Nine games out of the final National League wild-card spot with just 28 games to go, the Cincinnati Reds are on life support heading into a doubleheader with the Central Division-leading Milwaukee Brewers on Friday.
But don’t try telling the Reds that.
“We’ve got a month left and let’s make the most of it,” catcher Tyler Stephenson said after Cincinnati scored three times in the bottom of the ninth to pull out a wild 10-9 walk-off win over the Oakland A’s on Thursday. “Anything’s possible. Who knows what can happen in this game? We’ve just got to come ready to play every day and just have fun.”
Stephenson went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. TJ Friedl’s two-run, bases-loaded single through a drawn-in infield won it for the Reds, who rallied from an early 6-1 deficit and entered the bottom of the ninth trailing 9-7.
“We kind of just keep fighting and that’s all we’re going to do and that’s all we know,” Friedl said. “It’s not over till it’s over. No matter what, if they answer back, we’re going to go right back at them.”
Right-hander Nick Martinez (6-6, 3.62 ERA), who allowed just a fourth-inning single to Gary Sanchez during seven shutout innings when he faced the Brewers on Aug. 10, is scheduled to start the opener for the Reds on Friday. He is 0-0 with a 3.12 ERA in seven career games (three starts) against Milwaukee.
Martinez will be opposed by right-hander Colin Rea (12-4, 3.61 ERA), who is 5-0 with a 5.01 ERA in seven career appearances (six starts) against the Reds. He beat Cincinnati on June 16 after allowing three runs, two earned, in six innings.
The Brewers hadn’t announced a starter for the second game of the day-night doubleheader, but left-hander DL Hall (0-1, 6.43 ERA) reportedly was a candidate to be recalled from Triple-A Nashville for the assignment.
Hall gave up four hits and one earned run — a Stephenson homer — over 4 2/3 innings in his only career start against Cincinnati on Aug. 11. He struck out nine and walked three.
Highly touted right-hander Rhett Lowder will make his major league debut for the Reds in the nightcap.
Lowder, the No. 7 overall pick of the 2023 draft out of Wake Forest, is ranked the Reds’ No. 2 prospect and No. 34 overall by MLB Pipeline. The 22-year-old spent the bulk of the season pitching for Double-A Chattanooga, where he was 4-4 with a 4.31 ERA in 16 starts.
He made his Triple-A debut on Aug. 22 and threw six shutout innings.
“I honestly feel real good about where my game is at right now,” Lowder said, according to MLB.com. “I feel sharp and I just trust I can get outs at any level. I try not to worry about the opposition that much and just do what I do.”
Milwaukee leads the NL Central by 9 1/2 games and has won two in a row, including a 6-0 win over the visiting San Francisco Giants on Thursday.
Aaron Civale, a midseason pickup from Tampa Bay, allowed two hits over seven innings while striking out seven to lead the way for the Brewers, who also got two hitless innings of relief from lefty Aaron Ashby.
Garrett Mitchell hit his third homer, rookie Jackson Chourio had a two-run double and William Contreras stole home for the first time in his career to lead the offense as the Brewers improved to 5-1-1 over their past seven series.
“We’re playing hard,” Contreras said. “We don’t see anybody tired. We’re focused and everybody knows the position we are in.”
Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said, “It doesn’t always add up, but I love what they’re doing. I love how they’re competing. They’re keeping it in the moment. They’re keeping it pitch to pitch.”
