Matt Garza (File) Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
The Milwaukee Brewers were swept in three games by the last place Cincinnati Reds, dropping the series finale 7-1 on Wednesday at Great American Ball Park.
Reds rookie Luis Castillo allowed a run on four hits over eight innings, striking out 10 and walking nobody to earn his third win of the season. The only run allowed came in the first on a Neil Walker home run.
The Brewers were outplayed and out scored (21-8) in the series, which saw them fall in to third place in the Central Division, a half game behind the second place St. Louis Cardinals and 4 1/2 games behind the division leading Cubs. Had the Cubs not dropped the first two games of their series in Pittsburgh, the division may have been out of reach. Fortunately for the Brewers, they still have plenty to play for between the wild card and the division, despite their laying down in Cincinnati.
Instead of going with rookie Brandon Woodruff on the hill, the Brewers decided to give Matt Garza another shot and it backfired. Garza allowed five runs on six hits with two walks in 2 2/3 innings to take the loss, dropping his record to 6-9 with a 5.06 ERA.
Garza is in the final year of a four-year deal that paid him $50 million. At times this season, he was productive. But over Garza’s last six starts, Garza has allowed 27 earned runs on 37 hits in 24 innings. He’s walked 18 and struck out 17 for an ERA of 10.13.
In Garza’s defense, the Brewer hitters didn’t show up again. They managed just four hits on the day.
The frustrating part is they won series against the Dodgers and Nationals, a pair of first place teams. Then they turn around and get swept by the Cincinnati Reds.
The Brewers still have 22 games left in their season, including seven games against the rival Chicago Cubs. The first three are in Chicago, starting Friday night. Jimmy Nelson (11-6, 3.59) pitches for the Brewers and Chicago will go with John lackey (11-10, 4.74).