CINCINNATI — Corbin Burnes struck out the side in the sixth inning after nearly collapsing in the fifth in oppressive humidity, Victor Caratini singled in a run in the seventh and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds 1-0 on Friday night.
After his 10th strikeout, Burnes squatted behind the mound with his head lowered as teammates and trainers rushed over.
“He just got light-headed, essentially,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “The trainers don’t think it was a hydration issue. Just like you lift something heavy and get a little light-headed from that. He just needed a minute to regroup. His vision got a little blurry.”
Burnes took several big gulps of water and spoke to the training staff. He took a couple of warmup pitches, then retired Matt McLain on an infield pop to end the inning.
“Everything kind of went dizzy and eyes went cross-eyed,” Burnes said. “I went to the back of the mound, hoped blinking a couple of times it would go away, and it didn’t. After a bottle of water, gave it a second, it went away. Scary in the moment, for sure.”
Burnes said noting like this has happened to him before. Counsell considered taking Burnes out of the game, but the 28-year-old right hander recovered quickly.
“He was getting better as we gave him time,” Counsell said. “To strike out the side in the sixth was impressive.”
The game-time temperature was 91 degrees with the high humidity. Burnes (8-5) struck out 13 in six innings. He allowed only two hits and two walks to help the Brewers tie the Reds atop the NL Central standings.
“He has great stuff,” Reds manager David Bell said. “He threw more breaking balls. I think that led to a lot of his success tonight. Obviously, he has a good fastball. He used the breaking ball more today and I think that helped him.”
Devin Williams closed for his 21st save. The teams faced each other for the fourth straight time, with the Brewers taking two of three from the Reds in Milwaukee before the All-Star break.
Cincinnati starter Graham Ashcraft (5-6) allowed three hits through six innings.
“I was able to find that rhythm with my arm and my mechanics,” Ashcraft said. “I’ve started to pound the zone a lot more. That’s something we’ve started to get after to make sure that rhythm stays going.”
Reds left fielder Spencer Steer threw out Joey Wiemer trying to score from second on William Contreras‘ single for the final out in the third.