Brewers win 8th straight, sweep Reds
CINCINNATI -- A better seven-game road trip was simply not possible for the Brewers. How can you top perfection? Milwaukee completed a three-game series sweep of the Reds on Sunday with a 6-1 victory at Great American Ball Park. The club went 7-0 on its trip through Philadelphia and Cincinnati, while rampaging for 53 runs, and has a season-high winning streak of eight games.
"Guys see guys having good at-bats and it's been contagious," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "That's gone on up and down the lineup. It's success and then it's confidence and then it's contagious."
It was a rough weekend for the Reds' pitching staff, which gave up double-digit hit totals in all three games while the team was outscored, 25-5. Reds starter Mike Leake gave up three earned runs and eight hits over six innings with three walks and four strikeouts. During a 28-pitch first inning, Leake allowed two hits and a walk, including Aramis Ramirez's RBI single. The Brewers added one run in the second inning and another in the fifth. Reliever Carlos Contreras gave up two homers for three runs in the seventh.
Video: MIL@CIN: Lind clubs a two-run homer to right
"They're a hot team right now. They're swinging the bat really well, finding holes, making you pay for mistakes," said Leake, who has given up 10 earned runs and 17 hits over 10 innings in his last two starts.
The beneficiary of the support was Brewers rookie starter Taylor Jungmann, who pitched strongly for eight innings and gave up one earned run and four hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Jungmann was perfect through his first four innings and had a shutout through the seventh before Brandon Phillips hit a two-out RBI double in the eighth.
"I thought I had the changeup going, where I haven't thrown it as much the first five starts," Jungmann said. "Didn't throw the breaking ball as much, fastball was pretty good. As far as location, the sinker was low so I was happy with it."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Parra hits towering homer: To lead off the seventh inning, Gerardo Parra sent one deep to right field to pad the Brewers lead. According to Statcast™, the ball traveled an estimated 403 feet from home plate. It was his second home run of the series.
Video: MIL@CIN: Parra jacks a solo dinger to pad the lead
"Parra again kind of set the tone," Counsell said. "He's been a difference maker at the top of the lineup."
Perfect, no more: Jungmann retired his first 12 batters of the game, until Jay Bruce led off the fifth with a double near the right-field corner. Marlon Byrd followed with a single but the inning ended scoreless following a fielder's choice play by Ivan De Jesus Jr. and Tucker Barnhart's double play.
Lind ties franchise record with RBI single: Brewers first baseman Adam Lind pushed the lead to 3-0 in the fifth inning with a RBI single to right field. The single scored Ryan Braun from second base, and gave Lind his ninth straight game with an RBI to tie a Brewers' franchise record. He would finish with three RBIs in the game after he hit a two-run homer to right field in the seventh inning.
Video: MIL@CIN: Lind plates Braun, extends his RBI streak
"That's really hard," Counsell said. "I mean that's nine hits, well I think he had the walk the one night. The pinch-hit walk, but it's a great stretch and we're getting guys on base for him. Everybody is cleaning up when the guys are on base."
Leake's rough first inning: Leake threw 28 pitches in the first, a total that took Jungmann three innings to reach. It started with a Parra leadoff single before a one-out walk and Ramirez's RBI single that put Milwaukee ahead.
Video: MIL@CIN: Brewers strike early on Aramis' RBI knock
"It was just a battle inning," Leake said. "It wasn't like I was trying to throw balls or avoid bats. They were kind of fouling some pitches off and working me a little bit. They were making it tough on me from the start."
QUOTABLE
"There are times where I feel we have to do some of the small things better. We get to two strikes on an opposing pitcher and throw just a strike to bunt. We don't make it any harder for the opponent's pitcher to lay down a bunt. It's a chance for a strikeout, no advance. We need to do a better job of doing the little detailed things there. You know what? That's what you say after you get swept and you get clubbed by a team that outplays you and you get frustrated. It was frustrating and it wasn't a very well-played series." -- Reds manager Bryan Price
STREAKING BREWERS
With Sunday's victory, it is only the second time in franchise history that the Brewers went undefeated on a road trip of at least seven games. The only other time this occurred was from July 18-24, 2008 when the Brewers swept three games against the Giants and four games against the Cardinals.
Video: MIL@CIN: Segura fields a bad hop for the final out
WHAT'S NEXT
Brewers: After completing a perfect seven-game road trip, the Brewers head back home on Monday to take on the Braves. Kyle Lohse (5-9, 6.24) will get the start in the three-game series opener, looking for his third straight win. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. CT.
Reds: A seven-game road trip to complete the season's first half begins Monday at 7:05 p.m. ET when the Reds and Nationals open a three-game series. Anthony DeSclafani, who threw a career-high 122 pitches in his last outing, will start against Doug Fister. Facing the Twins on Tuesday, DeSclafani labored with runners on most of the night as he gave up a season-high six earned runs and 11 hits over 6 2/3 innings.
Watch every out-of-market regular season game live on MLB.TV.