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MILWAUKEE – The first part of a critical seven-game streak against the Brewers in first place belongs to the Reds. Against the team they wanted to play, they had the batter they wanted at bat with bases loaded in a big situation on Sunday.
It was an All-Star vs All-Star game early in the ninth inning. Nick Castellanos, who has been Cincinnati’s most reliable and eye-catching hitter all season, hit a goal-laden two-goal single that scored two runs against Milwaukee’s closest, Josh Hader. This gave the Reds a 3-1 victory at American Family Field.
” It’s awesome. Just to come in and win the series against these guys, it was huge. Great momentum before the break, ”said wide receiver Tyler Stephenson, who was 2-4 in the game.
After losing Game 1 on Thursday, the Reds have won three straight wins over the Brewers to win the series.
Cincinnati, second, started that seven-game streak with Milwaukee’s six-game NHL center-back return and reduced it to a four-game deficit.
After the break, the two teams will meet for three more games at the Great American Ball Park.
“They came here and took three from us, so it’s going to be a big run,” said Brewers starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff. “Whenever you play in the division it’s always important, and they’re the ones chasing us right now. We’ve played close games here.”
All four games were decided by two points or less, with the last two having a one point difference. To win them, the Reds had to beat Hader in the ninth.
The ninth Sunday peak began when Hader hit the man who hit him the winning home run on Saturday night – Eugenio Suárez – with his first pitch. Pinch hitter Kyle Farmer narrowly missed a two-run homerun and had to settle for a single off the wall in right field. Suárez had to hold on and only hit second, but the walkout with a strikeout from Jonathan India charged the goals.
Hader struck out Jesse Winker for the second out. On a 1-0 pitch, Castellanos – the NL’s top hitter – scored the center goal for Suárez and Farmer. From first base, Castellanos raised his arms towards the shelter of visitors from third base as his teammates could be heard screaming and clapping.
“Of course we want it on the plate right there,” Reds manager David Bell said. “He wants to be at home plate, which is the most important thing. To get there, it’s a team effort to put the runners in a scoring position to have that opportunity. This made this opportunity possible. guys are stepping up everywhere. “
Castellanos told Bally Sports Ohio in an on-field interview that he has extra motivation right now.
“I think I was the right person in the right place there,” Castellanos said. “It started even before the game. There was a clown on the TV talking [bad] about our enclosure. And karma is real. Whoever it is, that’s a good lesson there.
The Reds’ box left a legacy runner scoring when Amir Garrett replaced starter Luis Castillo in the sixth and allowed Jackie Bradley Jr. to tie the game with two RBI strikeouts. But the last three innings were tight as Josh Osich locked in the ninth inning for his first career save.
As well as picking up a Brewers streak this weekend, here are a few reasons the Reds are feeling great heading into the All-Star hiatus:
• Cincinnati have won 13 of their last 19 games.
• Castillo, who scored six goals but allowed just three hits and one run in 5 1/3 innings on Sunday, has a 1.97 ERA in his last eight starts. He was 1-8 with a 7.22 ERA in his first 11 starts.
• The Reds’ box, which has been ranked last in baseball for much of the season, has a 1.90 ERA in the club’s last 17 games since June 25.
• Overall, the Reds are first in the National League in batting and third in runs scored and runs batted in.
“Our players are escalating in every way,” said Bell. “The guys are having fun, having fun, believing in themselves and trusting that we can do it. It was a pleasure to be fair with these guys and to watch them do it that way. You just couldn’t do it. More to ask. It was a great series. We made it a bit difficult by losing the first game. It says a lot when you come back and win the next three.
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