Brewers Erupt for Five in Fourth, Cruise Past Reds 7-2
Milwaukee turned a one-run deficit into a five-run lead without hitting a single home run in the fourth inning — just three singles and a suddenly overwhelmed Rhett Lowder. By the time Jake Bauers launched a 425-foot shot to center in the fifth, this one was effectively over.
Sal Stewart gave Cincinnati the early edge, pulling a 382-foot homer to right in the first to put the Reds up 1-0. It looked, briefly, like Lowder might be able to ride that cushion. He couldn't. In the second, Garrett Mitchell singled to right and Bauers scored to tie it — a play that swung Milwaukee's win probability from 63% to 72%, the single biggest leverage moment of the night. That single, unspectacular as it sounds, was the hinge the whole game turned on.
The fourth inning is where Lowder's night fell apart completely. Frelick singled to left, scoring Contreras and pushing Milwaukee ahead 2-1. Then Ortiz singled to right, scoring both Bauers and Mitchell to make it 4-1. Chourio followed with a single to left, scoring Frelick for a 5-1 lead — three singles, three runs, and Lowder was done after 4.2 innings having surrendered 6 earned runs on 11 hits. The story of the night was how thoroughly Milwaukee's lineup picked him apart without needing extra-base power to do it. Bauers then added a 425-foot solo shot to center in the fifth to push the lead to 6-1, and the Reds were playing for pride the rest of the way.
Cincinnati did show some fight. Stewart doubled to right in the sixth to score De La Cruz and cut it to 6-2, giving him a solid 2-4 line with a homer, a double, 2 RBI, and a run scored on the night. But Jackson Chourio answered with a 404-foot homer to left center in the eighth to restore the five-run margin at 7-2. On the mound, Brandon Sproat went 5.1 innings, allowing 4 hits and 2 earned runs while striking out 7 — a workmanlike outing that looks like exactly what Milwaukee needed from their starter. Grant Anderson closed it out with a clean inning, striking out two. Bauers finished 3-for-4 with a homer, an RBI, and 3 runs scored; Frelick also went 3-for-4. Milwaukee's lineup top to bottom looks like a genuine problem for opposing starters right now, and Lowder's 11-hit, 6-run night is the evidence.