The Cincinnati Reds offense could never really get going, and Milwaukee hit two home runs to put the game out of reach at Great American Ball Park on Sunday afternoon. The Brewers 5-1 victory gave them a guarantee of a series win and tomorrow they have a chance to complete a 4-game sweep.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Brewers (32-27) |
5 | 7 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Reds (26-33) |
1 | 6 | 0 |
| W: Houser (2-1) L: Lively (3-3) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The game didn’t get out to a great start for Ben Lively. He walked Owen Miller and Jon Singleton before giving up a 3-run home run to Andruw Monasterio – his first big league homer – and Cincinnati found themselves in a 3-0 hole before they had a chance to get to the plate.
In the bottom of the 4th inning the Reds seemed to be getting something going when Matt McLain doubled to lead off the inning and Jonathan India reached on an error, putting runners on 1st and 2nd to start the inning. But Cincinnati failed to capitalize as Jake Fraley fly out and Spencer Steer grounded into an inning ending double play.
Milwaukee came out for the top of the 5th and extended their lead when Victor Caratini hit a ball that nearly left the ballpark, landing a few rows from the top of the stadium in right field for a leadoff homer that made it 4-0. After a single and a walk, Owen Miller singled in a run to extend the Brewers lead to 5-0.
Cincinnati finally got on the board in the bottom of the 7th inning when Jake Fraley led off with a home run – his 7th of the season. That’s where the game remained over the next one and a half innings.
Down by four runs, the Reds entered the bottom of the 9th with the 2-3-4 hitters due up and needing a rally. Instead of a rally they went in order and dropped the third game in a row to the Brewers, and their fourth game in a row after a 5-game winning streak.
Key Moment of the Game
Andruw Monasterio’s 3-run home run in the 1st inning. It turned out to be all of the offense needed.
Notes Worth Noting
Will Benson is 6-17 (.353) with with three walks and three strikeouts in 20 late appearances since he was recalled from Triple-A last week.
Matt McLain just keeps on hitting. Picking up two hits on Sunday raised his line on the season through 18 games to .342/.402/.519.
Joey Votto went 0-2 with two walks in his second game on rehab assignment with Louisville. Henry Ramos went 1-3 with a 426-foot home run for the Bats on his rehab assignment.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers vs Cincinnati Reds
Monday June 5th, 7:10pm ET
Julio Teheran (1-1, 0.82 ERA) vs Andrew Abbott (MLB debut)
