Behind Kyle Harrison, Brewers chase series win vs. Reds

Kyle Harrison will try to bounce back from a disastrous start when the Milwaukee Brewers visit the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon in the decisive contest of the three-game series.

Harrison (10-4, 3.45 ERA) allowed nine runs on 10 hits -- including five homers -- in 3 2/3 innings in a 17-3 romp by the Chicago Cubs on Monday.

Most of the damage came against the left-hander's fastball, and the question was raised whether he may have been tipping his pitches.

"Part of it's on me. I can't be giving away pitches in the first inning," Harrison said after that game. "When you know what's coming, it's a little bit easier to hit, I think. It's on me during the week. I knew these guys were looking for any kind of edge that they can get."

Harrison has not been successful against Cincinnati during his career, going 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in three games. His last start versus the Reds came when he was a member of the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 3, 2024.

The long ball also led to Harrison's undoing in that contest, as he gave up four homers. Overall, he surrendered six runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings with a walk and four strikeouts.

Right-hander Brady Singer (5-13, 4.83), Cincinnati's scheduled starter for Sunday, also was ineffective in his most recent outing.

Singer allowed four runs on 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings in a 5-0 loss to the San Diego Padres on Monday.

"They put a lot of hits together," Singer said. "I tried to stay in the zone. Didn't want to start looking to chase and start walking guys. ... Tried to stay in the zone, left a lot of balls (over the middle of the plate)."

Singer permitted only two hits and struck out seven batters over seven scoreless innings in a no-decision against Milwaukee on June 22. He is 2-2 with a 3.51 ERA in five career encounters (all starts) versus the Brewers.

The Reds evened the series with a 5-3 win on Saturday night in a contest that featured a near-2 1/2-hour rain delay.

Matt McLain homered to lead off the seventh inning and Cincinnati (68-74) added an insurance run in the eighth when Eugenio Suarez was able to score from second on a wild pitch.

Elly De La Cruz and Tyler Stephenson also went deep for the National League Central cellar-dwelling Reds.

Tony Santillan got the win despite allowing a run in his only inning. Emilio Pagan picked up his 21st save after loading the bases with one out in the ninth. He induced Luis Lara to pop up and William Contreras to fly out to end the game.

Contreras homered for Milwaukee (88-55), which has lost four of seven games to see its lead over second-place Chicago trimmed to seven games in the NL Central.

--Field Level Media