Things were going well for the Cincinnati Reds early on in the game as they built a 3-0 lead. But things went south later in the game as the bullpen took over and gave up the lead by allowing runs in the Brewers final three at-bats as Milwaukee completed the come-from-behind win to open up the 4-game series at American Family Field.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (39-44) | 3 | 9 | 1 |
| Milwaukee Brewers (51-31) | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| W: Ashby (11-1) L: Moll (1-6) SV: Megill (11) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
Cincinnati would grab an early lead thanks to a 2-out rally in the 1st inning. Spencer Steer singled and moved to second on a walk to JJ Bleday. Dane Myers then doubled into left field to plate Steer and make it a 1-0 game.
Nick Lodolo worked himself into and out of a little bit of trouble in the first few innings. In the 4th inning he got some help from Dane Myers as he caught a liner on the warning track and his sprint took him into the wall and the collision with the wall was about as hard as you’ll see. He remained down but got up on his own to get on the golf cart which took him off of the field.
The Reds were still holding onto a 1-0 lead in the 5th. That’s when the lead got bigger as Edwin Arroyo picked up a 1-out single and then came around to score when Elly De La Cruz hit a 412-foot home run into the Brewers bullpen in left-center to push the lead to 3-0.
After throwing five shutout inning and 96 pitches thrown, Nick Lodolo’s night was over. Cincinnati called on Chase Petty out of the bullpen to enter to begin the 6th inning. A chopper down the line that went off of the glove of Sal Stewart went for a double got things started for Milwaukee with one out in the frame. A walk followed to put two men on. A soft liner into left field plated a run for the Brewers to get them on the board and put runners on the corners. Petty then fired a wild pitch for ball four to Sal Frelick that brought in another run and cut the Reds lead to 3-2.
Cincinnati would get two runners on in the top of the 7th inning but were unable to bring either runner in. In the bottom of the inning Chase Petty returned to the mound and after getting a fly out to start the frame Brice Turang took him deep for a game-tying home run.
Sam Moll, who get the final out of the 7th came back out for the 8th inning. He would give up a 1-out single. Following a sacrifice bunt the Reds went to the bullpen to bring in Tejay Antone to try and get out of the jam. Things didn’t go as planned as Joey Ortiz hit a 2-run home run on the third pitch Antone threw to put Milwaukee on top 5-3. It was just his second home run in 69 games this season. In the top of the 9th the Reds went 1-2-3 as they dropped the first game of the series.
Key Moment of the Game
The 2-run home run by Joey Ortiz in the bottom of the 8th inning that broke a 3-3 tie.
Notes Worth Noting
Nick Lodolo wasn’t at his best on the night but he battled and got some help from his defense to get through 5.0 innings with just one hit allowed. Over his last two outings he’s thrown 9.0 shutout innings to drop his ERA from 6.12 down to 5.05.
The Reds had nine hits on the night. One hit was had by every player that started the game. They only had one walk.
Milwaukee is now 4-0 against Cincinnati in 2026.
In the post game show Terry Francona noted that Dane Myers got an X-ray at the stadium and it came back negative. But he also said that Myers was in so much pain that they sent him to the hospital to get him checked out further.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Milwaukee Brewers
Tuesday June 30th, 7:40pm ET
Rhett Lowder (3-5, 4.81 ERA) vs Brandon Sproat (2-4, 5.43 ERA)