August 2026

Reds Avoid Four-Game Sweep with Offensive Breakout in Milwaukee Finale

“Vengeance is Mine,” Says Eugenio, as Reds Takes Series in Pittsburgh

“Oh, Brother”: Brewers Sweep Sluggish Reds at Home

With Little Rhyme or Reason, Reds Take Two of Three in the Bronx

Reds Take Another Series from Mets, but Fall Short of Sweep

Snakes Take Series in Cincy, Damn It!

Reds Drop Series in San Diego, Ending with Stud’s Walk-off Homer

Reds Swept by Birds

Royals Take Two of Three in Cincy as Reds Begin June Swoon

Reds Avoid Four-Game Sweep with Offensive Breakout in Milwaukee Finale

by William Meiners

Baseball is the ultimate traveling circus. The caravan, with rosters typically comprised of around 25 percent immigrant young men, set up camp for a few days in American cities, or Toronto. Day after day, these players put their skills on display at the game’s highest level.

The Reds late-June Milwaukee trip caught me reminiscing. With the benefit of hindsight, I would argue that this particular Cincinnati circus peaked on July 8, 2023. And I was there in person, traveling with wife and child from Michigan, through Chicago, to see a Saturday afternoon 8-5 victory over the Brewers in (appropriately) American Family Field.

You didn’t need a ticket to know what happened that Saturday. Elly De La Cruz, the rookie phenom called up to the Bigs a month earlier, stole second, third, and home on two pitches. Those seventh-inning swipes put the Reds up 7-5. Moreover, Elly’s home dash flashed all over the news, topped ESPN’s lists, and became forever part of baseball history.

Cincinnati then in first place, stood 10 games over .500 (50-40), a couple games ahead of the Brewers. De La Cruz emerged as the most exciting player on a team marked by speed and youth, yet still led by Joey Votto, an all-time great. In June, they won 12 games straight, the team’s longest streak since 1957. Mind you, the Reds lost 100 games in 2022.

On our Sunday drive home, we listened to the Reds on radio and a 1-0 loss. Jesse Winker and Wade Miley, both former Reds, did the damage with an RBI and six shutout innings, respectively. Milwaukee’s rubber-match win led to the All-Star break. On the other side of it, the Brewers swept through three wins in Cincy. With the MLB scheduling done by an apparent schizophrenic, the Reds were swept again in a three-game series in Milwaukee before the end of July. David Bell’s squad ended the season in third place in their division, finishing 82-80.

Nearly three years after his thrilling highlight, De La Cruz and crew made their first visit to Milwaukee this season. Instead of the conquering hero returning home, I consider the weary warrior pushed back into battle. The one-sided rivalry proved predictable in the opener with the Reds squandering Nick Lodolo’s good start, with the bullpen giving up five from in the sixth, seventh, and eighth in a 5-3 loss. On Tuesday, Rhett Lowder got pecked to death by ducks as the Brewers bounced a slew of consecutive singles in a four-run fourth that led to a 7-2 win. On July first, reliever Brock Burke served up a seventh-inning triple to Garrett Mitchell, scoring Andrew Vaughn. Mitchell then scored on Burke’s wild pitch. A 4-2 loss and seventh consecutive Brewer win over the Reds this season.

In protest, I had one eye on Thursday afternoon’s getaway game. Sal Stewart, a bona fide stud who should be Rookie of the Year, homered in the first inning. Jose Trevino’s three-run bomb in the fourth helped savaged a 7-2 win. Yet that three-year slide continues.

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“Vengeance is Mine,” says Eugenio, as Reds Take Series in Pittsburgh

by William Meiners

Late June and the Reds are coming off a home sweep (courtesy of the Brewers), looking for some revenge over a Central foe. The series victory in Pittsburgh, finally, came dramatically with a ninth inning, two-out, three-run homer off the bat of what I’d say is the best name in baseball.

I was happy to learn of Eugenio Suárez’s offseason return to Cincy. If only to hear my favorite color commentator (Jeff Brantley) announce his arrival to the plate. A dozen years ago, I wonder if the Cowboy perfected it through his own spring training, carefully sounding out each syllable of Eu-gen-io Sua-rez in a southern, melodic baritone.

A big bat with plenty of holes for strikeouts, Gino moved from short to third in his first stint with the Reds. In 2026, balancing some time with Ke’Bryan Hayes, a Gold Glove cornerman without much bat, the veteran would see some DH action.

Like many strange stats associated with this team, Suárez has provided that occasional pop — often longballs in bunches — but contributed to one of the highest strikeout percentages for a team in the big leagues. So in a perfect Reds’ world, you’d see more singles, doubles, and sac flies in his stats.

On Friday night, Andrew Abbott served up a leadoff home run to Connor Griffin. Reds responded with four in the second off Paul Skeines. All without a homer… four straight hits, bloops, walks, and a couple of sacrifice flies.

Skeines settled down, shutting down the Reds through the remainder of his start, a quality one is you discounted the second. Pirates crawled back to tie with the help of two solo homers, getting their best pitcher off the hook for a loss. But the mercurial Noelvi Marte, athletic and strong but a weak fielder and inconsistent hitter, launched a two-run homer in the eighth inning for the 6-4 win.

On a gloomy Saturday afternoon in a back-and-forth affair, Reds led early, fell behind briefly with their ace Chase Burns on the mound, but regained the lead. Buckos battled back against the bullpen, ultimately taking a 7-6 lead late. Enter Eugenio with the late-inning theatrics.

Backtrack to a a bittersweet St. Patrick’s Day. That’s when Suárez’s ninth-inning double proved the game winner for his native Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. In his typical (but amplified) celebration, he looked toward the heavens, shouting with two fisted hands. Not knowing any better, you might liken him to Noah yelling at God… “What’s with all the rain!”

But I’m happy for Gino, even when his team beats the U.S.A. Maybe we should have kidnapped the manager and his wife, stolen their oil. I’m happier for him when he makes the Reds victorious. Down to his last strike, he launched the three-bomb to right field in rain that could make Noah blush. God bless you, Eugenio Suárez. You make my heart sing. If only for this one Saturday evening.

Looking for their own sweep, Reds got a Sunday spanking from the Pirates, 9-4.

William Meiners is the editor of Sport Literate. Among his summer 2026 plans are the documentation of 33 Reds’ series. That should be about 500 words every few days. If you don’t expect too much breakdown or analysis, outside of his own troubled head, you may not be disappointed. From losing streaks through high-water marks, he’ll follow the club, sometimes literally, from the reluctant spring of early May through the dog days of August. Then he’s off to something else.

“Oh, Brother,” Brewers Sweep Sluggish Reds at Home

by William Meiners

Writing about bad baseball for the sake of posterity seems absurd. Especially with no one paying attention. Terry Tempest Williams ends her wonderful essay, “Why I Write,” with the line, “I write as though I am whispering in the ear of the one I love.”

I love her essay, that romantic ending. I make freshmen students read the whole thing out loud in class. Though when I go dark, which ain’t all that infrequently, I feel like I’m whispering in the deaf ear of a loved one. My mother was deaf in one ear, the lone one I lied in. Maybe my scribbling is a murmur into the transitioning soul of someone like Mitch McConnell. Although I’m not related to or in love with Mitch. God rest him (soon!).

Speaking of families, the Reds and Brewers seem like a mismatch of siblings. They’re the big brothers we can’t beat. Imagine a Cain hellbent on killing Abel three days a week. His bruising knuckles never tire. I’d say it’s a three-day stint that’s hardly worth remembering, but those losses pile up in a heap of bad memories. The Milwaukee mashers have been Reds’ killers for at least five years.

With relatively good starting pitching often wasted, my Reds find a way to lose. On Monday, a pitcher’s duel between starters Brady Singer (Reds) and Brandon Woodruff (Brewers) extended to relievers, leading to a string of zeroes through nine full innings. In extras, Milwaukee executed and Cincy did not. There’s an old joke about a coach commenting on his team’s execution. Check out how Brian Kelly screwed that up.

In the 10^th, Garrett Mitchell draws a lead-off walk. Sal Frelick bunts him and the ghost runner (Jake Bauers) to second and third, respectively. Joey Ortiz drives the ghost in on a sacrifice fly. Tony Santillian’s wild pitch gives the Brewers an insurance run. Two runs on no hits (and no official at bats for the sacrificial men). Reds scored their ghost runner with three consecutive groundouts, but they needed to plate two. A 2-1, blue Monday loss.

Reds got two hits on Tuesday. Brewers got four and won 2-0. A series loss, another potential sweep from a Central Division foe. Why not? Pirates, Cubs, and Cards swept them already.

The hump-day finale could be the season low point for the club. Reds’ batsmen stranded 16 runners, doing all the fundamental stuff poorly that the Brewers do well. “Abel,” says the sadistic father handing out boxing gloves, “you remember Cain, don’t you?”

After Milwaukee’s two three-run frames, Reds managed a late-inning run, scoring three of their own in the home eighth. However, Dane Myers hit into a double play in the ninth, negating the tying run that would have scored on a hit, sac bunt or fly, passed ball, gift from God, whatever. It’s a 6-5 loss and their first home sweep in almost two years. I consider swearing them off. For the umpteenth time. But who the hell would tell the tale?

William Meiners is the editor of Sport Literate. Among his summer 2026 plans are the documentation of 33 Reds’ series. That should be about 500 words every few days. If you don’t expect too much breakdown or analysis, outside of his own troubled head, you may not be disappointed. From losing streaks through high-water marks, he’ll follow the club, sometimes literally, from the reluctant spring of early May through the dog days of August. Then he’s off to something else.