Brewers Cap Off Spring with 4-1 Victory Over Reds

The Milwaukee Brewers concluded their spring exhibition season on a high note Tuesday afternoon, securing a 4-1 victory against the Cincinnati Reds at American Family Field. The win not only showcased the team’s potential but also highlighted the impressive performances of several players as they prepare for the upcoming regular season.

Brandon Sproat took the mound for his final tune-up before the season begins, demonstrating his skill with a scoreless first inning despite a walk to Matt McLain. Sproat struck out both Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart, setting the tone for his outing. On the other side, Reds right-hander Chase Burns matched him by striking out Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and William Contreras in order.

In the second inning, Sproat continued to shine, navigating another walk and securing a strikeout along with a double play to escape unscathed. The Brewers struck first in the bottom of the inning when Jake Bauers launched a two-out solo homer, sailing 401 feet over the right-center wall to give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead. This marked Bauers’ seventh home run of the spring, further solidifying his standout performance.

Sproat maintained his strong form in the third, notching two more strikeouts while allowing just a single. The Brewers, however, went down in order in their half of the inning. Sproat’s day concluded after four innings, where he allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out five.

As the game progressed, Kyle Harrison took over pitching duties for the Brewers and faced some challenges, allowing a walk and a single but managing to secure two strikeouts to keep the score at 1-0. Milwaukee extended their lead in the fifth inning when Bauers doubled and later scored from a David Hamilton single. Hamilton also swiped second base, marking his seventh steal of the spring, before being stranded.

The sixth inning brought a moment of concern for the Brewers as Harrison surrendered a leadoff homer to De La Cruz, narrowing the lead to 2-1. After a single by Stewart, Harrison regained his composure, striking out the next batter and inducing a groundout and a lineout to end the threat. Rhett Lowder replaced Burns in the bottom of the sixth, working around a single and an error without allowing any runs.

Harrison encountered more trouble in the seventh, allowing another single and hitting a batter, but once again, he managed to keep the Reds off the scoreboard. In the bottom of the inning, things shifted in the Brewers’ favor as Sal Frelick reached on an error, followed by a single from Joey Ortiz. Both were replaced by pinch runners, who scored on a two-run single from Brandon Lockridge, pushing the lead to 4-1. Gary Sánchez added to the offensive effort with a single, but the inning concluded with a couple of groundouts.

The final two innings passed without incident, with Harrison executing a double play in the eighth and the Brewers going down quietly in their half. Brian Fitzpatrick closed out the game with two scoreless outs in the ninth.

Once again, Jake Bauers stood out, going 2-for-4 and finishing his spring with impressive stats: a .462 batting average, .571 on-base percentage, 1.154 slugging percentage, seven homers, six doubles, nine RBIs, and 14 runs over 15 games. No other Brewer collected multiple hits, though six teammates each contributed a single.

On the pitching side, Sproat earned the win while Harrison recorded a hold, finishing with 4 1/3 innings pitched, allowing one run on five hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

As the Brewers gear up for Opening Day this Thursday against the White Sox in Milwaukee, Jacob Misiorowski is set to take the mound, facing off against Shane Smith for Chicago. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m.

Note: This recap is an independently written summary based on publicly available reporting.