Trio of Cincinnati Reds homers back Trevor Bauer in 6-1 win over Milwaukee Brewers

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

It’s hard to overstate just how impressive Trevor Bauer was for the Cincinnati Reds tonight.

It was the final home game of the season before a three-game road trip to Minneapolis that will effectively serve as a playoff series. It was the final game where the Reds truly needed to put the clamps down, get a win, and take full advantage of their strengths. It came against the Milwaukee Brewers, another club fighting for its playoff life, and came one day after a frustrating loss.

If ever the Reds needed an ace to step on the mound and ace, it was tonight, and they got it.

Bauer motored through 8 brilliant innings, allowing just a lone run on 4 hits. He struck out 12 against a lone walk, the last K coming against former MVP (and MVP Runner-Up) Christian Yelich, in the process lowering his ERA to an absurdly good 1.73.

Oh, and he did it all on short rest to give the Reds, in theory, the chance to throw him again on Sunday if they absolutely must.

Well done, Trevor. Well freaking done.

Honorable Mentions are due to: The Dingerati Trio of Joey Votto (HR, 2 RBI, BB), Eugenio Suarez (HR, 3 RBI), and Jesse Winker (HR, RBI), who powered the offense on the evening.

A hat-tip to Wade Miley, too, who came off the IL to get the final three outs.

Key Plays

• The Reds wasted little time in getting to Milwaukee starter Adrian Houser. Shogo walked to open the Bottom of the 1st, and he scored two batters later on Votto’s 413 foot blast over the wall in left-center. Reds led, 2-0.
• Winker’s laser came in the Bottom of the 4th, as he crushed a Houser meatball into the bullpen beyond the RF wall. ‘Twas a solo shot, and the Reds held a 3-0 lead.
• The Beers finally put a run on the board against Bauer in the Top of the 5th. Daniel Vogelbach coaxed a walk and moved up to 2B on a productive groundout, and that put him in scoring position for Orlando Arcia, who plated him with a 2-out double into CF. Reds led, 3-1.
• The Reds got that run back quickly...and a few more, too. The Bottom of the 5th saw Nick Castellanos reach on a Keston Hiura throwing error, and that chased Houser in favor of lefty Alex Claudio with Votto at the plate. Well, that backfired for Brewers manager Craig Counsell, as Claudio walked Votto, and was stuck on the mound thanks to the 3-batter minimum rule with Suarez at the plate. The Reds 3B smashed a 3-run tater on a 75 mph breaking ball, giving Cincinnati a commanding 6-1 lead. That held up.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• Bauer might not have locked up the NL Cy Young Award on the evening, but he sure as hell staked a very viable claim to it. The Reds, you might have heard, have never once in their illustrious history had a CYA winner.
• Hey, that’s four straight series wins!
• It’s an off-day for the Reds on Thursday, as the Reds will leave GABP for the final roadtrip of the season for Friday’s contest against the Twins. First pitch in that outing is scheduled for 8:10 PM ET - thanks, Central Time Zone - with Tyler Mahle slated to start for the Reds. Jose Berrios will counter for the Twins, who are still in the mix to win the AL Central.
• Tunes.