Reds Bullpen Falters In 10-4 Loss To Milwaukee
The Reds got out to an early 3-0 lead, but their bullpen, which had been rock solid before tonight, blew the lead and gave up some more runs as they fell to the Milwaukee Brewers 10-4 for the second consecutive night.
The trajectory of the ball game started off well for Cincinnati as they got a two-run home run from Zack Cozart, who extended his hitting streak to nine games, in the second inning and a solo blast from Joey Votto in the third. However, that was really all the offense the Reds could muster despite getting a run in the bottom of the ninth on an error.
Milwaukee on the other hand used back-to-back four run innings in the sixth and seventh inning to take a commanding lead 10-3 lead. The offense was paced by catcher Manny Pina who registered a career high four hits in the contest with two RBIs and by Marcus Thames with three RBIs. Jonathan Villar and Orlando Arcia each chipped in with an RBI while Nick Franklin contributed off the bench with a two-run triple in the seventh inning.
The Reds bullpen, which had been stellar the past few contests, gave up a combined eight runs (Blake Wood 3, Wandy Peralta 1, Michael Lorenzen 4, a career high for Lorenzen) in the game. However, a bright spot was that in the last two appearances, including tonight’s contest, Cody Reed had shut down 15 consecutive batters out of the bullpen (Nine batters, 4/10 vs Pittsburgh and six 4/14 vs Milwaukee).
On a positive note, one of Cincinnati’s top prospects, Jesse Winker, made his MLB debut, but struck out to end the game.
Wood would suffer the loss as he fell to 0-1 and Brewers starter Tommy Milone earned the win improving to 1-0. Scott Feldman received a no-decision despite pitching five solid innings allowing two runs on four hits.
The Reds will look to get a win back from the Brew Crew as they send out southpaw Brandon Finnegan (1-0, 1.00). Milwaukee will counter with Zach Davies (0-2, 10.61).
