Brewers-Reds Game 2 Postgame Quotes

In a game that was well pitched by both sides, the Reds were the ones left holding the bag of regret.

Reds starter Mike Leake, familiar with getting some big hits himself, wished he made a better pitch to his counterpart in Brewers starter Wily Peralta. Third baseman Todd Frazier lamented not seizing on the precious few opportunities Peralta offered from the mound.

In the end, Peralta had both of the game’s RBIs with a fifth-inning double to go along with eight scoreless innings pitched to hand the Reds a 2-0 loss. The teams have split the first two games of a four-game series.

“It was a very, very well-pitched game,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “Peralta just didn’t give us anything to get excited about offensively. We didn’t have multiple innings with multiple runners. He just kept us at bay.”

Leake worked eight solid innings himself and, besides the two runs, gave up seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

The Reds were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position while the Brewers were 1-for-7. Of course, that one clutch hit came from their pitcher.

“What can you say about guys going out there and pitching eight innings?” Price said. “You pitch eight innings, it’s typically a good performance after that. That was two runs. It’s unfortunate because the pitcher hit the double that scored the runs. However, in the end, those guys are dangerous too, especially as we know how Mike swings the bat.”

A double play got Leake out of the fourth inning, but a two-out double by Peralta to right field on a first-pitch fastball in the top of the fifth scored Lyle Overbay and Jean Segura.

“It was probably not the best pitch, the first pitch to him,” said Leake, who is 2-3 with a 3.53 ERA in six starts. “Just because you know pitchers like to hack. I still threw pretty good and had great defense behind me.”

Peralta had retired eight in a row until Joey Votto led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a drive to the top of the left-field fence. It was originally ruled a double, but looked like a possible home run. A crew chief review of the play confirmed the original call.

“We saw the same replays they did. It hit off the top of the yellow,” Price said. “It has to go over the yellow and out of the ballpark, basically. … They got it right.”

“When it’s 0-0, you’ve got to figure out a way. Maybe I’ll bunt it the next time,” Frazier said. “Votto got on twice and I had first and second, and second, with nobody out. When you have two opportunities like that, you’ve got to finish and figure them out.”

“He was throwing the hard fastball. It’s got movement,” Frazier said of Peralta. “You got to be looking away on him but if it is away, it’s probably going to come back in. He had a good run on his fastball, 98-plus mph. It’s tough to hit sometimes, but at the same time, I had some opportunities. Get the guy over, it’s not that hard.”