A 9th inning go-ahead home run by Eugenio Suárez off of Josh Hader gave the Cincinnati Reds a 4-3 lead that they held onto as they picked up another game on the 1st place Milwaukee Brewers.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (47-42) | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| Milwaukee Brewers (53-38) | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| W: Osich (2-0) L: Hader (3-1) SV: Hembree (6) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Offense
The Cincinnati Reds were being no-hit through five innings. No big deal for the Reds because the game was scheduled for nine innings. Jonathan India was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Jesse Winker grounded a ball into the hole where in a traditional defense the shortstop probably can make a play on, but it’s 2021 and no one was there and it went as an easy single to put two runner on for Nick Castellanos. He worked a full count before unloading on a go-ahead 3-run homer to put Cincinnati up by two.
Unfortunately the Reds bullpen struck again and the Brewers tied the game up in the bottom of the 8th inning. That brought Cincinnati’s 6-7-8 to the plate against Josh Hader and his 0.78 ERA. The odds weren’t in favor of the Reds in this situation.
But hey, that’s why they play the game, right? RIGHT.
¡EUGENIO! ? ¡VAMOS!#Rojos pic.twitter.com/7heWxnYH1G
— Rojos de Cincinnati (@Rojos) July 11, 2021
Upper deck. Opposite field. Reds lead 4-3 on a 418-foot blast by Eugenio Suárez.
The Pitching
Vladimir Gutierrez had made two starts against the Brewers earlier this year and pitched well in both of the games, picking up the win. Things didn’t start out on a good foot for Gutierrez and the Reds. Milwaukee didn’t hit the ball hard at all, but they were picking up hits. They took a 1-0 lead on a pop up that landed on the infield. But from there it was going to turn around for the Reds starter.
That is until the 6th inning. Christian Yelich led off with a single, but he was tagged out at first base after rounding the bag – or at least according to the umpire.
Christian Yelich going off on John Libka is all of Wisconsin this series. Called out after being tagged after a wild throw to first. Apparently Libka thinks Yelich made an attempt to go to second. Never seen this before. pic.twitter.com/DS84g9Sgal
— George Balekji (@GeorgeBalekji) July 11, 2021
A 2-out walk was followed by a double by Avisail Garcia, but Omar Narvaez – just named to the All-Star team – was thrown out at the plate to end the inning. That would turn out to be a very critical play.
With a tough 6th inning, but a 3-1 lead, the Reds went to the bullpen. Amir Garrett got the job done by striking out all three batters in the 7th inning. But then the game was turned over to Brad Brach and after a pop up to begin the inning, the wheels fell off. He walked Luis Urias then gave up a game-tying home run to Tyrone Taylor. Willy Adames flew out, but then Omar Narvaez doubled and an intentional walk followed before Josh Osich came out to face Jace Peterson to set up a lefty-lefty match up with two outs. That move paid off with a strikeout, but the damage had been done and the game was tied heading into the 9th inning.
Eugenio Suárez to the rescue, at least for the time being, as his oppo-taco gave the Reds a 4-3 lead in the top of the 9th. That gave Cincinnati and Heath Hembree a chance to lock down a win with three outs. Keston Hiura worked a full count but struck out when Tucker Barnhart held onto a foul tip. Jackie Bradley Jr. then grounded out to Jonathan India for the second out. Pinch-hitter Pablo Reyes came on to hit for Josh Hader and after falling behind 1-2, he worked a walk to put the tying run on the bases. It also turned the lineup over for the Brewers and brought Luis Urias to the plate. Hembree got him to fly out to Jesse Winker to end the game and the Reds at least guaranteed a series split.
Notes Worth Noting
The Cincinnati Reds are now 5.0 games behind Milwaukee in the division.
Josh Hader had only allowed one home run all season until tonight.
32,034 fans were at the game tonight. Roughly 32,000 of them left disappointed.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Milwaukee Brewers
Sunday July 11th, 2:10pm ET
Luis Castillo (3-10, 4.81 ERA) vs Brandon Woodruff (7-4, 2.10 ERA)
