When the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs in the opener of a 5-game series, it bunched the top 4 NL wild-card contenders within 5 1/2 games.

The Reds played clean baseball Sunday to beat the Brewers, but defensive lapses earlier cost them the series — again.

Mike Kadlick reports that the Boston Red Sox will be without a promising rookie until 2026, as Marcelo Mayer had season-ending wrist surgery. Jim Bowden looks at the top 25 free agents who will become available in the upcoming offseason. ( The Athletic subscription required .)

Yes, for all three games, the Brewers broadcast is available on the Sirius XM app. The Reds broadcast is available on Channel 176 on Aug. 15, Channel 180 on Aug. 16 and Channel 178 on Aug.17. Aug . 15 : Milwaukee RHP Jacob Misiorowski (4-1, 2.70 ERA) vs. Cincinnati RHP Nick Martinez (10-9, 4.49)

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Andrew Abbott is coming off one of the most impressive weeks of his young career. He faced off against two of the best teams in baseball, the Phillies and the Brewers, and gave up just three runs on 10 hits in 14 2/3 innings. He did not walk a batter in the two starts and struck out 13.

The Cincinnati Reds knocked out an All-Star pitcher in the second to take an 8-1 lead, then blew it in a 10-8 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

First, Priester hung a 1-2 curve to the light-hitting Ke'Bryan Hayes, who roped the ball inside the left field foul pole 388 feet to tie the game.

Christian Yelich had two homers among his four hits and drove in five runs as the Milwaukee Brewers overcame a seven-run deficit to beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-8 for their club record-tying 13th straight victory.