Brewers rally for rout, prolong Reds' woes

May 28th, 2016

MILWAUKEE -- Jonathan Lucroy and Aaron Hill combined for three home runs and five RBIs to prolong the Reds' recent misery, powering the Brewers' come-from-behind, 9-5 win on Friday at Miller Park.
Cincinnati's losing streak grew to 11 games despite Adam Duvall's first-inning, three-run home run off Brewers starter Zach Davies, who won at home for the first time thanks to his team's biggest offensive outburst in more than two weeks. Six different Brewers tallied multiple hits -- including Lucroy, who had all three of his RBIs by the end of the Brewers' go-ahead, four-run fourth inning, and Hill, who homered leading off consecutive innings in the fourth and the fifth. Five of Hill's six home runs this season have come at the Reds' expense.
Cast your Esurance All-Star ballot for Duvall, Hill, Lucroy, Votto and other #ASGWorthy players
The Brewers' four-game winning streak is their longest this season.
"When you put a bunch of wins together or you play well, it's because a lot of guys are playing well," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "We're getting contributions from a big chunk of the roster, and that's what leads to wins."

The Reds, meanwhile, have been outscored by 50 runs during their 11-game losing streak. Six of the Brewers' runs were charged to Reds left-hander John Lamb, who was out of the game by the end of the fourth.
"Today, I'm not too happy with the results, of course," said Lamb, who is 0-3 with a 6.85 ERA. "I'm bummed out for the club in the sense that we jumped ahead early and I couldn't keep us in it."
Blaine Boyer, Tyler Thornburg and Jeremy Jeffress sealed the victory for Davies with 3 1/3 innings of scoreless work, lowering to 1.45 the ERA of Brewers relievers over the team's last 20 games. That's the best mark in the Majors over that span.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Lucroy breaks out: Lucroy was 2-for-22 with one RBI on the Brewers' just-completed road trip, but he broke the slump on Friday. He lifted a sacrifice fly in the first inning, hit a two-out solo home run in the third and delivered a ground-rule double for another run in the fourth that would have scored two had it not bounced over the fence. Lucroy also contributed behind the plate by throwing out his sixth consecutive would-be basestealer in the fifth inning.

"I have to be better at driving runners in with less than two outs from third. I haven't really done that all year," said Lucroy. "Hopefully I can make up for lost time." More >

Opening the door to trouble:Ramon Flores' botched catch in right field on Jay Bruce's two-out fly ball in the top of the first inning -- it was initially ruled a double, but changed after the game to an error -- had immediate repercussions for Milwaukee. The next batter, Duvall, slugged Davies' 1-0 pitch to left field for a three-run homer and a 3-0 Reds lead. It was Duvall's team-leading 10th homer of the season.
"It's frustrating on my part," Davies said. "I know that if something like that happens in the field, it's my job to get back after it. And I left a curveball up for a strike and got crushed."

Deja vu: Bruce nearly mirrored Flores' miscue, getting a glove on Keon Broxton's line drive to right in the fourth and was unable to hang on, although it was a tougher catch. Broxton's one-out double extended the inning for the Brewers, who had already tied the game at 3 on Hill's homer leading off the frame, and pushed ahead with a trio of two-out RBI hits. Jonathan Villar's double gave the Brewers a 4-3 lead, and Hernan Perez and Lucroy added insurance knocks.

Counsell defends Villar's aggressiveness
"Obviously it's a line drive over my head and a tough play," Bruce said. "Any ball that hits my glove, I feel I should catch. There have been a couple of balls like those this year, balls at the wall, I feel I should catch and I didn't. It seems like when it rains, it pours. I've made that play before and expect to make it."

Votto keeps Reds in game: Leading off the top of the sixth vs. Davies, Joey Votto hit a first-pitch curveball from Davies to left-center field for a homer that made it a two-run game. It was Votto's seventh homer of the season and No. 199 for his career, which moved him ahead of Barry Larkin for 10th on the Reds' all-time list.

QUOTABLE
"As I tell you guys and I tell all the pitchers, you have to throw the ball over the plate to let the hitters tell you what you need to work on. They gave him a lesson today. They taught him another lesson that he's got to be able to work ahead and command his stuff and be able to make better pitches, pitch in better counts. Right now, his overall strike percentage isn't as high as it needs to be." -- Reds manager Bryan Price, on Lamb. He also noted that the lefty's velocity seems to have dipped this season.
Price not allowing Reds succumb to negativity
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
• Ryan Braun didn't have a hit Friday, but he walked twice, extending his on-base streak to 29 games for a new career high. He's reached safely on a hit, a walk or a hit by pitch in 37 of his 40 games this season.
• The Reds left a season-low one runner stranded on base. It was the first time they did that since June 15, 2015, at Detroit.
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
Counsell's successful challenge netted the Brewers a run in the first inning. Villar walked, stole second base and was initially called out trying to steal third. But Counsell challenged and won, putting Villar back at third for Lucroy's sacrifice fly. The two steals gave Villar 17 this season, tops in the Major Leagues.

WHAT'S NEXT
Reds: When the series continues at 4:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, Alfredo Simon will make the start and try to reverse course on his rough season. Simon is struggling with a 1-5 record and 10.16 ERA. However, his best outing of 2016 came vs. the Brewers, against whom he allowed three runs over 7 2/3 innings in a 9-5 win on May 5 at Cincinnati.
Brewers:Chase Anderson takes the mound for Milwaukee at 3:10 CT for a second look at the Reds, who scored seven runs (six earned) on six hits in five innings against him on May 5. Despite that outing, Anderson owns a 2.45 ERA in four career starts against the Reds.
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