Field Level Media
May 22, 2021
Light-hitting Daniel Robertson broke a tie with a solo homer while relievers Brent Suter, Devin Williams and Josh Hader showed their typical dominant form to lead the visiting Milwaukee Brewers past the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3, on Saturday.
The game was halted with two outs in the sixth after a scary moment when Cincinnati starter Sonny Gray crossed up his catcher Tyler Stephenson with a fastball that eluded Stephenson, drilling home plate umpire Ron Kulpa in the facemask.
Kulpa, the acting crew chief, fell to the ground and was tended to for several minutes. When he rose to his feet, he was visibly shaken and escorted to the medical area underneath Great American Ball Park for treatment. Second base umpire Nic Lentz took Kulpa's place behind home plate after a 12-minute delay.
Suter (3-2) pitched two innings in relief of starter Brett Anderson to earn the win while Hader pitched a perfect ninth for his 10th save.
With one out in the third, Luis Urias opened the scoring and ended a string of five consecutive Gray strikeouts by driving a belt-high fastball 386 feet to left for his fifth homer of the year and a 1-0 Brewers lead.
The Reds responded in the bottom of the inning by continuing their power assault on Brewers pitching. Center fielder Scott Heineman, making his first start for the Reds, opened the third by crushing a 91 mph sinker from Anderson 412 feet to center to tie the game, 1-1. Two outs later, Winker continued his onslaught with a drive deep to the seats in right for his 12th homer and a 2-1 Reds lead.
Willy Adames made his debut at shortstop for the Brewers a day after being acquired in a trade from Tampa Bay and finished 1-for-3.
Following the 12-minute umpire injury delay, Gray walked Adames to load the bases. Jackie Bradley Jr., entering the game as the majors' worst hitter with runners in scoring position (3-for-32, .094), drilled a sharp one-hopper that fill-in first baseman Alex Blandino couldn't handle, allowing two runs to score and giving the Brewers a 3-2 lead.
The Reds tied the game in the bottom of the sixth against Suter when Tyler Stephenson singled home Nick Castellanos.
For a third straight appearance, Reds reliever Heath Hembree (0-1) surrendered a home run, this time to Robertson, who came in hitting just .103. Heineman fought off the glare from the high sun and nearly caught the ball before it landed on the grass berm beyond the wall.
--Field Level Media