Two teams that experienced power surges on the road will square off when the visiting Cincinnati Reds and National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers open a three-game series Friday night.
The Brewers are coming off a three-game sweep of the host Atlanta Braves in which they scored 34 runs, rapped out 52 hits and hit eight home runs.
Milwaukee became the first team with 52 hits in a three-game series since the Boston Red Sox in 2015, collecting at least 16 hits in all three games.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, “There isn’t a magic formula for any of this. The bottom line is you have to see the ball and hit it, and you’ve got to have clarity, conviction and confidence.”
Leading the way was rookie Jackson Chourio. The left fielder had three of Milwaukee’s 20 hits on Thursday, including two homers, in a 16-7 rout of the Braves.
Chourio, 20, has 12 multi-hit games in his last 16 contests. In that span, he is batting .408 (29-for-71) with five homers and 15 RBIs.
“Hopefully, we can keep going and break some records here,” Chourio said.
The Reds also are coming off a road series win. They scored seven times in the 10th inning Thursday night to earn a 10-4 win at Miami. Cincinnati claimed three of four in the series, outscoring the Marlins 32-15.
The seven-run 10th Thursday was Cincinnati’s largest extra-inning frame since the team scored seven in the 11th inning of a win over the Braves in 1985.
Similar to the Brewers, who flew home from Atlanta, the Reds had to fly overnight late Thursday night from South Florida to Milwaukee.
Among of the Reds’ stars this week was TJ Friedl, who drove in 10 runs in the four games at Miami. He hit a grand slam in Cincinnati’s 6-4 loss on Wednesday. However, in the 10th inning on Thursday, he took a pitch off the inside of his left knee with the bases loaded to drive in a run. He stayed in the game on the bases but came out in the bottom of the inning.
“We’ve talked about where we are, how important the games are,” Reds manager David Bell said. “(Thursday) felt like an important win. It really did. They all are. But for games coming up like Milwaukee, we’re gonna get there as quick as quick as we can and we’re excited to start that series. But (Thursday) was an important one for us.”
The Reds will miss their former ace right-hander Frankie Montas, traded to Milwaukee at the trade deadline. Montas was the starter in the Brewers’ Thursday win at Atlanta.
The Brewers will send right-hander Aaron Civale (2-8, 5.14 ERA) to the mound in the opener. On Saturday, Civale took the loss in a 6-4 defeat to the Washington Nationals, allowing five runs on seven hits over four innings. Milwaukee is 1-5 in Civale’s starts since acquiring him from the Tampa Bay Rays on July 3.
Civale has pitched against Cincinnati just once, when he allowed one run on five hits over seven innings in a 9-2 Cleveland Guardians win on May 8, 2021.
The Reds will counter on Friday with right-hander Carson Spiers (4-3, 3.59 ERA). On Sunday, Spiers allowed three runs on five hits over 5 2/3 innings and took the loss during Cincinnati’s 8-2 setback to the San Francisco Giants.
Spiers has faced Milwaukee just once, a relief appearance on April 9. He gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits over four innings in Cincinnati’s 9-5 loss.
–Field Level Media