Riding the longball ; Aguilar, Thames homer in victory
Brewers 6
Reds 4
Cincinnati, O.H. ~ A day after one of their most painful losses, the Milwaukee Brewers have responded with a good, hard-fought win over the Cincinnati Reds, who welcomed the Brew Crew winning seven of their last eight games, including a sweep of the Chicago Cubs.
The Brewers rode the long ball again last night, as red hot Jesus Aguilar hit a two run shot in the third inning, and Eric Thames hit his tenth of the year in the seventh inning on a go-ahead three-run homer. Behind the offense, Taylor Williams, Jeremy Jeffress, and Corey Knebel combined for three shut out innings of relief to lock the Brewers victory. It was a truly hard fought win in all aspects, hitting, fielding, and pitching, especially after losing Christian Yelich in the first inning. Yelich was running out a ground ball in his first at-bat when he felt something “tighten up”.
The first inning continued to be harsh for Milwaukee, as shortstop Jose Peraza led off with a long homerun to give the Reds an early lead. The next hitter, Tucker Barnhart, doubled and it looked like it would be a rough outing for Junior Guerrra. Then, with two outs in the inning Eugenio Suarez doubled, pushing the Cincinnati lead to 2-0.
In the top of the third inning, after two quick outs and an infield single by Yelich’s replacement, Keon Broxton, Jesus Aguilar went deep on a towering drive down the left field game to tie the game at 2-2.
However, the Reds responded in their half with a two-run homer by Jesse Winker, in almost the same spot as Aguilar’s landed.
After Aguilar’s blast the offense had gone completely quiet, until two surprising players ut the Brew Crew in position to take the lead. In the top of the seventh Eric Kratz led off with a walk, and Orlando Arcia’s single put runners on the corners with nobody out. Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman went to his bullpen to face Jonathan Villar and Eric Thames. Villar popped up for the first out and suddenly the Reds were a double play from escaping the jam. However, they had to face Eric Thames, who has absolutely mashed Cincinnti Pitching since last season. Thames took a 2-0 fastball into the right field bleachers and with one swing of the bat, the Brewers took the lead.
With Eric Sogard’s huge sac fly in the top of the ninth, the Brewers got a big insurance run and a little bit of breathing room as Knebel tried to lock down his tenth save of the year. After a one-out single b Billy Hamilton, Knebel got Peraza to fly out and Barnhart to strike out, closing off an incredible win for the Crew.