The Cincinnati Reds returned home knowing the next 11 days could go a long way toward determining whether they spend July chasing a playoff spot or preparing for a fire sale at MLB’s trade deadline.
Despite another stellar effort on the mound from potential trade candidate Brady Singer and a tightly contested pitchers’ duel that remained scoreless until late, the Reds came up short in the series opener against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1, in 10 innings on Monday, June 22 in front of 17,971 fans at Great American Ball Park.
The Brewers broke a scoreless tie off the Reds’ bullpen in the top of the 10th, when designated runner Jake Bauers scored on a sacrifice fly by Joey Ortiz off reliever Tony Santillan. Santillan then threw a wild pitch that allowed Garrett Mitchell to score an insurance run.
“The breaking ball that got away, that changes the game a lot,” Reds manager Terry Francona said.
That was enough on a night where Milwaukee pitchers were near perfect, beginning with starter Brandon Woodruff, who retired the first 16 Cincinnati hitters he faced. Woodruff, making his first start since coming off the injured list, took a perfect game bid into the sixth inning before Tyler Stephenson’s one-out single.
Stephenson was Cincinnati’s lone baserunner until Blake Dunn began the 10th inning on second base, becoming the first and only Red to reach scoring position. After Woodruff’s six-inning shutout, the trio of Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill combined to retire all nine Reds they faced.
In the 10th, it was former Red Joel Kuhnel who nailed down the save. Sal Stewart knocked in the designated runner with a groundout. The Reds then got an infield single by Dane Myers, but Kuhnel got Spencer Steer to ground out to end it.
The Reds fall to 10.5 games back of the first-place Brewers in the NL Central and are now 2-14 against divisional foes this season and 15-29 against teams that are .500 or better. Cincinnati failed to gain ground in the first game of a stretch that includes 10 straight contests against NL Central rivals, including seven against the Brewers.
The bats of a Brewers’ offense that ranks top 5 in baseball in scoring were silenced for the majority of the night by Singer, then two combined innings from the trio of Sam Moll, T.J. Antone and Brock Burke to send the game into extras.
“When they pitch like that, it’s a lot easier to feel like the glass is half full,” Francona said.
Singer now has a 1.64 ERA in four starts this month after setting season-highs in innings pitched (seven) and strikeouts (seven). He also threw a season-high 106 pitches, his most since August 2024 when he was with the Royals.
“I definitely feel better now than I did in the beginning of the year,” Singer said. “Just keep going, keep plugging, keep trying to work on stuff and give us a chance.”
Singer gave the Reds several chances over seven innings of two-hit ball. He worked out of trouble in the second after issuing back-to-back walks to begin the inning before falling behind 3-0 to Milwaukee outfielder Garrett Mitchell. He battled back for a strikeout of Mitchell, then got consecutive groundouts to get out of trouble.
“I kind of lost feel in the second (inning). I just felt a little out of whack and just tried to stay competitive in the zone,” Singer said. “Just try to lock back in and not let that inning unravel.”
Elly De La Cruz returns for Cincinnati Reds in Game 2 against Milwaukee Brewers
A Reds’ offense that was limited to just one baserunner in Monday’s opener will get its best bat back in the lineup for the second game of the series when Elly De La Cruz is activated from the injured list.
De La Cruz hasn’t played this month since injuring his hamstring against the Atlanta Braves on May 31. De La Cruz appeared in three games with the Louisville Bats over the weekend and took live at-bats against injured closer Emilio Pagán before Monday’s contest.
The Brewers will start right-hander Brandon Sproat, who is 1-4 with a 5.94 ERA over 14 appearances (12 starts) this season.
The Reds will counter with left-hander Nick Lodolo, who will look to bounce back after allowing a season-high in runs (seven) and hits (11) in his last outing in a loss to the New York Mets June 17. Lodolo has allowed 26 hits and 13 runs over just 15 innings in three starts this month.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds fall to Milwaukee Brewers in extra innings
Reporting by Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
