The Cincinnati Reds roughed up the Milwaukee Brewers 12-8 on Sunday, September 6, 2026, at Great American Ball Park in a high-scoring NL Central divisional matchup. Elly De La Cruz supplied the headline blow — a home run with four RBI in four at-bats — while five Reds position players recorded multi-hit games to keep Cincinnati's offense humming throughout all nine innings. Brady Singer earned the win despite a rocky outing on the mound, and the Reds closed out the game with Emilio Pagán getting the final outs for the save.

Elly De La Cruz Powers Cincinnati Offense

De La Cruz was the offensive engine on Sunday. He went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI, providing Cincinnati with its most impactful individual performance of the afternoon. The long ball gave the Reds a cushion they never fully relinquished, even as Milwaukee's bats kept the game within reach for much of the afternoon.

De La Cruz was far from alone. Juan Brito went 3-for-4 with an RBI, and Héctor Rodríguez matched him with a 3-for-5 afternoon and one run batted in. Tyler Stephenson contributed two hits and two RBI in five at-bats, while Dane Myers added two hits in four trips to the plate. Five Cincinnati starters posted multi-hit games — the kind of collective offensive effort that makes life comfortable for a pitching staff that needed the run support.

Brady Singer Survives a Shaky Start to Earn the Win

Singer's line was messy: five innings pitched, six earned runs, four hits, six walks, and three strikeouts. He issued traffic all afternoon and Milwaukee made him pay for it, but the Reds offense kept pouring runs across and Singer lasted long enough to pick up the victory with the decision going his way. It was a win in the box score, but not a performance that inspires confidence heading deeper into September.

The bullpen stepped up behind him. Luis Mey worked a clean inning — one strikeout, no hits, no runs. Brock Burke followed with a scoreless frame. Graham Ashcraft punched out two in his inning of work, allowing one earned run. Pierce Johnson ran into trouble in two-thirds of an inning, and Emilio Pagán closed out the final out to earn the save.

Milwaukee's Pitching Staff Couldn't Survive the Early Onslaught

Kyle Harrison took the loss in name, but the credited loser was reliever Antonio Senzatela, who allowed three earned runs on two hits and two walks in just two-thirds of an inning. Harrison himself was chased after 3.2 innings, giving up four earned runs on nine hits and four walks — the kind of start that puts a bullpen under immediate duress.

Milwaukee did not go quietly. Brice Turang went 2-for-3 with three RBI, and Jake Bauers hit a home run among his one hit, driving in two. Garrett Mitchell went 2-for-3 with an RBI as well. The Brewers had real offensive production — this was not a shutout or a blowout built on Milwaukee futility. Cincinnati simply had more.

Turning Point: The Fourth-Inning Eruption Against Harrison

With Harrison already laboring through a nine-hit, four-walk performance over less than four innings, the Reds wore him down until Milwaukee's bullpen was forced into action well before the middle innings. The handoff to Senzatela proved disastrous — three earned runs in two-thirds of an inning extended Cincinnati's lead to a point Milwaukee's offense, despite its contributions, could not overcome. That sequence, bridging the third and fourth innings of the pitching carousel, was where the game's outcome was effectively settled.

Key Performances at a Glance

  • Elly De La Cruz: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 4 RBI
  • Juan Brito: 3-for-4, 1 RBI
  • Héctor Rodríguez: 3-for-5, 1 RBI
  • Tyler Stephenson: 2-for-5, 2 RBI
  • Dane Myers: 2-for-4
  • Brady Singer (W): 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 4 H, 6 BB, 3 K
  • Emilio Pagán (SV): 0.1 IP, 0 ER
  • Brice Turang (MIL): 2-for-3, 3 RBI
  • Jake Bauers (MIL): 1-for-2, 1 HR, 2 RBI

What's Next for the Reds

Cincinnati continues its regular season schedule with this divisional series against Milwaukee as a measuring stick moment. The Reds showed Sunday that their lineup can generate runs in bunches against NL Central competition — 12 runs on a afternoon that featured contributions up and down the order. Singer's walk total will be a talking point heading into the next pitching discussion, but on Sunday at Great American Ball Park, the bats made that conversation secondary.