Reds’ bats alive in 14-6 win over Brewers

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MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers starter Zach Davies hadn’t given up a home run in almost a month. Cincinnati Reds slugger Eugenio Suárez had hit two home runs less than 24 hours earlier.

When the two clashed Tuesday night, Suárez prevailed.

Suárez hit a two-run, opposite-field home run to right in the first inning, and two batters later, Jesse Winker followed with his own two-run homer as the Reds routed the Brewers 14-6.

Joey Votto also hit a two-run homer and pinch-hitter Phillip Ervin had a three-run triple as Cincinnati beat the Brewers for the fifth straight time.

“Who we’re playing doesn’t matter,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. “You’ve got to play a good game to win. And we’re not playing well enough in these games. We didn’t come close to playing well enough tonight.”

Davies (8-3) had not allowed a home run since June 25, going 1-0 in four starts since, but allowed six earned runs and nine hits in four-plus innings. His ERA rose from 2.79, sixth-lowest among qualified pitchers, to 3.17.

“He’s very patient, aggressive when he needs to be, but stays within the zone,” Davies said of Suárez. “He’s a tough out. Good swing, strong guy. You can make your pitch and he can still be able to get a hit out of it.”

Suárez’s homer was his 27th. He leads the major leagues with 10 home runs in the first inning.

“When you face a guy a lot, you know how they pitch and you’ve got to be prepared. Today, we were really ready for him,” Suárez said of Davies. “Everybody knows he’s got really good stuff. Really good sinker, change-up, cutter, curveball. But today, he threw a lot of sinkers and we were ready.”

Suárez chased Davies with an RBI single in the fifth, Ervin tripled off left-hander Alex Claudio and Scooter Gennett had a sacrifice fly for a 9-0 lead.

“It was tough in one respect in that Jesse is swinging the bat really well right now,” manager David Bell said of replacing Winker with Ervin. “On the other hand, we have an opportunity to do what Phil ends up doing. It’s just so important in these games to keep adding on. We had the edge right there for Phil with the left-hander. Just trying to take advantage of the matchup.”

Tanner Roark (6-6) gave up two runs and six hits in five innings.

Sal Romano, who was recalled from Triple-A Louisville on Monday, made his first appearance of the season and earned a save by pitching three innings, giving up one run.

Manny Piña hit a three-run home run and had four RBIs for the Brewers.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: C Tucker Barnhart (right oblique strain) is expected to start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville on Thursday. … RHP Jesús Reyes, designated for assignment on Thursday, cleared waivers and has been sent outright to Louisville.

Brewers: All-Star RHP Brandon Woodruff on possibly being out six weeks with a left oblique strain: “It’s a slow process, but you can’t rush it.”

SLAM-ADINO

The grand slams hit by the Brewers’ Tyler Saladino on Sunday and Monday made him the first player to hit grand slams in consecutive games since the Yankees’ Jorge Posada in 2010.

IMPERFECT

The Reds’ win on Monday marked the first time this season Milwaukee lost when leading after eight innings (48-1).

2-WAY

Reds manager David Bell on Michael Lorenzen pitching and playing left and right field on Monday: “Michael loves it. He’s up for it. The more he’s challenged, the better he is.”

UP NEXT

RHP Lucas Sims (1-0) makes his second start of the season, and his first since May 28, on Wednesday. Brewers RHP Jhoulys Chacín (3-10) has not won since April 30.

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Cincinnati Reds’ Eugenio Suarez is congratulated by Joey Votto after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday, July 23, 2019, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2019/07/web1_123243050-3f3d4c20e6a8461dbc70488cfd467a96.jpgCincinnati Reds’ Eugenio Suarez is congratulated by Joey Votto after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday, July 23, 2019, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Cincinnati Reds’ Eugenio Suarez hits a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday, July 23, 2019, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2019/07/web1_123243050-0de77f9408e14f1290303d8b23f093f0.jpgCincinnati Reds’ Eugenio Suarez hits a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday, July 23, 2019, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Cincinnati Reds’ Eugenio Suarez hits an RBI single during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday, July 23, 2019, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2019/07/web1_123243050-5b493be0d32746f69e0c1ab4c5173e9d.jpgCincinnati Reds’ Eugenio Suarez hits an RBI single during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday, July 23, 2019, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Today’s Game

Cincinnati Reds (46-53, fourth in the NL Central) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (53-50, third in the NL Central)

Milwaukee; Wednesday, 2 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Reds: Lucas Sims (1-0, 3.72 ERA) Brewers: Jhoulys Chacin (3-10, 5.67 ERA)

LINE: Brewers favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 10 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Christian Yelich is riding a 12-game hitting streak as Milwaukee readies to play Cincinnati.

The Brewers are 24-20 against NL Central teams. Milwaukee has hit 171 home runs this season, third in the majors. Yelich leads them with 35, averaging one every 10 at-bats.

The Reds are 22-26 in division games. The Cincinnati pitching staff has a team ERA of 3.92, Tanner Roark leads the staff with a mark of 3.95. The Reds won the last meeting 14-6. Roark notched his sixth victory and Eugenio Suarez went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBIs for Cincinnati. Zach Davies took his third loss for Milwaukee.

TOP PERFORMERS: Yelich leads the Brewers with 117 hits and is batting .335. Manny Pina is 4-for-10 with two home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Milwaukee.

Suarez leads the Reds with 27 home runs home runs and is slugging .533. Ryan Lavarnway is 5-for-13 with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Cincinnati.

LAST 10 GAMES: Brewers: 5-5, .265 batting average, 5.06 ERA, outscored opponents by six runs

Reds: 4-6, .296 batting average, 4.59 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs

Brewers Injuries: Brandon Woodruff: 10-day IL (oblique), Bobby Wahl: 60-day IL (knee), Brent Suter: 60-day IL (elbow), Jimmy Nelson: 10-day IL (elbow), Corey Knebel: 60-day IL (elbow), Corbin Burnes: 10-day IL (shoulder).

Reds Injuries: Alex Wood: 60-day IL (back), Tyler Mahle: 10-day IL (hamstring), David Hernandez: 10-day IL (shoulder), Derek Dietrich: day-to-day (knee), Kyle Farmer: 7-day IL (concussion), Curt Casali: 10-day IL (knee), Tucker Barnhart: 10-day IL (oblique).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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