Reds Drop Two to Milwaukee but Remain in First Place
Elly De La Cruising around your base paths, Votto still bangs
Although the Reds lost the series, they will go into the All-Star break alone in first place of the NL Central.
The Brewers continually play their best baseball against the Cincinnati Reds. Their offense woke up just in time to keep the race close, and their pitching remains elite.
Song of the Day
Reds @ Brewers Recap
LIL RED MACHINE: Joey Votto; 4-11, 2 HR, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI
Friday 7/7
Reds 3 - 7 Brewers
Andrew Abbot had his first bad start of his career, giving up 6 runs in 4.1 innings pitched. I’m more inclined to give the Brewers offense credit rather than bash on Abbot - the hitters made contact with some nice pitches. He didn’t have a runaway inning either; the Brewers scored 2 runs in each of the 1st, 2nd , and 3rd innings. Small silver linings, sure, but better than nothing.
Joey Votto hit his sixth homer in the 5th inning of this game, a two run blast that scored Elly De La Cruz. He also had an RBI double in the 9th inning.
Saturday 7/8
Reds 8 - 5 Brewers
Luke Weaver gave up 5 runs in 3.2 innings pitched. The offense and bullpen picked him up though, and they won this game just as they have so many other Weaver starts. In his last 8 starts, he’s given up 4+ runs in five of those games. The Reds have ended up on the winning end of every one.
Elly De La Cruz reached base on a single in the 7th inning, and did something that hasn’t been done by a Red since 1919. He stole second, third, and home. During one plate appearance by Jake Fraley. On TWO PITCHES. The player to do it over 100 years ago was named Greasy Neal. Also, Elly became the first player in MLB history to record 40 hits and 15 stolen bases in his first 30 games.
Other notes:
Joey Votto hit a 3-run homer to tie the game in the 4th inning, extending the Reds streak of consecutive games with a home run to 21, for a new club record.
The home run was Votto’s 7th on the year. He has 14 total hits. Quick math - that’s half of his hits for homers.Â
TJ Friedl, Matt McLain, Elly De La Cruz, Joey Votto, and Will Benson all collected multiple hits. Matt McLain had three hits. Will Benson tripled and homered, and Joey Votto doubled and homered.
Sunday 7/9
Reds 0 - 1 Brewers
There’s… not much to say about this one. Spencer Steer had a bad read on a fly ball to left field in the first inning that allowed Christian Yelich to reach base and eventually score the Brewers’ only run on a Jesse Winker single.
Ben Lively pitched his first game in a couple weeks after spending time on the injured list. He pitched 5.2 innings and only allowed 4 hits.Â
Looking Ahead
This week is the All-Star break. Home Run Derby is at 8PM EST Monday night, and the All-Star Game is Tuesday at 8PM EST. The lone Red in the ASG is Alexis Diaz, so good luck to our guy.Â
Elly De La Cruz was reportedly invited to participate in the HRD, but declined to focus on the season. I think that’s awesome, and it seems like a mature decision for such a young star.Â
This Friday will be an off day unless there is any major developments in Reds land. That being said - see you on the 17th, after the Reds have swept the Brewers next weekend.