Brewers take the lead in the NL Central, beat Reds 1-0

Box Score

Entering the second half of the season, the Brewers were a game back of the Reds for the top spot in the NL Central, and with a three-game set against Cincy to open up the back half, this was a perfect time to regain control of the division. Corbin Burnes took the hill for the Brewers, as Graham Ashcraft started on the bump for the Reds.

Corbin had his full arsenal on display tonight and looked like the Cy Young version fans are accustomed to seeing. He threw six scoreless innings allowing only two hits and striking out 13 Reds batters. The Brewers' offense was held largely quiet all game as well, going the first six innings scoreless.

Milwaukee finally got on the board in the top of the seventh inning when Willy Adames led off with a double and Owen Miller hit a single, putting runners at the corners with nobody out. After Miller stole second, Victor Caratini singled to center field, scoring Adames from third and once again putting runners at the corners with no outs. Milwaukee would be unable to capitalize for the rest of the inning, as back-to-back strikeouts followed by a popout stranded the bases loaded.

Milwaukee’s bullpen picked up right where Burnes left off, as Elvis Peguero and Joel Payamps each worked a scoreless inning to hold the 1-0 lead heading into the ninth.

Devin Williams would come on to make the save, sitting the Reds down in order with two strikeouts as Milwaukee bookended the All-Star break with two 1-0 wins over the Reds, the first time in franchise history the team has won back-to-back games by a 1-0 final.

Milwaukee is now tied atop the NL Central while holding the head-to-head tiebreaker heading into a pivotal game two. Freddy Peralta takes the mound for the Brewers while Andrew Abbott starts for the Reds. Saturday’s game starts at 6:10 p.m. CDT on Bally Sports Wisconsin and 620 WTMJ. For even more Brewers content, check out the Crew Talk podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and follow us on Twitter @CrewTalkFFSN.