Brewers’ pitching shuts down Reds in 5-1 win

Box Score

Adrian Houser set the tone with a strong outing, and the bullpen followed suit with three perfect innings as the Brewers defeated the Reds 5-1 on Saturday night.

The Brewers got on the board first against old friend Chase Anderson. After a leadoff walk by Christian Yelich, Willy Adames hit a two-run home run on a hanging curveball.

Adames’ 27th home run of the year ties him for second in franchise history in home runs hit as a shortstop in a season. He’s just two homers away from tying Robin Yount’s 29 in 1982.

That was enough run support for Houser, who allowed one run on just one hit. That lone knock was a 63-mph bloop by Jose Barrero in the third inning that snuck over Rowdy Tellez’s reach and went into short right field for a double.

Barrero stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly by TJ Friedl, making it a 2-1 game.

Houser retired nine of the final ten batters he faced, with his only blemish being a walk to Barrero in the fifth. His final line was six innings with one run allowed on one hit and two walks with zero strikeouts.

The lack of strikeouts made it a unique start. Houser accomplished something in an outing that hadn’t been done since 1990, also against the Reds.

Taylor Rogers was first out of the bullpen, working a perfect seventh inning with a pair of strikeouts.

The Brewers’ offense, which managed just one hit against Anderson, added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh.

Tyrone Taylor tripled with one out thanks to a failed dive attempt by left fielder Jake Fraley. Yelich drove him in with a chopper up the middle to make it 3-1.

Matt Bush got the eighth, striking out the side in order in a perfect frame of his own. The Brewers then tacked on two more runs in the form of an Andrew McCutchen blast to center field, boosting the lead to 5-1.

Brad Boxberger put a bow on the dominant pitching performance with a three-up, three-down ninth inning.

Because the Padres lost to the Dodgers, the win helps the Brewers gain some ground in the Wild Card race. They are now three games behind San Diego for the final spot, although they need to overtake them rather than tie to earn a playoff birth.

The Brewers will go for the series win over the Reds tomorrow afternoon. Brandon Woodruff starts opposite Justin Dunn. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. CDT.