Here’s Why Trevor Bauer Chugged Imaginary Beer On Mound During Reds Vs. Brewers

Trevor Bauer knows exactly what he’s doing.

The Cincinnati Reds starter went viral Monday for chugging an imaginary beer on the mound after setting a new franchise record for strikeouts through a pitcher’s first five outings of the year.

(You can watch the hilarious celebration here, via Bauer’s agent Rachel Luba.)

Of course, there’s a backstory to Bauer writing “BUDS” in the dirt after every punch-out dating back to Aug. 14, when teammate Sonny Gray initially set the record at 45 punch outs.

After the Reds’ Twitter account posted about Gray’s accolade, Bauer had quite the comeback.

Enter Budweiser, which challenged Bauer to record 14 more strikeouts over his next to starts to break the record. In return, the brewing company would make special edition “Cincinnati Buds” cans.

Bauer went 6 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts in the 4-2 loss, bringing him up to 49 Ks on the season so far.

And it all went down in Milwaukee’s Miller Park, with stadium name sponsorship held by rival beer company MolsonCoors. You can’t make this stuff up.