Brewers use six HRs to beat Reds
MILWAUKEE — Willy Adames hit two of Milwaukee’s six homers, and the Brewers beat the lowly Cincinnati Reds 10-5 on Thursday.
Luis Urías, Christian Yelich, Tyrone Taylor and Keston Hiura also connected as Milwaukee won for the eighth time in nine games. Yelich finished with three hits and scored three times, and Adames had four RBIs.
“I think he’s as locked in as any hitter in the league right now,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.
Brewers right-hander Adrian Houser (3-2) allowed five runs, four earned, and seven hits in five innings.
Cincinnati closed out a winless six-game trip with its ninth consecutive loss. The major league-worst Reds have dropped 20 of 21 overall.
Tyler Stephenson homered and drove in two runs, but Cincinnati was unable to overcome another shaky performance by hardthrowing rookie Hunter Greene (1-4).
Urías and Yelich connected against Greene in the first, and Rowdy Tellez’s RBI double tied it at 3. Adames capped Milwaukee’s three-run second with a two-run drive to left-center.
Taylor and Hiura went deep in the third before Greene was replaced by Luis Cessa.
The 22-year-old
Greene was tagged for eight runs and nine hits in 2 2/3 innings in his fourth consecutive loss. He struck out seven and walked one. Greene’s velocity jumped back up to 98 mph and he topped 100 once after his prodigious heat disappeared for two starts.
“Hunter maybe didn’t have his best secondary stuff today,” Reds manager David Bell said. “He had a good fastball and to his credit, he didn’t back down. He kept coming back after them.”
RETURN OF THE WALLBANGERS
Milwaukee hit just 14 home runs through its first 19 games this season but hit 20 during its six-game homestand against the Cubs and Reds and has 21 over it’s last seven games, trying a franchise record for home runs during a seven-game stretch set in 2002.
“Not bad for a team that can’t hit,” said Yelich, who has three during the recent stretch. “Guys are putting good swings on balls, putting in a lot of work and working hard.”
The Brewers’ 34 runs are the most they’ve ever scored in a three-game series against the Reds, surpassing the previous high of 29 set April 2426, 2017.
REDS’ ROAD WOES CONTINUE
The Reds saw their road losing streak reach 13 games, the franchise’s longest since dropping 19 straight road games in 1933.
Things haven’t much better in Cincinnati, either. The Reds are just 1-7 this season at Great American Ballpark, where they’ve also lost three straight.
Cleveland 6, Toronto 5
CLEVELAND (AP) — Steven Kwan hit the first homer of his breakout rookie season, Franmil Reyes had three hits and an RBI as Cleveland beat Toronto.
Kwan’s two-run shot off José Berríos tied it at 2 in the third, beginning a string of six straight runs by Cleveland. Reyes scored the go-ahead run on Amed Rosario’s grounder in the fourth.
Guardians righthander Aaron Civale (1-2) struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings, surrendering four runs on six hits. Emmanuel Clase worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save in six chances.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. belted a two-run homer in the first and Alejandro Kirk added a solo shot in the seventh for Toronto. Bo Bichette had three hits and Zack Collins’ two-run double in the sixth chased Civale.
Kirk’s leadoff homer off Nick Sandlin sliced Cleveland’s lead to 6-5, but the Blue Jays failed to push a runner into scoring position in the eighth against Bryan Shaw and did not reach base against Clase.
Berríos (2-1) allowed a season-high six runs in 4 2/3 innings, losing for the first time since Sept. 24, seven starts ago. The right-hander gave up eight hits and did not have a strikeout.
Kwan was named AL Rookie of the Month in April after batting .354 with 10 runs in 15 games. Reyes had three hits in the first five innings after entering with a .157 average.
Guardians third baseman José Ramírez, who leads the majors with 29 RBIs, singled in the seventh to snap an 0-for-11 slump.