Watch Off the Bench Presented by UDF with Chatterbox Sports Monday-Friday 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. LIVE on the Chatterbox Sports YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE to the channel to ensure you never miss a thing.

The Cincinnati Reds recently wrapped up a four-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers, concluding on April 6, 2025, with a challenging start to their 2025 season. The Reds entered the series with a 2-4 record from their opening homestand and hoped to turn things around on the road. However, they dropped three of the four games to the Brewers, finishing the series with a 3-7 overall record and losing all three series to begin the year.

The series opened on April 3 with a 1-0 loss, extending a troubling trend of low-scoring games for Cincinnati. The Reds’ offense struggled mightily, managing just one run across their previous 35 innings. On April 4, they broke their scoreless streak in a 3-2 defeat, with Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Jeimer Candelario driving in runs late, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Milwaukee’s early lead, powered by Brice Turang’s two-run homer. A bright spot came on April 5, when the Reds erupted for an 11-7 victory, snapping a four-game skid. TJ Friedl led the charge, going 4-for-5 with a homer, joined by Blake Dunn, Encarnacion-Strand, and Jose Trevino, who also went deep. Brady Singer earned the win despite allowing five runs. The series closed on April 6 with an 8-2 loss, as the Brewers capitalized on Cincinnati’s pitching and defensive miscues, sealing the Reds’ fate in the set.

It’s been a rocky 3-7 opening. They began at home with a six-game stand against the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers, splitting the Giants series (1-2) and taking one of three from the Rangers, highlighted by a 14-3 rout on March 31, driven by Elly De La Cruz’s seven-RBI performance. However, consecutive 1-0 losses to Texas exposed offensive woes that persisted into Milwaukee. Pitching has been a strength—Hunter Greene and Singer have shone—but the bats have been inconsistent, scoring heavily in wins but vanishing in losses. With a tough stretch ahead, including a rematch with the Giants in San Francisco, the Reds, under new manager Terry Francona, must find offensive rhythm to climb out of the NL Central’s fourth-place spot and reverse their 22-8 deficit against Milwaukee over the last 30 meetings.