Brewers Blitz Reds, Post Dominant 20-0 Shutout Win
The Milwaukee Brewers put together one of their most complete performances of the young season on Friday, blanking the Cincinnati Reds 20-0 at home. It capped a strong stretch for Milwaukee, which had taken three straight tight games from the Cubs before turning this one into a laugher from the start.
There was no signature single moment that decided this one, because it was over by the third inning. Milwaukee's lineup put together quality at-bat after quality at-bat, chased Cincinnati's bullpen into early exhaustion, and turned a nine-inning game into batting practice for the home crowd.
Dustin May set the tone on the mound, and he did it in the way a team wants its ace-type performance to look in the first week of the season: efficient, dominant, and stress-free. May racked up 47.0 fantasy points behind a start that gave Milwaukee's offense a laugher to work with from the jump. With Cincinnati's bats never finding traction, May cruised, and by the time the middle innings rolled around, Milwaukee didn't need to think twice about its bullpen usage.
If May set the tone, Brice Turang blew the doors off. The second baseman was the unquestioned engine of this Brewers offense, posting 62.5 fantasy points and taking home game MVP honors. Turang was on base, in scoring position, and driving in runs seemingly every time he stepped to the plate, the kind of performance that turns a comfortable win into an emphatic statement.
He wasn't alone. Garrett Mitchell in center field was right behind him with 56.5 fantasy points, doing damage all over the field, while catcher William Contreras matched that same 56.5 mark, showing off the two-way value that makes him one of the most complete players in that lineup. Jackson Chourio, at just 22 years old, chipped in 43.0 fantasy points, another reminder that this Milwaukee core has serious young talent mixed in with its more experienced pieces. Jake Bauers added 35.0 points at first base, and even further down the lineup Joey Ortiz and Andrew Vaughn found ways to contribute, with 27.0 and 20.0 points respectively. When your seven-through-nine hitters are still producing in a 20-0 game, that tells you everything about how one-sided this was.
Cincinnati, meanwhile, had almost nothing to show for its night. Sal Stewart led the Reds with a modest 10.0 fantasy points, and reliever Brock Burke was next at 7.5, which says plenty about how quiet the bats were. Eugenio Suárez managed just 2.5 points and Elly De La Cruz, one of the more electric players in the sport when he's rolling, was held to 2.0. Starter Andrew Abbott didn't survive long enough to make a dent, finishing at 0.0 points alongside HĂ©ctor RodrĂguez, Matt McLain, and reliever Luis Mey. When your shortstop, your starting pitcher, and multiple everyday regulars all get shut out on the fantasy stat sheet, it reflects a lineup that had no answers and a pitching staff that couldn't slow the bleeding.
The Reds need to find some answers in the rotation and get their lineup, particularly De La Cruz, going before this early-season funk starts to define the year.
For Milwaukee, the message is simpler. This is a team humming on all cylinders, getting contributions from the top of the order to the bottom, from the rotation and eventually the bullpen, with a young core mixed with steady veteran production. It's one week into a long season, but the Brewers look like a club that's going to be tough to deal with all year.
