It was Cincinnati’s second straight loss to the Brewers and the first time this season they’ve lost two straight, dropping them to 6-6.
Greene might just as soon hibernate when the Brew Wrecking Crew is on the schedule. With his loss Wednesday, he is 0-4 for his career against Milwaukee and the Reds are 0-5 in his starts.
Greene struck out nine during his six innings, but gave up seven runs (six earned), six hits, walked one and hit two batters.
Once again, the Reds stumbled and fumbled against a left-handed pitcher — this time 37-year-old Wade Miley.
Miley, a former Reds pitcher, working for his eighth team, made his first start after suffering a shoulder impingement during spring training.
He apparently likes rain delays. When he pitched for the Reds, one of his starts in Cleveland was delayed an hour and twenty-three minutes … and he pitched a no-hitter.
He held manager David Bell’s lineup against southpaws to one hit but didn’t get the win because he pitched only four innings due to a pitch-count limitation.
Bell’s lineup, as always, featured Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Jeimer Candelario, both hitting .163, batting third and fourth. Also in the lineup was Luke Maile (.143) and Santiago Espinal (.133).
Greene put the leadoff hitter on base leading off the first and second and both scored. He walked the game’s first batter and he scored on Christian Yelich’s home run.
Yelich feels so comfortable in GABP he could play in bedroom slippers. The home run was Yelich’s 13th in Cincinnati over 45 games.
Greene hit Jake Bauers to open the second and it led to three runs. He gave up three hits on three straight pitches, first pitch singles bv Bryce Turang, Jackson Churrio and Wilson Contraras to give the Brewers a 5-0 lead.
The Reds scored a run off Miley in the fourth after they had two outs and nobody on. Miley walked Encarnacion-Strand and hit Candelario.
Stuart Fairchild singled to right for a run, but Candelario perpetrated a base-running gaffe. He tried to go from first to third and was thrown out, ending the inning.
The Brewers scored another run off Greene in the fourth when he didn’t learn his lesson and put the first runner on base, another hit batsman (Blake Perkins).
Perkins stole second, took third on a single by Joey Ortiz and scored on a sacrifice fly by Churrio to make it 6-1.
The Reds managed only four hits, half by Elly De La Cruz. He launched an opposite-field home run into the left field seats and singled in the seventh.
CES was 0 for 3 and hit into a double play, Candelario was 0 for 3, Maile was 0 for 3 and Espinal was 0 for 3.
Miley received sparkling defensive back-up, headed by third baseman Joey Ortiz, one of the players the Brewers acquired from Baltimore in the Corbin Burnes trade.
Ortiz started two around-the-horn double plays and flawlessly fielded five other semi-difficult plays.
The first three games of the four-game series lured only 32,393 into GABP 10,382, 12,623 and 10,388.
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