshing out the rest.  Looks like that was a good idea. 

The game started off looking like it would be a slugfest as both teams scored a run in both the opening innings, with opportunities to score more.  Then, except for a solitary Cincinnati run in the fourth, the bats died out.  Dontrelle Willis and Randy Wolf both settled in and pitched pretty good games after struggling the first couple of innings.  Wolf managed to go seven innings with two earned runs by the time he was pulled.

It looked like that start might be in vain as Aroldis Chapman made the Brewers look silly and the Reds brought in closer Francisco Cordero with a 3-2 lead in the ninth. 

And Cordero started out well, forcing Yuniesky Betancourt to ground out.  That would be the only out he could get, though, as he then allowed a single to Nyjer Morgan and walked George Kottaras.  A single by Mark Kotsay brought Nyjer home to tie the game.  Then, after Rickie Weeks was hit by a pitch, Craig Counsell hit the game winning sac fly to score Kottaras.

Not a bad way to go into the all star break.