Brewers fall 4-2 to Reds in extra innings

Box Score

The Brewers continued their uninspiring play since the trade deadline, suffering a 4-2 loss in extra innings to the Reds.

It proved to be a pitcher’s duel between Corbin Burnes and Graham Ashcraft. Burnes battled his control through the first couple of innings, but he worked six strong innings and allowed just one earned run on a Michael Papierski home run.

Meanwhile, Ashcraft held the Brewers to just one run himself in 5 ²⁄₃ innings. That run came on a Willy Adames home run in the bottom of the third inning.

In what has become a theme lately, the Brewers’ run prevention unit scuffled in the late innings of the loss. This time, the blame falls more heavily on the defense than the bullpen.

The Reds took a 2-1 lead against Taylor Rogers in the eighth inning on a double off the wall by Donovan Solano. However, Hunter Renfroe got a poor read on the play, and his delayed reaction prevented him from getting to a ball that should have been caught for the third out of the inning.

The Brewers evened the score again at 2-2 thanks to a home run by Keston Hiura. It was his 10th of the year and his second in two games.

Unfortunately, the defense faltered again in the top of the 10th inning. Mike Brosseau fielded a weak roller off the bat of Aristedes Aquino but threw it away, allowing the automatic runner on second base to score while Aquino advanced to third. He later scored on a sacrifice fly, making the score 4-2 Reds.

That proved to be the final tally, as the Brewers would go down in order in the bottom of the 10th.

The Brewers have now gone 1-5 in their last six games while playing the Pirates and Reds. They’ll look to regroup during a day off tomorrow, but the schedule gets a bit heavier for the next couple of weeks, with matchups with the Rays, Dodgers and Cardinals looming.