CINCINNATI -- The shorthanded Brewers skirted disaster for as long as they could Saturday, but in the seventh inning, disaster finally stuck.
With outfielders Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun down with injuries, and relievers Jeremy Jeffress and Josh Hader off-limits for the day, the depleted Brewers yielded eight Reds runs before recording an out in the decisive seventh inning of a 12-3 loss at Great American Ball Park, a go-ahead outburst punctuated by power-hitting pitcher Michael Lorenzen's pinch-hit grand slam.
For the second time this season, Brewers manager Craig Counsell found himself on the wrong end of a score so lopsided, he sent a position player to the mound. Catcher Erik Kratz drew the assignment this time.
"We were kind of squeaking by for six innings there, then we put ourselves in a pretty good spot," said Counsell. "But give them credit -- they kept swinging the bats."

Kratz was forced into his third career pitching appearance after 35-year-old left-hander Mike Zagurski didn't retire any of the four hitters he faced in his first big league outing in five years, and Jacob Barnes surrendered a grand slam to Lorenzen -- a no-doubter to left field that made it 10-3.
The quick strike turned a close game that the Brewers mostly led, into a blowout. Eric Thames continued his torment of the Reds with a home run in the first inning, and Jonathan Villar and Kratz delivered RBIs for a 3-1 lead in the sixth.

Brewers pitching, meanwhile, held the line. The Reds loaded the bases with no outs against Jhoulys Chacin in the fifth inning and Taylor Williams in the sixth, but came away with a lone run each time.

In the seventh, however, with high-leverage relief aces Jeffress and Hader down, and left-hander Dan Jennings in need of a day off himself, Cincinnati finally hit it big against Williams, Zagurski and Barnes.
"These were our guys today, and we knew before the game this was who we were going to have to get through the game with," said Counsell. "These guys can't pitch every day. They won us the last two games, and that's how you've got to play it. There'll be more games where Josh and J.J. weren't available, and [closer Corey Knebel] is not available. You put yourself in a position to win, and that's all you can ask."
The Reds tied the game against Zagurski when Thames misplayed Scooter Gennett's fly ball in the sun for a game-tying RBI double, and took the lead when Jesse Winker punched a go-ahead RBI single through the left side.

Enter Barnes, who surrendered a two-run single to Adam Duvall and another base hit, before Lorenzen, a former Cal State Fullerton outfielder, smashed a fastball for a grand slam, his second home run in as many days and his third in his last three official at-bats. Lorenzen hit a solo shot off Chase Anderson on Friday.
"[Lorenzen] swings," said Barnes. "We knew he can hit. But it was one of those things -- down a couple, bases loaded, 1-0 count, he was geared up for a fastball and it was more over the plate than I liked, obviously."
Zagurski took the loss in a high-leverage Brewers debut.
"It was probably more out of need at the time, but that's a situation I need to handle, and I didn't do the job," he said. "It's just disappointing. Hopefully we'll get a few more in there and straighten it out a little bit."
MOMENT THAT MATTERED
Zagurski vs. Votto: Zagurski's first Major League appearance since September 2013 with the Yankees began with no outs, a runner at first, with the Brewers trying to protect a one-run lead and Joey Votto due to hit. Zagurski fired a series of 94-96-mph fastballs at the outside edge of the strike zone, as Votto worked a seven-pitch walk that put the go-ahead runner on base and put the Brewers in trouble.

"I have to make a little better pitch," Zagurski said. "If [the umpire] is not giving me that, I need to move it on the plate a little bit more, and I didn't do that. No ill will towards him. I have a job to do, and I didn't do it."
"We didn't give 'Z' some easy matchups," Counsell said. "I understand that, but that's how it works. That's where we were at today. He made good pitches to Votto, there's no question. He made really good pitches and [Votto] laid off of them."
Perez vs. Votto:Hernan Perez has made a pair of scoreless appearances as a pitcher for the Brewers, so perhaps it was not surprising when he unleashed a strong throw from right field to third base on the fly in the fourth inning to retire Votto. It was a big moment with the Brewers leading 1-0.

SOUND SMART
Thames' home run gave him 14 in 22 games against the Reds and seven home runs in his first 39 at-bats at Great American Ball Park.
The Brewers have hit a home run in 18 straight games at the venue over the past three years, matching the Reds' own record from 2010 for any team at the ballpark.
The Brewers also set a strikeout record. They whiffed 18 times, a season high for MIlwaukee, and a Reds club-record for a nine-inning game.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Kratz might have surrendered a pair of runs on two hits and a walk, but he also struck out one of the Reds' best hitters when he caught Eugenio Suarez looking at a knuckleball for the first out of the inning. Kratz also pitched for the Astros and Pirates in 2016.

"We don't want to wear anybody else's arms out, so if it can get some guys fresh so we can use them tomorrow or the next day, I definitely take pride in that," Kratz said. "I'd rather catch nine and go away with high fives, but we didn't get it today."
HE SAID IT
"Hey, he got three more outs than I did." -- Zagurski, on Kratz's mound work
UP NEXT
Rookie sensation Freddy Peralta will make his fifth big league start when the Brewers and Reds finish their four-game series on Sunday at 12:10 p.m. CT. Peralta has 35 strikeouts in his first 22 2/3 big league innings while holding opponents to seven hits in 74 at-bats (.093). In two of his four starts, Peralta has used a steady diet of high fastballs to log double-digit strikeouts while yielding only one hit, making him the only rookie in the live ball era with two such outings, and the only Brewers pitcher ever to have two such outings in his career. The Reds counter with former Mets ace Matt Harvey.