Following a game-saving, homer-robbing catch to end the Tuesday night game, TJ Friedl and the Cincinnati Reds will try to accomplish another rarity against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers in the rubber game of the three-game series Wednesday afternoon.
The Reds have lost 11 straight series against the Brewers and 15 of the last 17 dating back to the start of the 2021 season.
Milwaukee was poised to pull off more late-inning magic Tuesday when Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz committed a throwing error with two outs in the ninth, allowing Caleb Durbin to reach base. Pinch hitter Jake Bauers then drove an Emilio Pagan pitch to straightaway center in a bid for a game-tying two-run homer.
Friedl raced to the wall, timed his jump perfectly and brought the ball back over after it landed in the web of his glove for the game’s final out, sealing Cincinnati’s 4-2 win.
“I think I threw up in my mouth,” Cincinnati manager Terry Francona said. “I’m not even sure how to describe it. All of a sudden, that ball leaves the bat, and we couldn’t tell Friedl caught it. That was certainly a nice feeling. You may have seen a grown man crying.”
The spectacular play snapped Milwaukee’s eight-game winning streak and ended Cincinnati’s three-game skid. It was also just the Reds’ ninth win in 32 games against Milwaukee since the start of the 2023 season.
“I think it brought us closer,” Bauers said of the winning streak. “Celebrating the wins in the clubhouse after the games was a lot of fun. We had a couple running jokes that got recycled eight times. But I think overall we got a lot closer, beat some good teams, won some tough games, and I think we’re going to be pretty solid coming out of it.”
Tyler Stephenson hit a two-run homer and Will Benson homered after striking out his first three times up to help Cincinnati prevail for the second time in six tries against Milwaukee this season.
“It’s been a couple tough days for us,” Francona said, “and they keep having energy within now. I use that word a lot, but sometimes, that’s one of the better things you can do, because sometimes we’re not getting hits. You’re not getting hits, not because they’re not trying.”
The Reds got some bad news after the game, learning that their Tuesday starter, Hunter Greene, sustained a recurrence of the groin ailment that forced him to the injured list in early May. He will have an MRI exam on Wednesday morning.
Before exiting, Greene threw first-pitch strikes to 23 of the 24 batters he faced and fanned seven while permitting two runs in five innings.
The Brewers, who won the series opener 3-2 on Monday, will send left-handed reliever DL Hall (1-0, 1.69 ERA) to the mound Wednesday afternoon in the rubber game. Hall, working as the opener, will be making his third appearance of the season and second start.
On Friday at Philadelphia, Hall threw three hitless, scoreless innings, striking out four and walking one while receiving a no-decision in Milwaukee’s 6-2 win.
Hall has made two career appearances against Cincinnati (both starts last year), posting a 1-0 record with a 0.77 ERA.
The Reds will counter with left-hander Andrew Abbott (5-0, 1.51 ERA), making his 10th start of the season. Abbott’s 0.55 ERA in six May starts was the lowest of any qualifying major league starter and is the third lowest by a Reds pitcher in a calendar month since earned runs became a stat in 1912.
–Field Level Media
