Brewers beat Reds 10-7 despite homers from Suárez, McLain
Eugenio Suárez and Matt McLain both homered, but the Brewers beat the Reds 10-7 at Great American Ball Park, and Cincinnati sends Andrew Abbott back to the mound Saturday against Milwaukee's Dustin May.
Suárez ties Griffey Jr. in a loss to Milwaukee
The Brewers beat the Reds 10-7 at Great American Ball Park on Friday night, a game delayed by rain before first pitch, per Reds reporter C. Trent Rosecrans, who reported a 5:45 meeting ahead of the scheduled 6:10 start.
Brewers7-10Elly De La Cruz went 3-for-5 with an RBI, Matt McLain added a homer and 2 RBI, and Eugenio Suárez went deep as well, driving in 3. It was Suárez's 210th career homer as a Red, tying him with Ken Griffey Jr. for 9th in team history, per Rosecrans — and it came in his first at-bat since becoming a U.S. citizen, an occasion the Reds noted by changing his walk-up song to 'God Bless the USA.' Tejay Antone was the one clean inning out of the bullpen, striking out 3 in a scoreless frame.
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Graham Ashcraft will be activated from the 60-day injured list Sunday, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports, giving the bullpen back an arm it lost to an elbow injury in August. The move comes alongside a round of roster paperwork the club announced Friday: outfielder Carlos Jorge was selected from Triple-A Louisville, infielder/outfielder Ivan Johnson was optioned back to Louisville, and Michael Toglia was transferred to the 60-day injured list with the shoulder dislocation that already had him out.
Spencer Steer's timeline moved too. The first baseman, out with a wrist injury, is scheduled to be examined September 11 to determine whether he can begin swinging a bat, MLB.com reports — the first real marker on when he might be back.
Upcoming
Cincinnati sends Andrew Abbott (6-10, 4.49 ERA) to the mound as the Reds host the Brewers tonight, opposite Milwaukee's Dustin May (6-9, 4.69 ERA). Both arms are trying to answer for their last starts — Abbott lasted just 3.0 innings and allowed 7 earned runs against the Cubs on August 29, and May was rocked for 4 earned runs over 4.1 innings against the Rangers on August 30.
Milwaukee is favored, and the market expects a high-scoring night, which tracks: neither starter has found the strike zone recently, and a shaky bullpen game from either side would only add to it. For the total to hold, one of these two rotations has to look more like its season-long numbers than its last time out.