Terry Francona Defends Rhett Lowder After Forgettable Performance vs. Brewers

The Cincinnati Reds had another chance to get over the hump against the Milwaukee Brewers as they traveled to American Family Field to meet the National League Central foe in a four-game series.

Last week, the Brewers came to Great American Ball Park and swept the Reds. This week, it looks like it will be more of the same, as the Brewers have taken the first two games of the series. On Tuesday night, the Reds were outclassed in every way, losing 7-2.

Reds starting pitcher Rhett Lowder had a start to forget. One that saw him go 4.2 innings and allow six runs in the loss. It was one to forget, and even though the Reds will need to let the memory of this one go quickly, manager Terry Francona stood up for his starting pitcher in the postgame.

Has His Back

"(Brewers) hit a couple of balls really hard, and they hit a lot of singles. I'm not taking anything away from what they do," Francona said. "That was still rough for Rhett. I thought he actually threw the ball really well."

The final stat line may not tell the entire tale of the tape on this one, but it does shine a lot on why the Brewers are who they are, and the Reds are, well, who they are. The name of the game is scoring more runs than your opponent, and simply put, the Brewers do that to the Reds each and every time they share the field.

Lowder allowed 11 hits last night, and the Reds' pitching staff gave up 14 hits altogether. If you're trying to slay a team that you seemingly can't beat, that's never going to be one of the ingredients to achieve that goal.

It was another night of pain for this fan base with no one seeing an end in sight, and a lot of baseball left to be played this season.

Even The Odds

Jun 24, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Shane Drohan (55) throws against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Things are bleak, but the Reds still have a chance to leave town with two wins. On Wednesday, Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott will be facing Brewers lefty Shane Drohan. Drohan's last start came against the Reds, in a game where Francona's guys once again let a great opportunity slip through their fingers.

Great opportunities are starting to become rarer this season for the Reds. A sweep this week in Milwaukee is going to have the majority of this fan base finding other hobbies for the rest of the summer.

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