Emilio Págan discusses Reds win vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Reds reliever Emilio Págan recorded his 15th save after T.J. Friedl robbed a would-be game-tying homer to end the June 3 victory against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Milwaukee Brewers‘ run of dominance over the Cincinnati Reds continued for another series.
The Brewers stretched their series winning streak over the Reds to 12 in a row when they took Wednesday’s matinee at Great American Ball Park, 9-1. After taking Monday’s series opener, the Brewers bounced back from Tuesday’s loss in which the Reds enjoyed a win that featured a home-run robbery by outfielder T.J. Friedl that rivaled a walk-off win.
The Reds had just four hits in the game and starting pitcher Andrew Abbott was credited with his first loss of 2025 (5-1). He went six innings and allowed five runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts.
Brewers opener D.L. Hall held back the Reds for the first three innings. Then, Quinn Priester (3-2) went five innings and allowed two of the Reds’ four hits, plus Cincinnati’s only run. Nick Mears recorded the final three outs.
The series victory was Milwaukee’s 13th out of 14 versus Cincinnati, as well as its 16th out of 18 against the Reds dating back to 2021.
“They’re tough. They play very clean baseball all the way around,” Abbott said. “They do the little things right to win the games. I do think that sitting and watching them play, and the way that they play against us, is a good (way) to learn what it takes to win.
“They have beaten us but eventually it’ll turn around, hopefully.”
By game’s end, the Reds (30-33) found themselves 9.5 games back of the National League Central-leading Chicago Cubs.
The series loss to the Brewers also underscored the Reds’ struggles against NL Central opposition. In addition to losing two recent series to Chicago, Cincinnati has won just one series out of the seven it’s played against the Brewers, Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates. The lone series win was a sweep of the Pirates at Great American Ball Park (April 11-13).
All told, Cincinnati is 10-13 against the NL Central. Their only winning record within the division is against the last-place Pirates (4-2).
If the NL Central is the Reds’ most viable path to contention, its performances against divisional rivals aren’t helping their cause.
After playing 12 of the last 15 games against NL Central foes, the Reds will turn away from head-to-head divisional play and welcome the NL West’s Arizona Diamondbacks to Great American Ball Park for three games.
Cincinnati’s Nick Lodolo (4-4, 3.10 ERA), Nick Martinez (3-6, 3.89 ERA) and Brady Singer (6-4, 4.66 ERA) are the scheduled starters for the Reds on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The Diamondbacks’ starters weren’t confirmed as of Wednesday afternoon.
Arizona entered its Wednesday game against the Atlanta Braves with a 29-31 mark. It is fourth in the West, trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers by 7.5 games.
The Brewers opened the scoring on Wednesday. Abbott cruised through the first eight batters he faced, retiring them in order, but then allowed a two-out double to Brice Turang in the third inning. The next batter, Andruw Monasterio, singled to drive in Turang.
The Reds fired back in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with one out, but they failed to score. Santiago Espinal lined out to second base and Elly De La Cruz was thrown out on a soft grounder to third base.
Milwaukee tacked on in the fifth inning via Jackson Chourio’s two-out, two-run homer to right field. The homer was Chourio’s 10th of 2025.
Matt McLain got the Reds on the scoreboard in the bottom of the inning. He grounded out, but Jose Trevino scored on the play. Trevino went 3-for-4 in the game with two long doubles and a single in the ninth inning. Will Benson also singled as the rest of the Reds’ lineup was silenced.
Milwaukee came back again via the long ball, though. Daz Cameron hit his first home run of the year following a Rhys Hoskins walk to put the Brewers up, 5-1.
Reds manager Terry Francona said Abbott’s two mistake pitches in the game resulted in four runs. Abbott called the day a “perspective game” for him.
“It was just two pitches,” Abbott said. “In all fairness, they should hit those a long way… I threw a lot of strikes. I was ahead of a lot of guys. I still was able to go six (innings) with the pitch count. There’s some things I did well but obviously, you want to win and keep your team in it as long as possible.”
Pitcher Wade Miley came on for the top of the eighth inning to make his 2025 debut appearance, and his first appearance over a year due to Tommy John surgery. Miley opted out of his Reds contract over the weekend to test free-agency, but quickly returned as Cincinnati announced Wednesday morning he’d signed a one-year major-league deal with the team.
Miley wanted to explore the marketplace for starting pitching across the league, but the Reds developed an unexpected need for a starter when Hunter Greene re-injured his right groin and on Wednesday was placed on the 15-day injured list.
A Wednesday MRI performed on Greene didn’t reveal new information about the injury, according to the Reds.
The first three batters against Miley reached to load the bases, and they added one insurance run against him. Two force-outs at home plate, plus a diving catch in left field by Will Benson, allowed Cincinnati to avoid further damage in the inning. With Miley still on the mound in the ninth inning, the floodgates opened once and for all on Isaac Collins’ three-run home run.
Francona said Miley’s outing on Wednesday allowed him to shake off some rust, and set him up for a better chance at success when he starts Monday, June 9 against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field.
“This is the first time he’s been in a major league game in a while,” Francona said. “I know he’s a veteran but still.”