When the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs in the opener of a 5-game series, it bunched the top 4 NL wild-card contenders within 5 1/2 games.

Cincinnati Reds Make Flurry of Roster Moves Ahead of Series Finale vs Milwaukee Brewers. The Reds are hoping to win on Sunday to avoid being swept by the Brewers.

The Reds played clean baseball Sunday to beat the Brewers, but defensive lapses earlier cost them the series — again.

Jake Fraley's playing time had decreased significantly since the Cincinnati Reds added two hitters at the trade deadline. He was DFA'd Sunday.

Saturday night, the Reds had the winning run in scoring position with just one out in the bottom of the 10th. Elly De La Cruz struck out with runners on first and second and two outs to end the inning, and the Brewers took a 6-3 lead in the top of the 11th on a pinch-hit three-run home run by Andruw Monasterio.

First, Priester hung a 1-2 curve to the light-hitting Ke'Bryan Hayes, who roped the ball inside the left field foul pole 388 feet to tie the game.

The Cincinnati Reds knocked out an All-Star pitcher in the second to take an 8-1 lead, then blew it in a 10-8 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Andrew Abbott is coming off one of the most impressive weeks of his young career. He faced off against two of the best teams in baseball, the Phillies and the Brewers, and gave up just three runs on 10 hits in 14 2/3 innings. He did not walk a batter in the two starts and struck out 13.