MILWAUKEE – Joey Votto showed how much it meant to him to complete a three-game sweep against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Votto scored from first base on a double down the left-field line in the seventh inning Tuesday, barely beating a relay throw to the plate for a one-run lead. Votto stood up, took a hop toward the dugout and pumped his right arm in celebration.
He shouted at Tucker Barnhart, who advanced to third on the throw, “Attaboy! Attaboy!” Barnhart gestured to his teammates in the dugout, then clapped his hands.
The Reds beat the Brewers, 2-1, at American Family Field and earned their first three-game sweep in Milwaukee since 2009.
Starting pitcher Tyler Mahle matched a career-high with 12 strikeouts in six innings and the bullpen finished its fabulous series with three more shutout innings.
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The Reds were sitting six games under .500 and seven games out of first place May 29. The Reds were at a dangerous point in their season. Injuries were piling up and they were dropping in the standings. Teams can’t win a playoff spot in June, but they can certainly lose one.
After completing a 1-6 homestand, which Nick Castellanos called “embarrassing,” the Reds look like a new team. Their starting pitching has been dominant. The offense continues to step up. The bullpen has pitched well for the past week.
The Reds have won 13 of their last 16 games, including six in a row. It matches their longest winning streak of the season. They’re within two games of the Brewers in the divisional standings.
Simply, this hot stretch has saved their season.
The remarkable part is that they still have a lot of key injuries. Tejay Antone, their best reliever, isn’t eligible to return from the 10-day injured list until Friday. Sonny Gray will miss another week with a right groin strain. Mike Moustakas has missed the past month and Nick Senzel is out until after the All-Star break.
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The Reds held a struggling Brewers offense to four runs across the three games. Mahle was excellent Wednesday, retiring the final 12 batters he faced. He yielded three hits, two walks and one run across six innings.
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The Brewers took their first lead of the three-game series in the third inning. Daniel Vogelbach hit a leadoff double into the left-center gap, and Christian Yelich followed with an RBI single on a splitter that was off the plate.
Vogelbach seemed to catch the Reds off guard, scoring from second, because there was no play at the plate despite rounding third after right fielder Nick Castellanos fielded Yelich’s single.
As well as Mahle pitched, the Brewers had their early opportunities against him. Milwaukee had runners on the corners with no outs in the first inning, and the bases loaded with one out, and failed to score. Mahle escaped the first-inning jam with a lineout to third base and a strikeout.
Mahle needed 63 pitches to navigate the first three innings and he stranded six runners on base. Once he found his rhythm on the mound, well, it was checkmate for the Brewers’ offense.
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The key was Mahle’s fastball, which was responsible for 10 of his 12 strikeouts. Hitters had no answer for it as he elevated it at the top of the strike zone. After Mahle hit Avisaíl García with a pitch in the third inning, he struck out nine of his final 12 batters.
The Reds tied the score in the top of the fourth inning. Nick Castellanos reached on an infield single, the team’s first baserunner against Brewers righty Freddy Peralta, and scored on a double down the left-field line by Tyler Naquin.
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