MILWAUKEE BREWERS NOTES:
Today’s Transactions
1B Darin Ruf was placed on the 10-day injured list today with a right knee laceration…..OF Tyrone Taylor was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right elbow sprain, retroactive to June 2…..OF Blake Perkins was recalled and 1B Jon Singleton was selected from Triple-A Nashville.
All Hands On Deck
With the addition of Jon Singleton, the Brewers have now had 45 players appear on the active roster in 2023….. the team had 53 players appear on the active roster last season.
Birthday (and Trade) Buddies
Eric Lauer (28) and Luis Urías (26) are celebrating birthdays today…..the two were acquired in the same trade from San Diego in Nov. 2019…..the two are also currently on the injured list.
Four Goodness Sake!
The Brewers last night improved to a Major League-best 26-4 (.867) this season when scoring at least 4 runs.
The Long of It
Last night’s game time of 3:31 marked the Brewers’ longest of the season and their 11 innings tied a season high (also 4/18 at Seattle).
Sealing The Deal
The Brewers have gone 30-0 this season when leading (25-0) or tied (5-0) after 8 innings…..last night’s game was tied at 3-3 after eight.
O Say Can UC?
Joey Wiemer returned to Cincinnati for the first time as a Major Leaguer last night and belted a 2-run homer on the first pitch he saw…..prior to being selected in the fourth round of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft, he played at the University of Cincinnati.
Better Off Red
Since joining the Brewers in 2018, Christian Yelich has played 76 games against Cincinnati and has hit .305 (85-for-279) with 17 HR and 49 RBI, including three cycles.
Most HR vs. Cincinnati – Since 2018
Player HR
Ian Happ, CHC ………………………………….. 19
Christian Yelich, MIL …………………….. 17
Paul Goldschmidt, STL …………………….17
Most RBI vs. Cincinnati – Since 2018
Player RBI
Ian Happ, CHC ………………………………….. 51
Christian Yelich, MIL ……………………. 49
Paul Goldschmidt, STL ………………….. 46
TODAY’S GAME: Is game 5 (2-2) of a 7-game road trip to Toronto (1-2) and Cincinnati (1-0)…..following this trip, the Brewers return to American Family Field for a 6-game homestand against Baltimore (3g) and Oakland (3g).
IN THE TRAINER’S ROOM: SS Willy Adames (concussion), RHP Jason Alexander (right rotator cuff), LHP Aaron Ashby (left labrum), RHP JB Bukauskas (neck), RHP Matt Bush (right rotator cuff), LHP Eric Lauer (right shoulder), LHP Wade Miley (left lat), OF Garrett Mitchell (left shoulder), 1B Darin Ruf (right knee), OF Tyrone Taylor (right elbow), INF Luis Urías (left hamstring), LHP Justin Wilson (left elbow), OF Jesse Winker (neck) and RHP Brandon Woodruff (right shoulder) are on the injured list….. Alexander, Ashby, Mitchell, Urías, Wilson and Woodruff are on the 60-day IL.
SERIES-LY SPEAKING: The Brewers are 8-10-0 in series play.
Game 1: 8-11, Game 2: 11-7, Game 3: 9-9, Game 4: 2-0
Sweep Wins (3): vs. NYM (3g, 4/3-4/5), at SEA (3g, 4/17-4/19), vs. KC (3g, 5/12-5/14)
Sweep Losses (1): at COL (3g, 5/2-5/4)
AT HOME: The Brewers are 16-12 at home, going 5-4-0 in series play…..the team went 46-35 at home last season, going 15-8-4 in series play.
ON THE ROAD: The Brewers are 14-15 on the road, going 3-6-0 in series play…..are 5-11 over their last 16 games and have dropped their last 5 series…..the team went 40-41 on the road last season, going 9-12-5 in series play.
LET’S GO TO THE VIDEO TAPE: The Brewers have made 10 replay challenges this season, going 5-5…..their last challenge (lost) came on May 25 vs. San Francisco as a foul tip (Joey Wiemer) stood.
TODAY’S STARTER: #48 – RHP COLIN REA (9g, 8gs, 2-3, 4.89)
REA AT A GLANCE: Colin Rea, 32, will be making his 10th appearance and ninth start of the season…..Rea last started last Sunday vs. San Francisco and earned a 7-5 win (6ip, 5h, 4r, 4er, 0bb, 6k, 2hr, 1hbp, 90 pitches)…..the team is 5-3 in his starts…..he has 1 quality start…..opponents are batting .234 (36-for-154, 8hr)…..Rea has also made 2 starts at Triple-A Nashville this season, going 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA (7ip, 6h, 2r, 0er, 0bb, 9k)…..after pitching in Japan in 2022, he re-signed with Milwaukee on January 27 (non-roster invitee)…..his only outing for the Brewers prior to this season came in relief on 10/2/21 at Los Angeles-NL…..his name is pronounced “RAY.”
LAST SEASON: Rea pitched in Japan, where he went 5-6 with a 3.96 ERA in 23 games/16 starts with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
CAREER: Is 10-11 with a 4.90 ERA in 45 games/35 starts (196.2ip, 107er)…..has pitched for San Diego (2015-16), Miami (2016), Chicago-NL (2020) and Milwaukee (2021, ‘23)…..is 9-11 with a 4.89 ERA as a starter (180.1ip, 98er) and 1-0 with a 4.96 ERA as a reliever (16.1ip, 9er)…..Rea was originally selected by San Diego in the 12th round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of Indiana State University…..he underwent “Tommy John” surgery on 11/11/16, causing him to miss the entire 2017 season…..he was named 2019 Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year after going 14-4 with a 3.95 ERA in 26 starts at Triple-A Iowa (Cubs).
CAREER AT AMERICAN FAMILY FIELD: Is 2-2 with a 5.26 ERA in 6 games/5 starts, all coming this season (25.2ip, 15er).
CAREER ON THE ROAD: Is 3-5 with a 5.12 ERA in 19 games/12 starts (77.1ip, 44er)…..is 0-1 with a 4.32 ERA in 3 starts this season (16.2ip, 8er).
CAREER vs. REDS: Is 3-0 with a 5.06 ERA in 3 games/2 starts (10.2ip, 11h, 7r, 6er, 5bb, 12k, 0hr)…..his last outing vs. Cincinnati came in relief with the Cubs on 8/30/20 at Great American Ball Park…..his starts came in 2015 (home) and 2016 (road) with the Padres.
CINCINNATI REDS NOTES:
RED HOTS
- The Reds today sent on rehabilitation assignments to Louisville 1B Joey Votto (left rotator cuff, left biceps surgeries) and OF Henry Ramos (right hip strain).
- Last night’s sold-out crowd of 44,074 was the largest during the regular season in Great American Ball Park’s 21-year history…it was the fifth-largest crowd overall, including Postseason games in 2010 & 2012.
- Reds baserunners in 52 attempts have scored 51 runs from second base on singles…both lead the Major Leagues.
- The Reds entered today ranked 29th in the Major Leagues with 44 HR (Cle 30th, 33hr), their fewest in 57 games since the 1997 team produced 39 HR through its first 57 games…from 4/18-4/25, this year’s team did not produce a home run in a season-high 8 consecutive games, their longest team homerless streak since 1992.
RED HOTTEST
- 1B Spencer Steer was named National League Rookie of the Month for May (27g, .318, 35h, 18r, 8 2b, 1 3b, 6hr, 19rbi, .372obp, .573slg, .945ops)… last month he led National League rookies in games (tied), runs, hits and RBI…became the first Reds rookie with at least 35 hits in a calendar month since José Peraza in September 2016 (36h)…is the Reds’ first NL Rookie of the Month since 2B Jonathan India won in July 2021 on his way to the Rookie of the Year award.
- Reigning National League Player of the Week and rookie Matt McLain has a 10-game hitting streak, the longest by a Reds batter this season (.413, .460obp, .609slg, 1.069ops)…is the first Reds player to produce a 10-game hitting streak within his first 15 career apps since Dan Driessen in 1973…since 1900 is only the third Reds player to produce at least 23 hits in his first 15 career apps (Chuck Aleno, 24 hits, 1941 & Jay Bruce, 23 hits, 2008)…courtesy @EliasSports.
- Kevin Newman in his last 20 apps is hitting .362 w/ a .929 OPS.
- Spencer Steer in May, hit .318 (27g, 35h, 18r, 8 2b, 1 3b, 6hr, 19rbi, .372obp, .573slg, .945ops)…last month led National League rookies in games (tied), runs, hits and RBI…is on the ballot to become the Reds’ first NL Rookie of the Month since 2B Jonathan India in July 2021 in his way to the Rookie of the Year award…for the season, leads Major League rookies in extra-base hits, is tied for the lead in doubles and leads National League rookies in hitting, hits, doubles and total bases.
- RHP Alexis Díaz didn’t allow a run in any of his last 7 apps (7.1ip)…has converted all 13 save chances, the longest conversion streak of his career and the longest by a Reds pitcher since 2009 (Francisco Cordero, 15sv).
- RHP Buck Farmer in his last 19 apps has posted a 1.19 ERA.
- Hunter Greene in his last 3 starts is 1-1, 2.37 (19ip, 6h, 8bb, 29k).
- RHP Ben Lively in his 3 starts has posted a 2.08 ERA.
- LHP Alex Young in his last 10 apps has posted a 1.35 ERA.
TODAY’S GAME
- Is Game 2 (0-1) of a 4-game series vs Mike Vassallo’s Brewers and Game 2 (0-1) of a 7-game homestand that concludes with a 3-game series vs LAD.
- The Reds are coming off a 5-1 road trip to two oldest ballparks in the Major Leagues, Chc’s Wrigley Field (1914, 3-0) and Bos’ Fenway Park (1912, 2-1)…included their first series sweep at Wrigley Field since 8/12-8/14, 2013 (3g) and their first series win vs Bos since the 1975 World Series.
- Following this homestand, the Reds hit the road again for a 10-day, 9-game road trip to StL (3g), KC (3g) and Hou (off day, 3g).
SERIES NOTES
- Over the last 5 seasons, the Brewers’ .698 winning percentage (30-13) at GABP is the best of any NL Central Division team in that span.
- In 2022 the Brewers won 4 of last season’s 6 series and 13 of the 19 games.
- The Reds’ 6-game losing streak vs Mil at GABP from 6/17-9/24, 2022 tied their longest single-season home losing streak to the Brewers (2015).
- Reds pitchers in 2022 allowed 44 HR to Mil, the most by Brewers batters against any team in a single season and the most allowed to any team in a season by Reds’ pitchers…the 2017 Brewers rank third on the Reds pitchers’ single-season HR allowed list (38hr), behind the 2016 Cubs (42hr)…@EliasSports.
- Hunter Renfroe in 2022 hit 8 HR at Great American Ball Park, the most by any opposing player in a single season.
Today’s Pitcher – #51 Graham Ashcraft, RHP
This afternoon is making his fourth career appearance and start vs the Brewers.
- Produced 5 of the Reds’ 13 quality starts.
- In his first 6 starts through 5/2 went 2-0, 2.00 (36ip, 8er, .202baa)…in his last 5 starts went 1-3, 11.28 (22.1ip, 28er, .370baa).
- Became the first Reds pitcher to begin a season with 6 starts without allowing more than 2 earned runs in any of those starts since Luis Castillo began the 2019 campaign by allowing 2 ER or fewer in each of his first 7 starts.
- In his first 3 starts (19ip, 3er) became the eighth Reds pitcher, since 1901 and including Nick Lodolo in 2023, to begin a season with at least 17.0 innings while allowing 4 earned runs or fewer.
- Between a solo HR by Pit’s Bryan Reynolds in his season debut and a 2-run HR by WSox’ Hanser Alberto’s on 5/7 in his seventh start, Ashcraft recorded a career-high homerless streak of 33.0 innings.
- In the 17-4 loss on 5/7 vs WSox allowed a career-high 8 runs in 1.2 innings…was the shortest start of his career and the shortest start by a Reds pitcher to that point in the season…was charged with all 8 runs in the second inning after throwing a perfect first…entered that 5/7 start leading all National League pitchers in bWAR (2.1), the third-best bWAR among all players in the Major Leagues (Gerrit Cole 2.5, Ronald Acuña Jr. 2.2).
