Reds stay hot, bash Brewers to win fourth straight

by — June 14, 2021 in Game Recap

With three games against the Brewers and four against the Padres, the Reds are faced with a series of tough tests this week. They passed the first one with flying colors, blowing out the Brewers in Milwaukee on Monday, 10-2, for their 11th win in their last 14 games.

Not only did the victory rob the Brewers of sole possession of first place in the NL Central, but it also moved the Reds closer to the mountaintop. At 33-31, they’re now four games back of the Cubs and Brewers.

Offense

The Reds got contributions from up and down the order, with every player in the starting lineup picking up at least one hit. The rookies once again played a major role. Jonathan India led the way from the leadoff spot by reaching base four times (two singles, double, walk), while Tyler Stephenson got aboard three times (two walks, double). Don’t discount the old veterans, though, as Joey Votto also reached base three times (single, home run, walk).

The Reds jumped on Brewers starter Eric Lauer early. India led off the game with a single, followed by a walk to Jesse Winker. Following a fielder’s choice by Nick Castellanos, Stephenson drew a walk to load the bases. Votto drove in the Reds’ first run with a groundout, but the Reds missed an opportunity for a bigger inning when Eugenio Suárez struck out swinging on what should’ve been ball four.

Aristides Aquino — playing his first game since April 13 — started another run-scoring outburst in the second inning with a walk. Kyle Farmer followed with a line-drive single to left field at 107.6 mph, the hardest-hit ball of his career. Aquino was thrown out at third on a botched sacrifice bunt attempt by Vladimir Gutierrez, but a 110.2-mph double by India — the hardest-hit ball of his career — scored Farmer. An RBI single by Winker plated Gutierrez, and India scored when Castellanos hustled down the first-base line to prevent an inning-ending double play.

The bats were silent until the seventh inning, when Stephenson drew a walk and Votto bashed a two-run home run (108.8 mph, 417 feet) to give the Reds valuable insurance runs.

The Reds left no doubt about the outcome by scoring four more runs in the top of the ninth inning. Stephenson roped a double down the left-field line with one out. Votto followed with a single to right field and advanced to second when Avisail Garcia missed the cutoff man on a throw home. Suárez then hit a 58.9-mph bloop single to plate two runs.

Aquino added insult to injury by crushing a home run to left field (104.7 mph, 399 feet).

He now has three homers in 19 plate appearances this season. Look for him to start again tomorrow with another lefty on the mound for the Brewers.

Pitching

Vladimir Gutierrez turned in the best start of his young career, pitching six innings of two-run baseball. He allowed four runs and two walks while striking out six.

As has been the case in his previous starts, Gutierrez got into some trouble in the early innings before settling into the game. He gave up a run in the first inning on a home run by Daniel Vogelbach. In the second, he gave up a single to Jace Peterson followed by a bloop ground-rule double by Jackie Bradley Jr. that had an 80.2 mph exit velocity and 2% hit probability. Opposing pitcher Eric Lauer followed with a sacrifice fly. Gutierrez then issued a walk but retired Vogelbach on a flyout to end the threat.

That flyout started a string of 10 straight batters retired by Gutierrez. In fact, he allowed only one baserunner the rest of the game, a walk to Christian Yelich in the sixth inning. Gutierrez picked up five of his six strikeouts and 12 of his 14 swings and misses over the final four innings.

Heath Hembree pitched a dominant seventh inning, striking out the side in what was perhaps his best appearance of the season.

Amir Garrett matched Hembree with an electric eighth inning, striking out two as he retired the side in order. It’s hard to understate how huge it’d be for the Reds’ bullpen if Garrett can get on track. Tonight was as close as he’s looked to his 2020 self this season.

Art Warren pitched a clean ninth inning, also retiring the side in order. He threw a few wicked sliders, getting whiffs on two of four swings on the breaking ball.

That’s right: the Reds bullpen retired all nine hitters they faced tonight — without Tejay Antone or Lucas Sims pitching. More of that, please.

Stats

Most Valuable Players

  • Jonathan India: .182 WPA (Win Probability Added)
  • Vladimir Gutierrez: .165 WPA
  • Joey Votto: .129 WPA

Hardest-Hit Balls

  • Jonathan India: 110.2 mph | Double in 2nd inning
  • Joey Votto: 108.8 mph | Home run in 7th inning
  • Kyle Farmer: 107.6 mph | Single in 2nd inning
  • Aristides Aquino: 104.7 mph | Home run in 9th inning

Unluckiest Out of the Day

  • Tyler Naquin: .890 xBA | Lineout in 8th inning

Highest Velocities By Pitcher

  • Vladimir Gutierrez: 94.5 mph
  • Heath Hembree: 97.2 mph
  • Amir Garrett: 95.1 mph
  • Art Warren: 94.8 mph

Highest Pitch Spins

  • Art Warren: 3,026 rpm | Slider
  • Heath Hembree: 2,987 | Slider

Most Pitch Movement

  • Vladimir Gutierrez: 61 inches vertical movement | Curveball
  • Vladimir Gutierrez: 18 inches horizontal movement | Curveball

Team Expected Batting Averages (xBA)

  • Brewers: .123
  • Reds: .303
What’s Next?

The Reds and Brewers will meet for game two of the series at the same time tomorrow (8:10 p.m. EST). Luis Castillo will make the start for the Reds, while Brett Anderson will take the mound for Milwaukee.

Featured Image: Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire

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Matt Wilkes

Matt Wilkes got hooked on Reds baseball after attending his first game in Cinergy Field at 6 years old, and he hasn’t looked back. As a kid, he was often found imitating his favorite players — Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn, Sean Casey, and Austin Kearns — in the backyard. When he finally went inside, he was leading the Reds to 162-0 seasons in MVP Baseball 2005 or keeping stats for whatever game was on TV. He started writing about baseball in 2014 and has become fascinated by analytics and all the new data in the game. Matt is also a graduate of The Ohio State University and currently lives in Chicago. Follow him on Twitter at @_MattWilkes.

2 Responses

  1. Pinson343 says:
    June 15, 2021 at 4:40 AM

    Naquin’s line out in the 8th inning was trapped and should have been a hit. The play was not reviewable because infield catches vs. traps are not. But even the Brewers tv crew said “But that seems to be the outfield” as the trap was made in short RF. Seems like defining the infield as where IFers play is no longer a good definition.

    • Steve Mancuso says:
      June 15, 2021 at 2:27 PM

      I get why they didn’t review it. The reason there’s an IF/OF distinction on review of trapped balls is that an IF could still make a play at first if the ump had ruled no catch. In that case, the infielder could have still made a play. So maybe that’s why. I bet a similar ball in left field would have been reviewed. But I’m not sure. That’s interesting.

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