 pitch on three days' rest. He allowed four hits and struck out 12 in eight innings, throwing 104 pitches.''Just a big game,'' manager David Bell said. ''I think it was even more meaningful that it was on short rest. He knew how big of a game this was and he wanted to be out there.'' Bauer exited with an NL-best 1.73 ERA. Cleveland's Shane Bieber tops the majors at 1.63 after a strong performance Wednesday night.For Milwaukee, it was a disappointing start to a challenging final week on the road. The Brewers fell a game behind the Reds and now head to St. Louis, where they'll play five games in four days with a doubleheader on Friday.The Reds' homer-reliant offense made the difference. They scored all of their 14 runs in the series off homers - seven in all.Votto was 0 for 22 against Milwaukee this season when he connected in the first inning off Adrian Houser (1-6) for a 2-0 lead. Jesse Winker added a solo homer off Houser, who is 0-6 with a 6.70 ERA in his last nine starts.''They're putting good swings on good pitches, and they're putting good swings on mistakes they're supposed to hit,'' Houser said.The Reds pulled away with the help of an error in the fifth. Nick Castellanos reached on second baseman Keston Hiura's off-target throw. Alex Claudio relieved and walked Votto, and Eugenio Suarez hit his 15th homer for a 6-1 lead.QUOTE OF THE DAYVotto, when asked if he watches the scores of other games to try to figure out playoff seedings: ''I tried. It's too confusing. It's much too confusing, but it's the best kind of confusing.'' WINNING SIDEThe Reds moved a game above .500 (29-28) for the third time this season. They haven't been two games over .500 since a 19-17 mark on May 13, 2017.TRAINER'S ROOMBrewers: Ryan Braun got a day off as he continues to deal with a sore back. He was the DH and played right field in the first two games of the series, going 0 for 7 with three strikeouts.Reds: LH Wade Miley was activated off the 10-day injured list. He'd been out since Aug. 28 with a strained pitching shoulder. Miley pitched the eighth and gave up one hit. The Reds plan to use him out of the bullpen the rest of the way.UP NEXTBrewers: Corbin Burnes (4-0) pitched the series opener in St. Louis against LH Kwang Hyun Kim (2-0).Reds: Tyler Mahle (2-2) is expected to pitch the opener in Minnesota.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
No time for Bauer to rest as Reds battle BrewersThe Cincinnati Reds are doing all they can to reach the postseason for the first time in seven years. That means getting Trevor Bauer on the mound as much as possible during this final week of the regular season.Pitching on three days' rest, Bauer looks to help the Reds take Wednesday night's rubber game against visiting the National League Central rival Milwaukee Brewers.Following Tuesday's 3-2 loss that evened this key series, the Reds (28-28) are in an even tighter mix with Milwaukee (27-27) to grab a postseason spot -- whether a wild-card position or second place in the division. So, it makes sense that the Reds are willing to pull out all the stops.That means Bauer (4-4, 1.80 ERA) will make this start not long after allowing two home runs over seven innings of a 5-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Saturday. A Cy Young Award candidate in 2020, the right-hander ranks among the majors' ERA leaders and has posted a 1.33 ERA with a .184 opponents' batting average despite going 1-2 over his last four starts."I know Trevor wants to be perfect," Reds manager David Bell said after Bauer's last outing. "It's not going to happen all of the time. Other than those two pitches (against the White Sox), he was really outstanding." Bauer is 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA this season against Milwaukee, which will try once again to top the .500 mark for the first time in 2020."We're neck and neck (with Cincinnati)," Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff said. "We know we need to win these games." Milwaukee likely needs a strong effort from scheduled starter Adrian Houser (1-5, 5.33 ERA). The right-hander, whose lone win of the season came on Aug. 5, has not completed more than 4 2/3 innings in any of his last three starts.Houser has also allowed at least four runs in six straight starts, and 11 in the last two combined. However, only four of those runs over his last two outings were earned. He yielded four runs -- two earned -- and five hits over four innings of a 9-5 win against Kansas City on Friday.Houser gave up solo homers to Nick Castellanos and Jesse Winker, plus two other runs and nine total hits during a 6-1 loss to Cincinnati on Aug. 27. Castellanos, Winker and teammates Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez are a combined 15-for-32 with a combined five home runs versus Hauser.Castellanos hit a two-run homer on Tuesday. Three of his 14 home runs this season have come against the Brewers. However, teammate Joey Votto is 0-for-22 with seven strikeouts in six games versus Milwaukee during 2020.The Brewers' Daniel Vogelbach had another hit and scored the tying run Tuesday. Since being claimed off waivers by Milwaukee on Sept. 3, Vogelbach is batting .395 with three home runs and 10 RBIs. He's also scored 10 times.--Field Level Media
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