The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Cincinnati Reds 7-3 on Saturday afternoon. Prior to the game, Lorenzo Cain was designated for assignment, ending his run with the team that drafted him. During their 7-3 victory over the lowly Reds, Brewers players paid tribute to their former teammate whenever they could.
Christian Yelich has taken over Cain’s former job as the Brewers leadoff hitter. Prior to the game, Yelich shared his thoughts about Cain and what he will miss about him the most.
Fast forward to the actual game. Yelich was 2-5 with two singles and two runs scored against the Reds. After his first single of the day, he threw up Cain’s signature hand gesture.
Yelich has been on a tear since taking over as the Brewers leadoff hitter. Yelich started batting leadoff on June 8, and since then has been hitting .326. He also had a nine-game hitting streak during that span.
Rowdy Tellez finished the day 1-3 with a RBI double and two walks. His RBI came in the top of the first after the first Yelich single. After arriving safely at second base, Tellez threw up Cain’s signature gesture.
The RBI was No. 39 on the year for Tellez. That total leads the Brewers.
Coming into today’s game, Graham Ashcraft had a 3-0 record and 2.22 ERA. By the time he came out of the game after the fifth inning, his ERA had ballooned up to 3.51. The Brewers tagged him for six runs on eight hits and two walks.
Ashcraft only gave up one home run, a two-run shot to Willy Adames:
Adames’ blast would have been a home run in 24/30 MLB ballparks.
The home run by Adames was his 13th of the year. He leads the Brewers and all National League shortstops in that category.
After Ashcraft was removed from the game, Hunter Renfroe went to work on the Reds’ bullpen. He hit a mammoth solo home run in the seventh inning to give the Brewers a 7-3 lead.
The home run Renfroe hit would have been gone in any major league ballpark.
Renfroe’s home run was his 12th of the season.
The Brewers have been hit hard by injuries this year, especially on their pitching staff. Brandon Woodruff is still rehabbing an ankle injury and Freddy Peralta is out for the long-term with a shoulder injury. Jason Alexander has been a pleasant surprise for the team and entered the day 0-0 with a 2.16 ERA.
While the Reds were able to get three runs (two earned) off of Alexander, he pitched well enough to earn his first MLB win. He ended the day with 5.2 innings pitched, eight hits, two earned runs, one walk and two strikeouts.
The Reds almost got on the board in the bottom of the third inning. In fact, the ruling on the field was that a fly ball to left field dropped in for a hit allowing the runner to score. However, further review proved that Tyrone Taylor made a fantastic play.
The Bullpen Shuts the Door
Miguel Sanchez came into the game to get the final out of the sixth inning. Afterwards, Trevor Kelley pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief in the seventh and eighth innings. Hoby Milner came in and got the final out in the eighth and pitched a scoreless ninth.
Game Notes
- Luis Urias was 1-3 with a RBI and two walks.
- Jonathan Davis replaced Cain on the roster and played center field. He was 2-4 with a walk.
- Jace Peterson was 2-4 with a walk and two RBIs.
- The Brewers are now 37-30 and in second place behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central.
Up Next
Adrian Houser (3-7, 4.21 ERA) takes the hill for the Brewers against Mike Minor (1-2, 7.36 ERA) and the Reds tomorrow at 12:40 p.m. CST.
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