Reds drop a pitching duel in Milwaukee on a late homer – Redleg Nation

Nick Martinez was outstanding on Saturday night in Milwaukee as he tossed seven shutout innings. Tobias Myers matched him all night, exiting the game in the 8th inning having not allowed a run. The Brewers finally broke through with a 2-out solo home run in the bottom of the 8th to plate the game’s only run as they picked up a 1-0 win that also gave them a series victory.

A night after the Brewers jumped all over Reds starter Carson Spiers, Nick Martinez made sure it was going to happen again. Milwaukee didn’t get their first base runner of the game until there were two outs in the bottom of the 4th inning when Gary Sanchez singled up the middle to break up Martinez’s no-hitter. The Reds offense wasn’t doing much better, though. They had a base runner earlier in the game thanks to an error, but they also didn’t pick up their first hit of the game until there were two outs in the 4th.

That’s how the game continued, too. Martinez kept on rolling, giving up just that one hit through the 7th inning and he had seven strikeouts to go along with it. Tobias Myers matched him, and then a little extra, as he kept the Reds off of the board through 7.1 innings and had nine strikeouts. But he exited the game with one out and a runner on after Ty France singled to lead off the inning. Joel Payamps entered the game for Milwaukee and got out of the inning without allowing France to move.

Cincinnati turned things over to Tony Santillan for the bottom of the 8th inning. The Brewers battled him in the first two at-bats, but Santillan got a strikeout and a grounder after 14 pitches. Rhys Hoskins had other ideas, though, as he hammered the second pitch of his at-bat over the wall in left field to put Milwaukee up 1-0. A strikeout would follow to end the inning, but the damage was done.

Devin Williams came out of the bullpen for the top of the 9th to face Elly De La Cruz and the Reds. De La Cruz would strike out on what would have been ball four – a fastball above the zone that he swung through. Tyler Stephenson also worked a full count, but he struck out looking at a change up on the outside corner at the knees. That left the game in the hands of TJ Friedl and he worked a 3-0 count before three consecutive strikes ended the game as Milwaukee held on for a 1-0 win.

Key Moment of the Game

Rhys Hoskins’ solo home run with two outs in the 8th inning.

Notes Worth Noting

Nick Martinez lowered his ERA to 3.16 on the season with his seven shutout innings.

The two teams combined for 22 strikeouts without a single walk and just five hits. That led to a game that lasted two hours and three minutes.

With the loss, the Reds dropped the series. It’s the 9th straight series loss to Milwaukee.

Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds vs Milwaukee Brewers

Sunday August 11th, 2:10pm ET

Nick Lodolo (9-4, 3.93 ERA) vs TBA