Reds vs Brewers Recap: Slugging Marte Lifts Reds, but Brewers Win

The Reds came to Milwaukee looking to bounce back after losing the night before. The Brewers were rolling at home with a strong 53-32 record. Right away in the first inning, things got wild. William Contreras grounded out to second, but Jackson Chourio raced home to score. Jake Bauers followed with a sacrifice fly to left field, and Brice Turang scored too. Just like that, Milwaukee led 2-0 before the Reds even stepped up to bat.

But Cincinnati wasn't done. In the second inning, Noelvi Marte stepped in against Shane Drohan. The pitcher threw a 79-mile-per-hour curve ball. Marte crushed it—the ball rocketed over the left field wall 378 feet away. Tyler Stephenson scored right behind him. Just like that, the game was tied 2-2. The Reds were fighting back hard.

After that wild first two innings, things settled down. Andrew Abbott took the mound for Cincinnati and pitched solid baseball. He gave up just five hits and two runs through five innings while striking out three batters. The Brewers couldn't add to their lead. Cincinnati's pitching staff was holding on tough, even without Hunter Greene, their ace who was still recovering from elbow surgery.

Meanwhile, the Reds' offense couldn't push another run across. Elly De La Cruz went two-for-four with two strikeouts. Spencer Steer couldn't get anything going either, going zero-for-three. The game stayed tight at 2-2. Both teams were swinging hard, but nobody could break through. You could feel the tension building. Something was about to happen.

Everything changed in the seventh inning. The game was still locked at 2-2 when Garrett Mitchell stepped up against Brock Burke. Mitchell was on fire at the plate, and he proved it. He ripped a triple to center field with two outs. That brought Andrew Vaughn home with the go-ahead run. The Brewers took a 3-2 lead.

But wait—there was more. While Gary Sanchez was batting, Burke threw wild pitches that sailed past the catcher. Mitchell sprinted home on one of those wild throws. Milwaukee now led 4-2. The Brewers had broken through. Trevor Megill closed out the game with a save. Final score: Brewers 4, Reds 2. The Reds fell to 40-46 while Milwaukee improved to 53-32.