Reds 4, Brewers 3: Chase Anderson suffers oblique injury

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

CINCINNATI - The Milwaukee Brewers suffered a pair of losses Wednesday night.

Not only did they drop a 4-3 decision to the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park, they also lost starting pitcher Chase Anderson after just one inning due to injury.

Anderson suffered a strained left oblique during his at-bat in the top of the second inning, leaving the Brewers to turn to reliever Paolo Espino in the short term and another longer-term option with the right-hander now headed for the disabled list.

"Anytime you lose one of your five starters, it’s a big blow," said manager Craig Counsell. "We’re probably going to lose him for a pretty good bit of time here. He’s certainly pitching very, very well and we’ll have to cover in his absence.

"It’s going to be difficult."

The Brewers caught no breaks early on in this one.

What was shaping up to be a big second inning for the Brewers fizzled thanks to some deft glove work by Reds rightfielder Scott Schebler.

After Travis Shaw singled to lead off, Hernán Pérez walked. Shaw tagged and moved to third on a flyout by Keon Broxton to bring up Stephen Vogt, who was in the starting lineup for the first time behind the plate.

Vogt lifted a long fly ball to right that Schebler tracked, timed perfectly and pulled back from over the wall with a leaping grab. Shaw tagged and scored to give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead, but it was an opportunity missed to break the game open against inexperienced Reds starter Luis Castillo, who was making just his second major-league start.

BOX SCORE: Reds 4, Brewers 3

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"That’s one of the best catches I’ve seen," said Vogt, who could only shake his head after hitting the ball hard three times on the night and emerging with nothing to show for it.

"A little frustrating, but tip your cap."

Two batters later, Anderson came to the plate and struck out swinging. He walked off the field holding his left side and had to be replaced by Espino, who'd pitched a total of 4 2/3 innings in two appearances since being recalled from Class AAA Colorado Springs on June 13.

"I feel bad for the guys in the bullpen, having to tax those guys when they shouldn’t have pitched today," said Anderson, who injured himself on his first swing. "It’s an unfortunate situation."

Ryan Duvall greeted Espino with a homer to straightaway center five pitches in. Ryan Braun matched him with a two-out, solo shot to right-center in the third that put Milwaukee ahead, 2-1.

It was Braun's first homer since April 28 and the 23rd of his career at Great American Ball Park, tying Lance Berkman for the most ever by a visiting player.

Espino recorded the first two outs in the bottom of the third before walking Billy Hamilton, a free pass he wound up regretting after former Brewer Scooter Gennett followed by bouncing a homer off the top of the wall in right.

Castillo handcuffed the Brewers from there, departing after 5 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts.

Josh Hader tossed a pair of scoreless innings behind Espino and Oliver Drake didn't allow a run in the seventh. Their performances were big after Shaw hit a two-out laser beam over the wall in right-center off Tony Cingrani to tie it at 3-3 in the eighth.

Corey Knebel came in to pitch the bottom half and immediately got himself into trouble by walking Hamilton. Knebel followed up by striking out Gennett looking, giving him his 39th consecutive appearance with at least one punchout.

That tied the major-league record set by Bruce Sutter in 1977. But Hamilton stole second during the at-bat and, after Joey Votto was walked intentionally, grabbed third without a throw from Vogt.

Duvall followed with an infield single, and the Reds were once again ahead at 4-3.

"That’s the at-bat of the inning," Counsell said of the Hamilton walk. "It wasn’t so much the stolen bases, it was the walk that got us in trouble."

Milwaukee got runners on the corners with one out in the ninth against Raisel Iglesias, but Cincinnati used a double play to end it when pinch-hitter Jesús Aguilar struck out and Orlando Arcia was thrown out trying to steal second.

"The play is that Orlando stops (halfway)," said Counsell, who called for the steal from the bench. "It was going to work, and Orlando just didn’t stop in time, and they got a tag."

BEHIND THE BOX SCORE

* Reliever Wily Peralta threw a successful bullpen session Tuesday in his first on-mound test since being placed on the 10-day disabled list June 21 with a right-calf strain.

"We’ve probably got a couple more bullpens," Counsell said. "We’re probably looking at game action (at Class AAA Colorado Springs) maybe right before the all-star break. That’s kind of what we’re hoping for, but we’re not there yet."

* While Peralta is rehabbing with the Brewers on their current trip, rookie Brandon Woodruff was sent back to the team's Maryvale complex in Phoenix for further work on the right-hamstring strain that landed him on the DL minutes before he was scheduled to make his major-league debut June 13 in St. Louis.

"He’s finishing his rehab up down there," said Counsell. "I think they’re targeting game action probably during the all-star break. They said four weeks was what it would take to get him to game action. He’s got to start throwing again."

STAT SHEET

* Arcia has raised his batting average by 71 points, from .208 to .279, over the last 37 games.

* Eric Sogard was batting .350 with a .459 on-base percentage entering Wednesday. He ranks second in OBP and third in batting average in the major leagues since joining the Brewers on May 12.

TAKEAWAY

There's never a good time to lose a starting pitcher to injury. But to lose your most consistent starter, as the Brewers did with Anderson, is especially painful. They'll call up a reliever to take his spot on the roster in the short term, but replacing him in the rotation is going to be the big decision.

RECORD

This year: 41-39 (21-22 home; 20-17 away)

Last year: 35-45

NEXT GAME

Thursday: Brewers at Reds, 6:10 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Jimmy Nelson (5-4, 3.50) vs. Cincinnati RHP Homer Bailey (0-1, 43.20). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.