Senzel falls ill, Graterol hurt in loss
Brewers 5, Reds 4
MILWAUKEE — The Cincinnati Reds missed a chance to sweep the Milwaukee Brewers in a 5-4 loss before a crowd of 39,682 at Miller Park on Wednesday afternoon.
But of the bigger concern was the continued loss of players.
Nick Senzel left the game after he singled to lead off the game. Senzel looked fine running to first base, but he immediately called out manager David Bell and trainer Steve Baumann. Senzel spent time on the disabled list in the minors for vertigo in 2017 and ’18. The Reds announced during the game that Senzel left because of illness.
The Reds also lost catcher Juan Graterol in the third inning. He left the game after taking a Lorenzo Cain foul ball off the mask. The blow knocked Graterol’s mask off. The Reds already have three catchers — Tucker Barnhart, Curt Casali and Kyle Farmer — on the injured list.
Senzel was obviously concerned.
“I’m just ill. I don’t feel very good,” he said. “I swung, the first pitch I swung at, I got dizzy. I had to take my time. It just didn’t get any better.”
Graterol was taken out partly because of the catching situation.
“We’re going to keep an eye on him and make sure it’s nothing serious,” Bell said. “It was enough, given all that’s gone on, to get him out of there. He took three or four pitches, and the second one just hit him more in the jaw. It would have to be super-convincing to leave him in there.”
Right-hander Lucas Sims (1-1) made his second start for the Reds. He went 4 innings and allowed five runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out five. Two of the hits were home runs.
He left with a 4-3 lead, but Amir Garrett allowed the two runners he inherited to score.
Josh Vanmeter hit his second homer and Joey Votto and Scooter Gennett had RBI hits to help the Reds build a 4-2 lead against starter Jhoulys Chacin in the third inning.