By Hal McCoy
When the Cincinnati Reds landed at Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport, they had no idea their next game would be against the Green Bay Packers.
Well, it wasn’t the Packers, it just looked that way when the Milwaukee Brewers blasted and buried the Reds, 20-0.
And the embarrassment level reached new heights. For the second straight game and seventh time this season, catcher Jose Trevino finished game on the mound.
He pitched two innings and gave up three runs and three hits, including a three-run home run to William Contreras, who drove in six runs.
And Trevino actually lowered his earned run average to 15.00.
“It’s no fun to be a part of that,” said Reds manager Tito Francona with the night’s biggest understatement. “You try never to make a mockery of the game because people pay money to come. But you get to a point where you don’t want this game to affect tomorrow and you have to send somebody down who doesn’t deserve it.
“Fortunately we got through that (by using Trevino and no real pitcher the final two innings) and it was our only bright spot,” he added.
The 41,879 fans didn’t mind the Reds making a mockery of the game and themselves, especially when Trevino gave up the three-run homer to Contreras.
While the Brewers unloaded 23 hits and four home runs, the Reds had two hits, a pair of singles by Sal Stewart.
And it looked bad when the Reds lost their previous game, 14-1, to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but that was a songfest compared to Friday night.
he Reds were outscored 34-1 over their last two games and outhit, 37-8..
The Reds encountered some travel difficulties getting from Los Angeles to Milwaukee, but Francona refused to use it as a crutch or a cane or even a wheel chair.
“You know what, if it did, it’s our fault,” he said. “I was tired today and a bunch of our guys were dragging a little bit. It happens, just a part of it.
“I thought our guys handled it really well,” he continued. “Actually, I’m proud of ‘em. Nobody bitched. I’ve been places where it doesn’t go like that, where it’s a fiasco. This wasn’t.”
By the fifth inning the game was a double fiasco. The Brewers had 17 runs and 20 hits and every Milwaukee starter had at least one hit.
Reds starter Andrew Abbott (6-11) lasted only two innings and gave up eight runs and nine hits that included two home runs from a team with the fewest home runs in the majors.
Relief pitcher Luis Mey gave up eight runs and eight hits in one, including a grand slam home run. Until Garrett Mitchell hit it, the Brewers were the only MLB team without a grand slam.
Milwaukee’s No. 1 and No. 2 hitters in the order, Jackson Chourio and Brice Turang contributed seven hits, six runs scored and six RBI.
Chourio was 4 for 6 with three runs and two RBI. Turang was 3 for 3 with three runs and four RBI that included a home run.
And Turang left the game after the fifth inning.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee starter Duston ‘Big Red’ May pitched six innings and gave up only the two singles to Stewart and a walk to Elly De La Cruz.
The walk extended De La Cruz on-base streak to 18 games, but his streak of home runs in five straight games came to an end.
The closest the Reds came to scoring a run came in fifth inning, a comical play by Milwaukee’s 20-year-old rookie right fielder Luis Lara.
Eugenio Suarez drove one to deep right and Lara leaped above the wall and. . .what?
He came down with his glove closed and didn’t reveal if he had the ball or didn’t have it. The umpires didn’t know, Suarez didn’t know.
So Suarez circled the bases. thinking he might have a home run as Lara stared at a video of the play on the scoreboard.
Finally, he pulled the ball out of his glove, an out.
It was that kind of night for the Reds, who are now 17-35 in games dediced by five or more runs and the Brewers are 31-11 in that scenario.
Perhaps Stewart’s two hits were a reward for being Mr. Nice Guy. Before the game he was interviewed by Apple-TV’s Tricia Whitaker.
She reported that before the interview Stewart personally introduced himself to each and every member of the camera crew.
Milwaukee’s beatdown of the Reds continues as they are 47-19 against the Reds over the past five seasons.
If there are any questions about a major reason why Milwaukee clinched a playoff spot with the win and is en route to winning the division, consider that they are 23-12 against National League Central opponents and the last-place Reds are 14-29.