The Milwaukee Brewers were inches away from tying the game up in the 9th inning, but TJ Friedl robbed Jake Bauers of a game-tying home run to end the game as the Cincinnati Reds held on for a 4-2 win that ended the Brewers 8-game winning streak.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Brewers (33-29) | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Reds (30-32) | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| W: Ashcraft (4-4) L: Peralta (5-4) SV: Pagan (15) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Brewers began the game like they had no intentions of not winning their 9th game in a row. Brice Turang doubled and then came in to score on a single by Christian Yelich as Milwaukee grabbed a 1-0 lead on Hunter Greene and the Reds.
In the top of the 4th inning the road team would add to their lead when Sal Frelick hit a 2-out solo home run. That may have rattled Greene a bit as he gave up a single to follow, and then walked back-to-back hitters to load the bases. He buckled down, though, and struck out Joey Ortiz to strand all three runners.
Elly De La Cruz just missed a home run in the 4th inning, settling for a double off of the wall in left. Two pitcher later and Tyler Stephenson didn’t come up just shy of a home run as his fly ball landed in the seats in right field for a game-tying home run.
Hunter Greene kept the score there through five innings. Scott Barlow and Graham Ashcraft then pitched a scoreless inning each to get the game to the bottom of the 7th still knotted up at 2-2.
Milwaukee sent Freddy Peralta back to the mound for the 7th inning and the Reds were ready to capitalize on seeing him one more time. Jake Fraley drew a leadoff walk and then got to third when Matt McLain doubled into right-center. That spelled the end of Peralta’s day as the Brewers brought in lefty Rob Zastryzny to face the top of Cincinnati’s lineup. He’d get a ground out to start his outing, but pinch hitter Connor Joe came through with a sacrifice fly to give the home team a 3-2 lead.
Graham Ashcraft returned to the mound to begin the 8th inning and he got help from Matt McLain as Christian Yelich hit a line drive that McLain made a leaping grab on to rob him of a hit to start the frame. Cincinnati went to the bullpen and turned the game over to Tony Santillan from there. He came in and got a ground out and a fly out to finish off the top of the 8th.
Will Benson would pad the Reds lead with an opposite field solo home run in the bottom of the 8th inning. Emilio Pagan took over in the top of the 9th holding a 2-run lead and was looking to close out the game. He would get a pop up from Rhys Hoskins to begin the inning and then a strikeout of Isaac Collins. But the game was extended when Elly De La Cruz uncorked a throw that sailed into the camera well and send Caleb Durbin to second base. The Brewers sent Jake Bauers to the plate to pinch hit for Joey Ortiz with the game on the line. In a heart-stopping play, Bauers crushed a ball to center field but TJ Friedl reached over the wall to rob him of a game-tying home run to end the game in a 4-2 win for Cincinnati.
Key Moment of the Game
TJ Friedl’s catch to end the game.
Notes Worth Noting
Just after the game ended Mark Sheldon of Reds.com noted that Hunter Greene felt soreness in his groin again and that is why he was lifted after the 5th inning.
Every hitter in the game for the Reds reached base safely at least once except for Connor Joe, who only had one trip to the plate and hit a sacrifice fly.
Hunter Greene threw a first pitch strike to all 23 batters he faced. We only have pitch data going back to 1988, but Joel Luckhaupt of FanDuel Sports Ohio notes that this was just the 6th time a pitcher has thrown a first pitch strike to at least 23 batters in a game.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers vs Cincinnati Reds
Wednesday, June 4th, 12:40pm ET
TBA vs Andrew Abbott (5-0, 1.51 ERA)
That robbery by Friedl was amazing! Wow! Great job, TJ.
Friedl is having a fine year. He’s always in the game and gets it done.
Per Francona:
Greene felt a little bit in the groin in the 5th.
MRI tomorrow.
Greene said post game it’s not as bad as last time.
Great finish! I really hope Hunter Greene is okay – it would be tough to lose him again, and starting pitching has been the best feature of this struggling team. If he skips one start that’s fine but hopefully he won’t have to go back on the IL. On the other hand, he really needs to get back to 100% healthy. Fingers crossed.
Maybe the Friedl catch begins some momentum for the Reds. Greene being possibly injured oh no that’d not be good. It’d be a little shocking if the Reds take 2 of 3 from the Brew Crew but with Abbott going they should have a good chance.
This game saw the Reds come from behind and score late in the game. The Homerun from Benson and the Double by McLain … where did those come from ?
I’ll have to catch the play by Friedl in the highlight real. “When it comes to baseball, you don’t know nothin’ ” , Yogi Berra
Nice win by the Redlegs. Great catch TJ and great job by the whole bullpen!
Some extra base hitting finally showed up. Big difference when Benson and Stephenson exhibit some power instead of singles.
Hope Hunter is ok. Sure would be nice if Lowder had finished his rehab and was available to give Hunter a bit of time off. I wonder if they’d consider starting Chase burns clock. Or give Wade Miley a call? I don’t think Petty is ready. And no one else is on the 40 man.
I hope Hayes is back soon. Urbaez was pulled midway thru the Louisville game tonight. Injured or on his way to Cincinnati?
“Urbaez was pulled midway thru the Louisville game tonight. Injured or on his way to Cincinnati?”
My question exactly.
Injured.
Thanks for the clarification. Too bad.
I hate that I hold my breath every time Elly has to make a routine throw to first base. Has anyone crunched the numbers? Is he still a defensive asset? Am I just remembering all the errors and none of the great plays?
Right now he has a FRV (Fielding Run Value) of -3
I would make a defensive replacement for him in very late innings if he’s not coming up to bat next. Too many errors. It’s ok to replace him if he’s not going to bat again.
I would hesitate to take him out of games for defensive purposes. From a team management perspective, you could very well alienate a key part of your team if you start pulling him late in games. He’s still only 21 years old, and there’s obviously room for growth and maturity.
Defensive Runs Saved.
Elly at -2
Use the filters to sort by position.
https://archive.fieldingbible.com/DRSLeaderboard
Elly has a rocket arm plus speed. IMO, he’d make a great right fielder.
TJ the all-star. Offensively and defensively he just does his thing and does it very well.
Hunter and bullpen with the strong performance. Pitching overall has been the glue. They go out and consistently perform.
Nice to see Benson get the HR after 3 strikeouts.
Sure hope Hunter doesn’t go back to the IL.
Good win. Exciting play by TJ. Let’s win a series tomorrow!
Let’s hope Friedl’s catch turns into a Hal King moment. However, they are going to need more consistent firepower for that to happen long term. Here’s hoping Hays is back soon and can stay on the field.
It was a strange night for CES in Louisville. He walked thrice and K’ed twice in 5 PAs. One of the K’s was a good PA. The other was a chase waste (final out of the game with Bats trailing by 3 and no one on base)
Hinds was 1/3 (a double with a 105+MPH EV) and a K and BB. His other ball in play was a 108+MPH EV, but a negative launch angle saw it turned into a GIDP.
He’s doing it all!
Need a win on Wednesday, if only to end the whole lose the first game of the series and win the next two to yeah, y’know. This whole thing always seemed silly to me, relatively thinking anyway. I always summarized that if they consistently won the first game they wouldn’t have to be burdened with it. Simplifies the issue I know but it would be nice to put it behind them. I heard Steve Stone say about the White Sox THREE YEARS AGO that they needed to stop consistently losing the first game of every series, and we know where the Sox are now. If baby steps are required, they need to start on June 4th, then move on. Baby steps. This is where the organization is at. Build on any positives we can.
EDLC almost blows the game, but Freidl saves the day.
Reds with a rare comeback win and some rare scoring after in late innings. Those are some good signs.
Being at the game a few rows up in 105, it is needless to say the fans were in shock. We walked out shortly after the catch but all the vast majority of fans were still soaking in the moment and recovering from the shocking turn of events from the last play!
I’m 2-2 on games attended this season. With three more games in June, we’ll see what it looks like before the all star break.
Heart stopping win … but you’ve got to love TJ’s drive and enthusiasm.
Hoping we can rest Greene a bit. I believed TySteve when he said it appeared Greene was almost back to pre-injury form. Really can’t take that kind of a setback among all the rest of it.
Good to see Friedl having a good year. He is controlled through 2029 and a central piece now in the Reds OF. I know Hays has been injured but fouling a ball off your foot with a bone bruise is just unlucky but I like him as a righty LF in the lineup beyond this year. What to do about RF? Fraley and Benson and hinds arent the answer in my opinion this year or for the foreseeable future. Hinds can certainly plays his way in as the 4th OF as you always need 4 good ones.
How ‘bout Kyle Stowers Marlins. Entering his prime at age 27, lefty with elite power, 10HR hitting in Miami’s cavernous field. Hes controlled through the rest of decade, doesnt have big splits, athletic enough to play all 3 OF positions. Yes, he K’s a lot but his slash line .283/.352/.488/.840 with OPS + 129 would fit nicely into RF at GABP. Marlins arent going anywhere soon.
Reds have prospects in Arroyo and Petty that I would have no qualms about trading for a plug and play RF for years to come.
An outfield of Hays LF Friedl in CF and Stowers in RF would be very good.
Kyle Stowers. I like it.
https://www.mlb.com/player/kyle-stowers-669065?stats=splits-r-hitting-mlb&year=2025
I also like Ryan O’Hearn as mentioned yesterday.
https://www.mlb.com/player/ryan-o-hearn-656811?stats=splits-r-hitting-mlb&year=2025
What I don’t like is the likelihood of Krall pulling off a major mid season trade to improve the immediate future in a pennant race. I doubt very seriously he has it in him.
Why would the Marlins want to trade Stowers? He isn’t even arbitration eligible until after 2026.
O’Hearn is a rental who will be 32 at the trade deadline. Until this year — and he’s posting excellent numbers — he was exactly a league average hitter, with an OPS+ of 100. His career slashes against LH pitching are .207/.274/.313; he’s better against them this year, but it’s only a 34-PA sample size. His BABIP this year is .084 than for his career, which goes a long way to explaining why his AVG is .083 higher than his career average. There is no need to rent a 2-month player who figures to regress, especially at the cost of a prospect like Edwin Arroyo, whom they will control for 6 years.
Plus, the Orioles are showing signs of life, winning 7 of 10, with their starting pitching beginning to stabilize and their injuries healing. They have a long haul, but it is not a given that they will be sellers.
I understand your points but it’s about time we traded for someone who is actually having a good year. If not then what’s the point?
Great team win by the Reds and the team MVP makes the catch to end it.Little Mac and Benson with late hits to get the win.Benosn showed why even after 3 strikeouts you have to play him.He along with CES,Marte and HInds just have to be given all the at bats as possible.Benson is the oldest at 27 and Marte the younger at 23 and you just got to let them play.Benson has 752 at bats in the majors,CES 395,Marte 411 and Hinds a whopping 65.Not a stat guy but looked things up to try and support the fact these guys should not be thrown under the bus and the Reds need power.Krall has not shown he is going to go out and trade prospects for a power hitter yet won’t give his own power guys a chance.Makes no sense to me for CES and HInds to be at Louisville right now when we see all the strikeouts by single hitters on the roster.Get them up and put CES at first and Hinds in the outfield mix against lefties with start in right and backing up TJ in center.Its just a no brainer.It just sad to see a pitcher throws fastballs down the middle to some of our hitters and if they do hit it its a flare or a weak ground ball some place.Someone said they would rather see Hinds hit homer once a week then Joe hit 3 singles and he’s right.By the way Ty Steve’s power is coming along but I fear Steer is just a singles hitters for the most part right now but both are showing some life.
Reds sign Miley. Greene to injured list.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/06/reds-sign-wade-miley-hunter-greene-injured-list.html
Funny how these things tend to work out.
Miley will be on a short rope, but he’s a tough competitor.
UGH … let’s hope we can get 4-5 innings from Wade in however many starts he needs to make.
He wasn’t exactly pitching great in AAA. Some improvement but….
Most are not going to like who’s in the two hole today. Probably not going to care too much for who’s in LF either.
Would rather have Joe than Lux against a lefty. Thank God it isn’t Hampson but I’m sure Tito will be playing him at short in Ellys absence. Good times ahead.
Wonderful. Such great options Krall has given us.
Quite a win and exciting game. Probably the best “team” effort of the year. Benson rebounding after some horrific Ks, McLain getting in the action on the field and at bat in a big way, Friedl, all the pitching, etc. If they can’t build on this and get back to the plus side, I don’t know what will do it. The only thing I regret not seeing is where Elly’s errant throw ended up. Seems like it could have ended up in the stands on the fly!
Dugout/camera well