Justin Smoak had two hits during a six-run sixth inning, including a two-run single, and the Milwaukee Brewers avoided a three-game series sweep at the hands of the visiting Cincinnati Reds with a 9-3 win on Sunday.
After totaling four runs in losing the first two games of the series, the Brewers broke out to salvage a game in the weekend set. Smoak and Keston Hiura each had three hits as Milwaukee scored eight times over the sixth and seventh innings to record its first home victory of 2020.
Jesse Winker went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs for Cincinnati, which opened the scoring in the first inning. After walks to Nick Castellanos and Eugenio Suarez, Winker delivered an RBI single to left-center field for a 1-0 lead.
Milwaukee tied it in the bottom of the third via Christian Yelich’s two-out RBI triple into the right-field corner. Winker, though, came through again in the fourth with a solo homer deep into the right-center field seats to give the reds a 2-1 advantage.
The Brewers broke out by chasing Reds starter Sonny Gray in the sixth after Manny Pina’s RBI single tied the game at 2-2. Hiura followed with a go-ahead, run-scoring single — charged to Gray — off reliever Michael Lorenzen. Lorenzen then issued consecutive bases-loaded walks that gave Milwaukee a 5-2 edge. Smoak broke things open with his two-run single to make it 7-2.
Gray (3-1), who won his first three starts with an 0.96 ERA, allowed four runs, six hits, walked three and struck out seven over 5 1/3 innings.
Yelich and Hiura each hit solo homers in the seventh for Milwaukee, which overcame a sluggish outing from starter Brandon Woodruff. Like Gray, Woodruff was solid while posting a 2.08 ERA in his first three starts, but he lasted just four innings, giving up two runs, two walks and three hits while laboring through 91 pitches.
Brent Suter (2-0) picked up the win for Milwaukee with two innings of shutout relief.
–Field Level Media
