August 2026

“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.