Milwaukee bats go silent: Reds 3, Brewers 1; Lorenzo Cain leaves game with intercostal discomfort

WP: Sal Romano (8-11) LP: Chase Anderson (9-8) Save: Raisel Iglesias (28); Homeruns: Cin - Jose Peraza (14); Mil - none

Lots of players, little results in this Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers (86-66) lost a crucial late season game at Miller Park tonight to the last place Cincinnati Reds (65-87) by putting up little resistence at the plate and losing 3-1. Their lead over the St. Louis Cardinals shrinks to 2 games as they took care of Atlanta. The Cubs are up big early on the D’Backs, so it looks like a 3.5 game deficit in the division going into Wednesday. The Brewers could only garner three singles, two walks, and a hit batter tonight, and only scored on a Cincy error.

Chase Anderson gave the Brewers a poor start, only able to go 3.2 innings and allowing three earned runs on six hits, with two walks and five strikeouts. Scott Schebler led off the game with a base hit to left center, and Jose Peraza drilled a fastball into the Milwaukee bullpen in left center. He got the next three, but the Reds were up 2-0 before the Crew got to the plate.

A double and a walk in the second produced no Reds runs, and after a lead off double and single in the third, Chase got the next three on a foul pop behind the plate and two strikeouts. But he couldn’t finish the fourth - a one out walk was followed an out later by a double by Scott Schebler to drive in the Reds third run. That came on an 0-2 fastball right down the middle, and it was the last pitch Anderson would throw tonight. Taylor Williams got the final out of the inning.

Meanwhile, Michael Lorenzen was looking like a really good starter for the Reds...and it was his first start since 2015. He went about 150 relief appearances between starts. After a scoreless first, though, he hit Travis Shaw in the right knee with his first pitch of the second. The Mayor stayed down for a while and was noticeably limping when he finally went to first. (He would leave after the third inning with Hernan Perez taking his spot, moving Jonathan Schoop to second with LBR at short.) After a called third strike to Jesus Aguilar and a ground out from Mike Moustakas that moved Shaw to second, Schoop poked a single to right. Eddie Seder stopped the hobbling Travis at third, but Schebler bobbled the ball in right and Shaw beat the throw to the plate for an unearned tally. That run and the one in the top of the fourth had the score 3-1 into the fifth.

Lorenzen ended up with just the one hit allowed in his four innings, with the unearned run, a walk, a hit batter, and three strikeouts.

Sal Romano worked 2.1 scoreless innings in relief, allowing a two out single by Christian Yelich in the sixth. He stole second, but was stranded when Keon Broxton struck out. Broxton had entered the game in the top of the fifth for Lorenzo Cain, and our speculation that Cain might be hurting a bit last night felt a bit prescient, pending news from the Brewers. Romano came out for a third inning, but left after a one-out base hit from Jesus Aguilar - just the third and final hit of the game for Milwaukee, all singles.

With Moustakas up, Jim Riggleman went with lefty Amir Garrett. The move paid off with a double play ball to end the seventh.

Craig Counsell cobbled together 5.2 innings of scoreless relief using six Brewer relievers. Taylor Williams, Xavier Cedeno, Corbin Burnes, Dan Jennings, Jacob Barnes, and Jordan Lyles combined for those 5.2 innings, allowing three hits and no walks with six strikeouts. That’s some nice work from the “B” Team, but without the bats it wasn’t enough.

Milwaukee went down in the eighth and ninth, although a lead-off walk for Granderson got the crowd riled up a bit. But Reds’ closer Raisel Iglesias struck out Yelich, Domingo Santana, and Perez to lock down his 28th save. That ended Sunday’s quest for baseball immortality at two consecutive pinch homers, one short of the record.

The rubber match for the series will have Matt Harvey (7-8, 4.67) going for the Reds and facing lefty Gio Gonzalez (8-11, 4.44).

Game Notes:

• Yelich’s stolen base was his twentieth, and he is the third player in club history to have thirty homers and twenty stolen bases.
• The pitchers that shut Milwaukee down tonight aren’t arms that strike fear in your heart, until you get to Iglesias in the ninth. This was a disappointing offensive effort.
• Injury update: Cain did leave with intercostal discomfort from that swing last night. CC didn’t like the look of some of his swings in his second at bat. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him off tomorrow to give him two off in a row. But to be honest, this one is a bit scary.
• Injury update part deux: Travis Shaw’s knee stiffened up but there was nothing on the x-ray, so he will be under some pretty aggressive treatment, I suspect. I also suspect he won’t be back in the line-up until Friday in Pittsburgh at the earliest.