Not only did they blink first — the Brewers never blinked, Milwaukee’s Rhys Hoskins gave them a big black eye with an eighth-inning home run.
That’s all the Brewers needed for a 1-0 victory, Milwaukee’s 34th win in their last 46 games against the Reds.
It clinched the three-game series, the ninth straight time Milwaukee has ripped a series away from the Reds.
The game was a near-perfect pitching clinic displayed by Cincinnati’s Nick Martinez and Milwaukee’s Tobias Myers.
Ironically, both entered the game with identical 6-5 records, but both pitched as if they were 11-0.
Entering the game, Milwaukee was on a four-game winning streak during which they had scored 42 runs and five straight games scoring eight or more.
But Martinez was having none of that.
Using his dancing feet as he began his wind-up and pacing up and down the dugout non-stop between innings, Martinez retired the first 11 Brewers. It ended with two outs in the fourth when Gary Sanchez blooped a single to left.
Martinez pitched seven innings, gave up one excuse-me bloop singles and a hit batter, nothing more. No Brewers touched second base.
The only man to touch it was Hoskins as he rounded it on his triumphant home run trot.
Tony Santillan replaced Martinez in the eighth. He struck out ever-dangerous Wily Adames on a full count called strike three. He got the second out on a nifty play on a ground ball hit by Sal Frelick by Elly De La Cruz.
It was nearly the same for Myers. In 7 1/3 innings he gave up three hits and one batter reached on an error, nothing more. No Reds runner touched second base.
He retired the next eight, then hit Sanchez with a pitch with one out in the seventh. Blake Perkins ran for Sanchez and Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson gunned him down trying to steal.
But Myers was almost as good as Martinez, pin-pointing pitches on the corners all night on his way to a career-best nine strikeouts.
He gave the Reds an early indicator that it was ging to be a long, frustrating night. He struck out the side — Jonathan India, De La Cruz, T.J. Friedl — to open the game.
He retired the first six until Ty France reached on shortstop Willy Adames’ error to open the fourth. But Jake Fraley struck out, Noelvi Marte popped up and India struck out.
Myers struck out the first two in the fourth and with two outs Friedl singled. Stephenson popped out.
Spencer Steer singled with two outs in the seventh and Jeimer Candelario flied to left.
Tha Reds last gasp came in the eighth when France blooped a broken bat single to right on relief pitcher Joel Payamps first pitch.
Stuart Fairchild ran for France and tried five times to steal second. Four times the hitter fouled a pitch and the other time Fraley flied to center for the first out.
Marte struck out and India finally put the ball in play after three strikeouts, but it was an inning-ending grounder to third.
Santillan slipped a first-pitch strike past Hoskins, but he turned on the next pitch and crushed the 97 mph fastball 405 feet deep into the left field seats. It was his 20th homer and extended his hitting streak to 14 games.
That forced the Reds to face closer Devin Williams, who has made a career out of making Cincinnati hitters look foolish.
And he did it again in the ninth. He struck out three straight, all three on full counts. De La Cruz swung at a high-and-out pitch out of the zone.
Stephenson took a disputed strike three on a ball that looked low-and-away. Friedl struck out on a high-and-outside pitch out of the zone.
It was a frustrating night again for the top three hitters in the batting order. After India, De La Cruz and Friedl went 0-for-11 with four strikeouts Friday in an 8-3 loss, that same trio went 0 for 12 Saturday with nine strikeouts.
The Reds are now 9-21 in one-run games and a season’s worst 11 1/2 games behind the division-leading Brewers.
An amazing stat: both teams were 0 for 0 with runners in scoring position because neither team put a runner in scoring position.
The Reds outhit the Brewers 3-2, but one hit by Milwaukee’s Hoskins left the premises and left the Reds stunned.
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