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It was a Thursday matinee at American Family Field in Milwaukee as the Brewers took on the visiting Cincinnati Reds in the finale of their three-game series. Veteran left-hander Brett Anderson got the start for the Crew and found himself in an early hole. Jonathan India led off the game with a single, then Tyler Stephenson walked. Nick Castellanos grounded into a fielder’s choice, moving India up to third base while Stephenson was out at second. That allowed Joey Votto to loft a sacrifice fly and give the Reds a 1-0 lead.
After that, the two teams traded zeroes for several innings. It was still 1-0 heading into the fifth, with Anderson remaining in the game. Eugenio Suarez led off the frame with a single, then Tyler Naquin hit a tapper back to Anderson on the mound. He was not able to get Naquin in time at first base, was charged with an error on his throw to first base, and also hit himself while fielding the ball. The injury was termed as “right hip tightness” and hopefully won’t be something long-term for Anderson, but he was forced to leave the game. Hunter Strickland entered with runners on first and third, got two outs, then coughed up a three-run bomb to India (who was once drafted by the Brewers) to make it 4-0.
The Reds added one more run in the sixth when Nick Castellanos hit a deep drive to left field off Brent Suter to make it 5-0 Reds, and the Brewers got on the board in the seventh inning thanks to a Luis Urias solo shot. The Brewers couldn’t put anything together against Sonny Gray, who twirled 6.0 shutout innings while allowing only three hits and two walks with six punchouts. For Gray, it was the anniversary of losing his father in a car accident, so the performance was especially meaningful for him.
Daniel Norris and Hoby Milner posted scoreless appearances to finish out the 5-1 defeat. On Friday the Brewers will begin an interleague series against the Twins, with Eric Lauer facing off against another former Brewers draft pick — lefty Andrew Albers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM central.