Defense carries Reds to second straight win vs. Brewers

Schebler’s catch best of the season, Duvall says

The Cincinnati Reds made so many great plays Wednesday at Great American Ball Park, manager Bryan Price had a hard time keeping track of them all. He wrote them all down right after the game before meeting with the media and wasn’t sure he remembered them all.

However, two defensive plays stood out for the Reds, who beat the Brewers 4-3 and extended their modest winning streak to two games.

Right fielder Scott Schebler made the first big play, robbing the Brewers’ Stephen Vogt of a three-run home run in the first inning. Left fielder Adam Duvall said it was the best catch by a Red this season.

“That was nice,” Duvall said. “I got to watch it on the big screen in slo mo. Whenever an outfielder makes a good play, we all get excited. We take pride in doing the little things right.”

The second play ended the game. With one out and runners on first and third, Raisel Iglesias struck out Jesus Aguilar. Orlando Arcia tried to steal second on the pitch. Tucker Barnhart threw to second baseman Scooter Gennett, who tagged Arcia out to end the game. Jonathan Villar was racing home with what would have been the tying run. Gennett tagged Arcia before Villar got to the plate.

“A lot of things went right for us,” Price said. “They had speed on the bases. Certainly, Villar, we anticipated if we threw to second, there would be a good chance he was going to go. Tucker did a great job managing that situation, as did Scooter.”

The Reds (33-44) won their second game in a row for the first time since they won four straight against the Cardinals (June 5-8). They trail the Brewers (41-39) by 6½ games in the National League Central Division.

The defensive plays overshadowed a strong start by rookie Luis Castillo. In his second start, he allowed two earned runs on five hits and struck out nine in five innings.

Castillo provided another burst of hope for a starting staff that ranks last in baseball with an ERA of 6.25. He allowed two earned runs in five innings Friday against the Nationals in his first start.

Castillo would have earned his first win in the big leagues, but the Brewers’ Travis Shaw tied the game 3-3 with a home run against Tony Cingrani with two outs in the eighth.

The Reds regained the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Billy Hamilton walked and stole second and third before scoring on an infield single by Adam Duvall.

Earlier, Adam Duvall hit his 18th home run, and Scooter Gennett hit a two-run home run, his 12th of the season.


THURSDAY’S GAME

Brewers at Reds, 7:10 p.m., FS Ohio, 700, 1410

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