Winning streak ends as Brewers clobbered by Reds, 11-7

Sal Frelick led the offense with a four-hit day and finished a home run short of the cycle, but 11 runs allowed by the pitching staff were too much to overcome

Box Score

With the Brewers riding a four-game winning streak, they had a chance to get on the winning side for the first time this season on Saturday night against the Reds. They held the Reds to two runs in the first two games and had the momentum on their side. Unfortunately, it was just a matter of time before the Reds broke through, and that happened on Saturday.

Elvin Rodriguez made his second start of the season, looking to bounce back from a bad start in the home opener. Unfortunately, his troubles carried over into this one. TJ Friedl started off the game with a single but was erased when he was caught stealing. A throw from William Contreras was high, but Brice Turang caught it and made the swipe to catch Friedl.

Rodriguez had a chance to escape the first, but he walked Elly De La Cruz with two outs. That usually ends up being a problem, and Gavin Lux made it one with an RBI double. De La Cruz easily scored, and the Reds were up 1-0.

From there, Rodriguez continued to unravel. The second started off well enough with two flyouts, but Blake Dunn and Friedl each homered with two outs to bring in three runs. A scoreless third helped stop the bleeding for an inning, but two more home runs in the fourth turned the game into a blowout at 7-0. Rodriguez made it one more inning, but his day came to an end after five. He allowed seven runs on eight hits, four of those going for home runs. With options available, he’s looking like the first pitcher out once another starter is ready.

Even though the Brewers were down 7-0, the offense did all it could to stay in the game. In the fourth, Sal Frelick led off the inning with a triple, and Oliver Dunn brought in Frelick with a sacrifice fly. That got the Brewers on the board.

The fifth inning put the Brewers back in striking distance as they got to Reds starter Brady Singer. Turang led off the inning with a walk. Jackson Chourio followed that with a single, putting two runners on base and extending his hitting streak to eight games. Christian Yelich came through with an RBI single to right, closing the gap to 7-2. Contreras added a single to load the bases (breaking a hitless streak of his own), and Sal Frelick cleared the bases with an RBI single and help from an error. Jake Fraley missed the ball when trying to pick it up off the ground, and it went to the wall, and the Brewers scored three. After five, it was a 7-5 game.

In an effort to keep the bullpen in good shape, Pat Murphy went to Connor Thomas for multiple innings. The sixth inning went well enough as the Reds went down in order. That changed in the seventh. Connor allowed the first four batters of the inning to reach base on a walk and three singles. The third of those scored two to extend the Reds lead to 9-5. A sac fly extended that lead to 10-5.

The Brewers’ offense didn’t give up, though. They loaded the bases in the seventh with two outs, which included a Frelick double (his third hit of the day) and a pinch-hit walk by Jake Bauers. Oliver Dunn came through with his second hit of the day to score two more runs. The Brewers had a chance to tie it up with Isaac Collins (who came in earlier as a pinch-hitter), but he struck out to end the inning.

Thomas tried to finish the last four innings for the Brewers, but a double and single in the ninth ended his night. He allowed four runs on six hits in 3 ¹⁄₃ innings. Elvis Peguero got the last two outs for the Brewers, working through two batters on five pitches.

The Brewers tried to rally one more time in the night. Contreras drew a one-out walk, and Frelick hit a bloop single for his fourth hit of the night. However, Bauers flew out, and Dunn struck out to end the game.

Frelick’s hot start to the season continued with a 4-for-5 day at the plate, ending a home run short of the cycle. His batting average is up to .394 after nine games. Dunn had a two-hit day, and all the starters except Hoskins had at least one hit. As a team, they had 12 hits and went 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position but left too many runners on base (nine as a team).

As for the pitching staff, it felt like a punt game to save the bullpen from extra work. Rodriguez allowed seven runs and Thomas another four. The only positive is the bullpen mostly got a full day of rest. At least it’s only one game out of a 162-game season.

The Brewers still have a chance to take the series and put together a five-win homestand tomorrow afternoon. Chad Patrick will make his second start of the season, facing Carson Spiers of the Reds. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m., and it will be on FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and Telemundo Wisconsin. It will also be available on the Brewers Radio Network.