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.
“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.”
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