Aramis gets in work behind rocky pitching

PHOENIX -- Filling in for Homer Bailey, who was scratched with a right groin strain, Brett Marshall pitched three innings of two-hit ball and added two RBIs, and Chris Heisey stayed white hot for the Reds in a 16-4 victory over the Brewers at Maryvale Baseball Park.

Marshall struck out four and walked one in his third Cactus League start.

Heisey homered to left field in the first inning and doubled down the left-field line in the third. The Reds' fourth outfielder is 10-for-18 in his past seven games and is hitting .588 in his most recent six starts.

"Kind of the name of the game is those big two-out RBIs, especially on the offensive side," said Heisey, who has five home runs this spring. "Defense, it's trying to eliminate those and getting a big out when you need it. Hopefully come the season time, we can be one of the best teams at getting those two-out RBIs when we need them late in games or when we're trying to tack on runs."

Neftali Soto was 4-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs, and Todd Frazier and Kristopher Negron each had two hits.

The Reds, who hit four home runs, did much of their damage against Brewers right-hander Tyler Thornburg, who is battling for a roster spot as either a starter or reliever.

Thornburg gave up seven runs on seven hits in 2 2/3 innings. Just four of the runs were earned, as the Brewers committed two errors behind Thornburg, including one immediately preceding Heisey's homer.

Brewers reliever Francisco Rodriguez made his first appearance of the spring and gave up Soto's two-out solo homer. Rodriguez missed the first two weeks of camp because of an issue with his work visa, and he was delayed further after he stepped on a cactus earlier this week.

"I can definitely feel it right now," Rodriguez said after limping to his locker in the clubhouse. "In my career I learned the difference between injury, pain and soreness. This is not an injury, so I have to go through it."

Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez each had two hits, and Mark Reynolds knocked in two runs off Cincinnati closer Aroldis Chapman in the fourth. The game marked the first time Ramirez had played two consecutive days this spring, and he had an RBI double among his hits Saturday.

Up next for Brewers: Yovani Gallardo will make his fourth Cactus League start, and first since he was named the Brewers' Opening Day starter, on Sunday when the Brewers play the D-backs at Salt River Fields. Gallardo takes a 1.13 spring ERA into the game, which is Arizona's last before it heads to Australia to open the regular season with a series against the Dodgers. The D-backs on Sunday will counter with Trevor Cahill in a 3:10 p.m. CT game available in an exclusive webcast on brewers.com.