Terry Francona Sees 'Glass Half Full' After Reds' Frustrating Loss to Brewers

There is some good to take from the Reds' opening series loss to the Brewers on Monday night.

May 31, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona (77) watches from the dugout during the game against the Atlanta Braves at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

The Cincinnati Reds were coming off one of the best weeks they've had this season prior to the start of the series with the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night. Series wins over the New York Mets and New York Yankees gave the Reds their first back-to-back series wins since April.

However, the series with the Brewers can change the entire trajectory of where this franchise goes. Many wonder if this team will be buying or selling at the trade deadline. A strong week against the Brewers and the Pittsburgh Pirates may have this front office believing in a playoff run. Unfortunately, things did not start out in the Reds' favor.

The Reds would drop the first game of the series against the Brewers 2-1 on Monday night in frustrating fashion in extra innings. Reds starting pitcher Brady Singer had the best start of his season, going seven innings for the club; however, the offense had no pulse all night.

After the game, Reds manager Terry Francona was asked about what went wrong for the team in the 10th inning and how he thought the team performed in the loss.

Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona (77) returns to the dugout after relieving pitcher Nick Lodolo (40) in the sixth inning of a MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks, Friday, June 12, 2026, at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati. | Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"The breaking ball that got away, that changes the game a lot. I would say though, that I thought our guys pitched terrific. When they pitch like that, it's a lot easier to feel that the glass is half full," Francona said.

While a glass-half-full optimism may feel right to Francona, the issues this team has been dealing with since last season are still at the forefront. The pitching was near perfect. One could argue that bringing Tony Santillan in after he went two innings on Sunday against the Yankees was questionable, but the pitching was not the issue on Monday. It was the streaky offense.

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Matt McLain (9) hits a single in the third inning of a MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks, Saturday, June 13, 2026, at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati. | Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There are pieces in this offense that can be viable threats to a team that has postseason aspirations. There are also a lot of pieces on this offense that don't deserve another plate appearance until they can prove they belong in that situation.

Four players had plate appearances on Monday night that don't even have a batting average of .220. I'm not an expert on baseball, and those four players know more about baseball than I ever will, but they would even say that's not good enough. Francona may have seen a glass-half-full performance from his pitchers on Monday. But as for the offense, someone forgot to even pour anything in their cup.