The Reds had lost seven of eight when they last played the Brewers and won three of four in Milwaukee. They’d lost three straight going into Monday night’s game and there were those affable and laughable Brewers.
It was Bark in the Park Night at Great American Ball Park and the dog guests including a 215-pound mastiff — and he’d lost 25 pounds. The biggest dog, though, was the Brewers, handcuffed, hog-tied and duct-taped due to a debilitating string of injuries to their best players.
So, with walks (nine) and wild pitches (four) and a passed ball (one) offered up by the Brewers, the Reds accepted charity with a deep bow and a 9-6 victory.
The sad and bad news for the Reds arrived before the game. Pitcher Homer Bailey was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained ligament in his right elbow.
Cincinnati starter Jason Marquis loves to see the Brewers. The Reds got him 16 runs in his previous start, a 16-10 Reds victory in Milwaukee. This time they only put nine on the board, but it was enough.
The first olive out of the jar was Jay Bruce’s two-run home run in the second inning against Milwaukee starter Jimmy Nelson and the Reds piled on from there. Bruce also had a sacrifice fly to drive in three runs.
“Jay had some good at-bats, took some tough pitches,” said manager Bryan Price. “He looked very comfortable at the plate, didn’t expand the strike zone early and made the pitchers throw it over the plate.”
The Reds scored four in that second inning, aided by three walks and an error. They scored three in the third, aided by two walks, a wild pitch and a passed ball.
And with two outs in the sixth inning, Brandon Phillips doubled home a run, his first extra base hit this season on his 71st at bat this season.
The only member of the Reds assault team who didn’t have a fun night was Joey Votto. He was the only Reds player who didn’t reach base, including pitcher Marquis. Votto was 0 for 5 and is on a 0 for 15 skid that has dropped his batting average to .306. Votto and Todd Frazier didn’t have hits, but Frazier walked three times and scored three runs.
Well, relief pitcher Burke Badenhop didn’t have such a fine time. Sent to the mound in the ninth with a seven-run lead, he walked the first hitter and gave up three hits and a run before Aroldis Chapman had to be summoned from the bullpen to show the Brewers what a real pitcher resembles.
Even Chapman seemed disinterested, hitting the first batter he faced, Hector Gomez, to force in a run, then giving up a two-run single to Jean Segura to make it 9-6 and bring up the tying run. Chapman struck out Logan Schafer and pinch-hitter Ryan Braun struck out on four pitches to end it.
Marquis accepted it all graciously and gracefully, giving up two runs and seven hits over eight innings (113 pitches) while throwing 87 to 88 miles an hour on his fastballs.
“Marquis giving us eight innings of beautiful baseball — definitely helps our bullpen,” said Price.
Said Marquis, now 2-1 with a 5.48 earned run average, “My stuff was a little better the last time I faced them and I just effectively wild.”
Along with the run support, the Reds defense turned three double plays behind Marquis.
Of his run support, Marquis smiled and said, “I’m happy about that and keep ‘em coming. I hope all five starters get that. I’ll take ‘em when they come and take advantage.
“When my sinker is working I do get a lot of ground balls for double plays,” he said. “The defense did a great job of turning them. I kept it down and had a lot of movement.”
Price isn’t certain who will take Bailey’s starting slot Thursday in Atlanta and said, “We have to see what the best option is for Homer and the ball club to make sure his long-term isn’t compromised. It’s messy and unbelievably unfortunate for both him and for the ball club.
“We don’t know yet what we’ll do about Thursday,” said Price. “We don’t have a roster spot and we have to create one. Then we have to figure out who the best guy for that is and who is ready to pitch. We have a few options, a bunch of guys throwing well — a couple of guys on the roster and a couple of guys not on the roster.”
The worst thing for the Reds about this series is that it is only three games instead of four.
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