The Milwaukee Brewers broke a franchise record on Saturday with their 14th straight win and they owe a big thank-you note to the defense of the Cincinnati Reds. Plus the bat of Andrew Monasterio.
A pinch-hit, three-run homer from the Brewers utility man gave Milwaukee a historic 6-5 win in extra innings on Saturday, their second straight game breaking the Reds’ hearts. Their record sits at 78-44, easily the best in the big leagues.
It took a pair of brutal defensive mistakes by the Reds to get there. Up 2-1 entering the ninth inning, Cincinnati appeared to have a win in hand when Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick hit a double-play ball with runners on first and second and one out.
Then a throwing error from Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz allowed a run to score.
Reliever Emilio Pagán limited the damage to one run with a strikeout of Anthony Seigler to end the inning, but the Reds went scoreless in the bottom of the frame to send the game to extras.
There, the Brewers got their first run when William Conteras led the 10th off with a single… which turned into more when Reds left fielder Jake Fraley missed the ball and hurt himself in the process. Milwaukee had no more hits that inning, so the error loomed large when the Reds got a single run in the bottom of the 10th.
That wasn’t even the end of the Reds’ miscues, as a Brewers sacrifice bunt in the 11th inning turned into a single when reliever Jo La Sorsa got in the way of a throw from third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes.
The Reds actually managed to cut the deficit to a single run in the bottom of the 11th with a homer from Noelvi Marte, but they didn’t get any closer to preventing history for the Brewers. Milwaukee’s most recent loss remains on July 30 against the Chicago Cubs, with sweeps of the Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates since then.
They can get another sweep and an unprecedented 15th straight win on Sunday against the Reds, with Jose Quintana scheduled to face Andrew Abott.
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