'Keep stacking 'em'! Mitchell mashes southpaws to log first 4-hit game

MILWAUKEE -- Denied on the basepaths, Garrett Mitchell came through with the bat instead.

The Brewers' center fielder capped his first career four-hit game Wednesday with a go-ahead triple in the seventh inning that sent his club to a 4-2 win over the Reds at American Family Field. In hindsight, he missed hitting for the cycle by mere inches when the second of his two doubles struck high off the center-field wall in the fifth.

Did that sting a little?

"No," Mitchell said. "There will be plenty more opportunities. Keep playing baseball games. Keep stacking 'em."

Staying healthy is the key for the 2020 first-round Draft pick, who can flash all five tools on nights like Wednesday, when reliever Aaron Ashby picked up victory No. 12 to remain Major League Baseball’s surprise wins leader, while Abner Uribe pitched through illness in a scoreless eighth and Trevor Megill logged his 12th save as Milwaukee (53-31) moved a season-high 22 games over .500 by extending its recent domination over a division foe. Including the first three games of this series and six games over the past week and a half, the Brewers have won 51 of the last 70 matchups against the Reds.

For Mitchell, the most important number was 74, as in his 74th game played this season. That’s five more and counting than his previous single-season high in a pro career that has been interrupted over and over by fluke injuries. A Type 1 diabetic who successfully managed the condition to become a star at UCLA, Mitchell was sidelined nearly two months by a left knee injury in ‘21.

In ‘22, it was a left oblique issue. In ‘23, he missed most of the year following left shoulder surgery. In ‘24, Mitchell fractured his left index finger during the final week of Spring Training and he didn’t debut until July 1. In ‘25, he fractured his left shoulder socket and re-tore his labrum.

“Take any other player in baseball that’s been missing for four years. To have him play this way, and particularly tonight with the four at-bats, the baserunning, the whole thing. I didn’t think it could happen,” manager Pat Murphy said. “I didn’t expect anything close to this for this kid. I’m really happy for him. He’s playing every day. He’s hitting against lefties tonight. He’s just gotten better and better.”

Mitchell has had to earn those at-bats against left-handers, making Wednesday, when all four of his hits were against southpaws, all the more sweet. He singled in the first inning and doubled in the third and fifth off Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott before tripling off lefty reliever Brock Burke in the decisive seventh.

Even better, the final three hits came on offspeed pitches.

“I’m just happy I got to face that many lefties today,” said Mitchell, whose OPS is up to .800.

What does that do for his confidence?

“I wouldn’t say I feel any more confident,” he said. “I show up knowing what I’m capable of on a given day. Obviously, being in rhythm helps with that. Not going up there thinking too much, but going up there, being athletic and being yourself. That comes with playing games and being out there.”

All of it erased whatever frustration lingered from a close play at home plate four innings earlier. With the teams tied, 2-2, and Mitchell at third base with one out, Brewers rookie Cooper Pratt dropped a bunt toward Reds first baseman Spencer Steer, who shoveled the baseball home to catcher Tyler Stephenson.

Mitchell was called out on the field but the Brewers challenged, meaning MLB’s replay center would look at both the out call and whether Stephenson was blocking home plate. The Brewers didn’t expect a ruling in their favor on the latter point, because the play was on the infield, but they did see one angle in which they say Mitchell’s foot touched home before the tag.

Following a lengthy review, crew chief Dan Bellino relayed the ruling.

“Due to the fact that it was a quickly-developing play, there is no violation of blocking home plate,” Bellino said. “As far as the out call, the ruling on the field stands. The runner is out.”

That call loomed large as the teams remained tied for four more innings, with starter Shane Drohan and Ashby combining to hold the Reds scoreless aside from Noelvi Marte’s two-run homer off the foul pole in the second. In the bottom of the seventh, Andrew Vaughn extended the inning with a two-out double before Mitchell delivered his winning hit. Then, he scored an insurance run on a wild pitch.

“If this isn’t the Comeback Player of the Year,” Murphy said, letting the ensuing pause finish that thought. “I mean, this is four years. It’s not just missing a year. You’ve missed four years because of major injuries, and to have him come back and play like this is just amazing.”