After eight straight wins, Milwaukee’s streak came to an end at the hands of TJ Friedl and the Cincinnati Reds.
The Brewers got on the board almost immediately against Reds pitcher Hunter Greene. Brice Turang, leading off the game, squared up a slider inside for a double down the right field line.
Jackson Chourio swung at the first pitch he saw from Greene and hit a hard liner into the gap in left field, but Reds left fielder Will Benson made a nice sliding catch. Turang must have thought the ball was dropping and didn’t tag, keeping him at second with one out. It ultimately wouldn’t matter, as the next hitter — the red-hot Christian Yelich — singled into left field to score Turang.
Greene has one of the highest zone percentages (percentage of balls thrown within the strike zone) in the majors this year, a stat that definitely made it onto the Brewers’ scouting report. Both Yelich and Chourio swung at the first pitch, so the Brewers had a run on the board after only five pitches from Greene. Unfortunately, William Contreras and Sal Frelick both struck out to keep the damage to one run.
Neither team would allow another baserunner until the bottom of the third, when Santiago Espinal singled to lead off the inning. Brewers starter Freddy Peralta was able to bear down and get the next three outs.
Greene wouldn’t be so lucky in the top of the fourth. After retiring Yelich and Contreras, Sal Frelick hit a hard line drive into right field for his fourth home run of the season.
Today’s home run marked a new career-high for Frelick, impressive considering the Brewers are only a little over a third of the way into the season. Frelick may never hit 20 home runs, but he’s posting career-highs in batting average (.295) and OPS (.767). He’s been a valuable piece for the Brewers this season.
After Frelick’s homer, the Brewers mounted a two-out rally courtesy of a single from Rhys Hoskins and walks from Isaac Collins and Caleb Durbin. That brought up Joey Ortiz with the bases loaded. Ortiz worked a RBI walk yesterday, but he wasn’t as lucky today. Greene got Ortiz to strike out on four pitches, keeping the score at 2-0 Milwaukee.
That was the last half-inning in which the Brewers would lead. Freddy Peralta had been rolling, but allowed a one-out double to Elly De La Cruz. Peralta then left a fastball up in the zone to Tyler Stephenson, who crushed an opposite-field home run to tie the game at two runs apiece.
Peralta gave up a double to the next batter, Spencer Steer, as the Reds looked on the verge of taking the lead. Luckily, Benson struck out for the second out. Peralta then got Espinal to ground back to him to end the inning.
In the top of the fifth, the Brewers got a couple more baserunners (Turang and Yelich) but couldn’t score. In the bottom of the frame, Peralta quickly got the first two outs (one courtesy of a nice play from Joey Ortiz on a Jake Fraley blooper). After giving up a single to Friedl, Peralta melted down.
The Brewers’ Opening Day starter threw nine straight pitches out of the zone to Lux and De La Cruz. He looked like he forgot how to throw strikes, especially after throwing four straight way-too-high pitches to De La Cruz following a foul ball on a pitch way below the zone. After a mound visit to give the flustered Peralta a breather, he remained in the game to face Stephenson, who had homered his last time around. Peralta missed the zone again with the first two pitches to Stephenson.
Peralta then missed a third time in almost exactly the same spot, but Stephenson — somewhat inexplicably — swung. He hit a high fly ball to left field, but Isaac Collins settled under it for the third out.
The Brewers went three-up, three-down in the top of the sixth against Scott Barlow (replacing Greene, who was done after five today). In the bottom of the frame, Peralta came back out. He immediately gave up a single to Steer, which didn’t seem to bode well for his chances of finishing the inning. However, the veteran righty managed to bear down, getting Benson to strike out again and Espinal to ground into a double play.
Freddy’s statline at this point looked great — 6 IP, 2 ER, 9 K. That statline belies the fact that today’s outing was one of the most nerve-racking quality starts I’ve ever seen. Peralta has had a tendency to melt down for an inning or two after cruising for three or four. This was another example, but it’s hard to be mad at the stat line through six innings.
The seventh inning was a different story.
After the Brewers again went three-up, three-down again, Peralta, who had already thrown 92 pitches, came back out for the seventh. He walked the first batter he faced, Jake Fraley, before allowing a double to Matt McLain. That would be it for Peralta, who probably shouldn’t have come back out anyway.
Manager Pat Murphy brought in lefty Rob Zastryzny to face Friedl, who grounded out to Turang at second for the first out. Playing the matchups, Reds manager Terry Francona pinch-hit for Gavin Lux (a lefty) with Connor Joe (a righty). Joe hit a sacrifice fly to Sal Frelick, scoring Fraley to make it 3-2 Cincinnati.
Zastryzny threw two balls to De La Cruz before intentionally walking him, at which point Murphy had seen enough. He brought in Grant Anderson to face Stephenson, who grounded out softly to Contreras.
The Brewers wouldn’t get a baserunner in the eighth, while Cincinnati added an insurance run courtesy of a home run from Benson — Benson’s first plate appearance in two games that didn’t end in a strikeout.
Rhys Hoskins led off the top of the ninth by popping out to Stephenson at catcher. Isaac Collins then struck out looking for the second out. Caleb Durbin hit what should have probably been the third out, but De La Cruz airmailed the throw way over Steer’s head at first. The ball ended up out of play, granting Durbin second base and giving the Crew a chance at tying the game.
Murphy then pinch-hit Jake Bauers for Joey Ortiz, who struck out in each of his three at-bats today. Bauers hit a high fly ball to deep centerfield that had just enough distance to tie the game, but:
Certainly a demoralizing way to end the game, but Milwaukee didn’t play their best baseball today. The Brewers’ offense had a rough day, except for Yelich and Frelick. Contreras, Chourio, and Hoskins went a combined 1-for-12. Peralta also had a pretty sketchy outing that could have been a lot worse. He did end up with the loss, although his final line — 6+ IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 9 K — doesn’t look half bad.
The fact remains that the Crew have still won eight of their last nine, and would have at least taken the game to the bottom of the ninth if it weren’t for Friedl taking a home run away from Bauers. Milwaukee can’t win ‘em all, and there are still a lot of positives to take away from today’s game. Frelick, Turang, and Hoskins all had hits tonight and have taken steps forward this year in general. Yelich continues to look like his MVP self at the plate.
The biggest takeaway, in my opinion, is that this team has shown a lot more grit, a lot more fight, in recent weeks. Guys are battling at the plate and in the field. That’s a trait that’s going to carry over into more wins, as it had in the eight games before this one.
In other Brewers news, Brandon Woodruff left what was supposed to be his final rehab start after taking a line drive off of his right elbow. GM Matt Arnold referred to the injury as an elbow contusion. Per Adam McCalvy, X-rays are negative. Woody will undergo additional testing tomorrow to determine the severity of the injury, but hopefully we’ll see him back on the mound soon.
Milwaukee will look to leave Cincinnati with a series win tomorrow. The Reds will start Andrew Abbott against DL Hall as the opener, with Quinn Priester expected to pitch the bulk of the game. It’s a day game tomorrow, with first pitch slated for 11:45 a.m. The game will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network.