TJ Friedl’s game-saving catch ends Reds’ win over Brewers

Pinch hitter Connor Joe drove in the go-ahead run with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly as the Cincinnati Reds edged the visiting Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 on Tuesday.
Reds center fielder TJ Friedl robbed pinch hitter Jake Bauers of a game-tying home run for the final out when he leaped over the wall and brought the ball back.
Tyler Stephenson and Will Benson homered for Cincinnati, which snapped a three-game skid and put an end to Milwaukee’s eight-game winning streak.
Matt McLain had a key double in the Reds’ seventh-inning rally and made a lunging grab of a Christian Yelich line drive to second base in the eighth to help preserve the lead.
Cincinnati reliever Graham Ashcraft (4-4) retired all four batters he faced in the seventh and eighth. Emilio Pagan pitched a scoreless ninth for his 15th save in 17 chances.
The Reds leveled the three-game series entering the rubber game on Wednesday.
The Brewers wasted no time in getting to Cincinnati starter Hunter Greene, as Brice Turang lined the third pitch of the game down the right field line for a double. Jackson Chourio hit a rope to left-center that left fielder Benson caught while sliding awkwardly on the grass and fighting off the sun in his eyes.
The red-hot Christian Yelich continued the solid contact off Greene with a sinking line-drive single to left-center, scoring Turang for a 1-0 Milwaukee lead. Yelich extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
Milwaukee’s Sal Frelick belted his fourth homer of the season in the fourth inning. He drove a two-out, two-strike offering that Greene left over the middle of the plate over the fence in right field for a 2-0 lead.
Greene allowed two runs on five hits over five innings, striking out seven, walking three and throwing 85 pitches.
Brewers starter Freddy Peralta (5-4) was overpowering to start the game, striking out five of the first six Cincinnati batters and six of eight. He wound up permitting three runs on seven hits in his six-plus innings, striking out nine and walking three.
The Reds finally got to Peralta in the fourth when Elly De La Cruz doubled with two outs and Stephenson followed with an opposite field two-run homer to right to tie the game 2-2.
Peralta was left in the game by Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy to start the seventh inning at 92 pitches. The right-hander walked Jake Fraley and gave up a double to McLain, moving Fraley to third.
Joe pinch-hit for Gavin Lux and drove in the go-ahead run with a one-out sacrifice fly to right off reliever Rob Zastryzny.