The Cincinnati Reds are much better now than they were a month into the season Jordan Scarlett Jersey , and it’s partly because Anthony DeSclafani is much better than they anticipated.

Not only DeSclafani, the pitcher. DeSclafani, the hitter, too.

The Reds return to Great American Ball Park on Thursday to take on the first-place Milwaukee Brewers, but that’s nothing new of late for interim manager Jim Riggleman’s resurgent team.

The Reds have played their last seven games against teams that were in first place or within percentage points of the top spot. They swept the Cubs in four games and won two of three in Atlanta.

“It says a lot for our club that we can play first-place clubs and win these series,” Riggleman said Wednesday following a come-from-behind 6-5 win at Atlanta, the Reds’ ninth victory in 10 games and 12th victory in 15 games.

“(We want to) keep rolling into Cincinnati,” Adam Duvall said after his two-run single keyed a three-run seventh inning that included a Scooter Gennett RBI single.

DeSclafani (3-1, 4.09 ERA) is a big presence during the surge, and not just because he’s won his last three starts — this after missing all of last season and the first two months of this season with multiple injuries. After missing so much time, the Reds simply weren’t sure what they would get from him this season.

His last time out, the right-handed DeSclafani limited the Cubs to two runs and three hits in 6 1/3 innings, and he contributed the game’s biggest hit Saturday with a grand slam — the first slam by a Cincinnati pitcher in 59 years.

DeSclafani will be yet another bat in the Reds’ order that Milwaukee right-hander Junior Guerra (3-5, 2.82) must be concerned about in the opener of the four-game NL Central series.

The Brewers continue to occupy first place in the division, but even a three-run ninth inning wasn’t enough Wednesday as they lost 5-4 at home to the last-place Kansas City Royals, whose .313 winning percentage is the second-worst in the majors.

“Even in our losses, we’re making the other team work a lot,” starting pitcher Brent Suter told reporters. “From that respect, I love how we’re playing. (But) it would be nice to win some of these series.”

The Brewers have lost six of their last 10 games, and now they must take on a Reds team that doesn’t look anything now like the team Milwaukee swept in a three-game series April 30-May 2 at Great American Ball Park — losses that dropped the Reds to 7-24. The Brewers have won five of six overall from the Reds this season.

“We just want to keep winning. If we take series after series we’re going to be just fine,” said Reds reliever Jackson Stephens (2-0) Greedy Williams Jersey , who got the win Wednesday with 1 2/3 scoreless relief innings.

The Brewers, conversely, led 1-0 Wednesday, only to have Suter and reliever Josh Hader give up five runs in the seventh inning. Hader allowed a two-run single to Adalberto Mondesi, Lucas Duda’s sacrifice fly and Whit Merrifield’s RBI single — the first time in 27 games this season Hader has given up more than one hit in an inning.

“Josh’s velocity was good. Everything was good,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. “He threw the ball well. They jumped on the first pitch, and we’ve seen that a lot lately, but he’s been so effective that obviously multiple hits in an inning is something we haven’t seen. They got him today.”

The Reds certainly didn’t get to Guerra when they faced him on April 17.

Guerra didn’t get the decision in a 2-0 Brewers win, but he shut out the Reds on one hit over 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven and walking three. In his career, he is 1-1 with a 4.76 ERA against Cincinnati in five games, including four starts.

Most of the current Reds hitters have only a minimal number of at-bats against Guerra, with Eugenio Suarez going 2-for-3 with a homer.

DeSclafani is 2-2 with a 4.15 ERA in five games against the Brewers, starting four of them, but hasn’t faced them since 2016. Ryan Braun is 2-for-10 (.200) against him.

The Detroit Tigers lost much more than a game on Tuesday night.

Miguel Cabrera ruptured his left biceps tendon in the third inning of a 6-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins and will have season-ending surgery later this week.

”This is obviously a very sad day for Miggy and for the entire ballclub,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. ”It is obviously a huge blow to the team, both on and off the field, but we will have to find a way to overcome it.”

Gardenhire said Cabrera’s status for the 2019 season won’t be known until after the operation. He still has $154 million left on a contract that runs through 2023.

Cabrera swung awkwardly at Jake Odorizzi’s slider and immediately walked to the dugout with his arm limply at his side. When he was joined by team trainers, the slugger gestured to his biceps and continued walking into the Detroit clubhouse.

”At that end of that inning, I ran up to check on him in the clubhouse and he said he felt a pop on that swing,” teammate Nicholas Castellanos said. ”I knew that wasn’t good http://www.ravensfootballauthentics.com/justice-hill-jersey-authentic , but we didn’t find out how bad it was until after the game.”

Many of the Tigers had already left the clubhouse before it was opened to the media, more than 20 minutes after the final pitch.

”We’re all kind of stunned,” said JaCoby Jones. ”You don’t think anything like that is going to happen to Miguel Cabrera, especially on a swing.”

Cabrera has played through numerous lower-body injuries in the past few years, even while winning a Triple Crown, two MVP awards and four batting titles, but it started to catch up with him in 2017. He played 130 games, but hit a career-worst .249 with 16 homers.

This year, he missed three games with spasms in the same biceps tendon that ruptured on Tuesday, then was out for 26 games with a hamstring strain and back tightness. He returned on June 1, hitting .244 with no home runs and one RBI in 12 games before the latest injury.

Gardenhire didn’t think the earlier injuries played a role in what happened on Tuesday.

”He took BP before the game and he said he felt great,” Gardenhire said.

John Hicks, normally Detroit’s backup catcher, played first base during Cabrera’s previous absence and will return there for the time being. Gardenhire said the team will discuss long-term plans in the upcoming days.

”We’re all going to have to step up, starting tomorrow, to try to fill Miggy’s shoes,” Castellanos said. ”That means everyone, beginning with me.”

The mood in the clubhouse wasn’t helped by a late-inning loss. Detroit led 2-1 after six innings before Ehire Adrianza’s first career grand slam rallied the Twins.

Tigers starter Blaine Hardy allowed a leadoff single to Eduardo Escobar to start the seventh and was replaced by Louis Coleman.

”I understand that move completely,” Hardy said. ”I have just as much faith in Lou as I do myself, and that hasn’t changed.”

Coleman (3-1) only threw nine strikes in a 23-pitch outing, walking two batters to load the bases with two out. Gardenhire brought in Warwick Saupold Ben Powers Jersey , who went to a 3-1 count on Adrianza before throwing a fastball that ended up in the right-field stands.

”I’m not a home run hitter, so this is very exciting,” Adrianza said. ”It was a hitter’s count, so I was looking for a fastball and I hit it hard. I was emotional.”

The Tigers made it 5-4 with two runs in the seventh. With runners on second and third with two outs, Jones beat out an infield single and Escobar’s throw sailed past first baseman Logan Morrison for Minnesota’s second throwing error of the inning.

Miguel Sano gave the Twins a 6-4 lead with an RBI single in the eighth.

”We walked some people and we just let the game get away from us,” Gardenhire said. ”That was disappointing.”

Ryan Pressly (1-1) got the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his 14th save.

”I think we’ve played better in games that we’ve lost, but winning is the important part,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. ”What Ehire did was obviously huge. We were hoping he’d get something to the outfield, and he puts it in the seats.”

Hardy pitched six-plus innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk. Hardy, who replaced Jordan Zimmermann in the rotation, is expected to make at least one more start before Zimmermann and Francisco Liriano return from the disabled list.

Odorizzi permitted two runs on four hits and four walks in five innings. He struck out four while throwing 102 pitches.

The Twins took a 1-0 lead by manufacturing a run in the third. With one out, Adrianza reached on an infield single, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Ryan LaMarre’s sacrifice fly.

Jose Iglesias tied the game with a one-out RBI triple in the fourth, and scored on Leonys Martin’s sacrifice fly.

STAYING IN SHAPE

While on third base after his fourth-inning triple, Iglesias had to dive to the ground to avoid being hit by teammate Dixon Machado’s line drive. He broke his fall with his hands and snapped off three quick push-ups before jumping back to his feet.

HEALTHY RESUME

Cabrera made his major league debut for the Florida Marlins on June 20, 2003, and played in 87 of their final 88 games. He averaged 153 games in the next 14 seasons, but will finish 2018 with 38.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Twins: Minnesota signed RHP Matt Belisle to a major league contract and he joined the team in Detro