Reds bats emerged from a recent funk Monday against a Brewers team it previously hit hard only a week ago in Milwaukee. Cincinnati chased starting pitcher Jimmy Nelson early but held off a ninth-inning rally to get a 9-6 victory in the three-game series opener at Great American Ball Park.
The Reds sent nine men to the plate in a four-run bottom of the second inning and added three more runs in the third. A two-run home run by Jay Bruce kickstarted the rally against Nelson. Later with runners on first and second and one out, pitcher Jason Marquis chopped an RBI single off third baseman Aramis Ramirez’s glove to snap the Reds’ 0-for-23 streak with runners in scoring position. A bases-loaded walk to Zack Cozart forced home another run.
In the Reds’ third inning, which began with back-to-back walks, a Nelson wild pitch scored Todd Frazier. A one-out lined RBI single by Marlon Byrd scored Bruce, and Byrd later came home on a passed ball.
Marquis completed eight innings for the first time since May 8, 2013, for the Padres. He allowed two earned runs and seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Marquis also helped himself by inducing three ground-ball double plays. Jean Segura’s two-out RBI single scored Milwaukee’s first run in the third inning. Adam Lind added a two-out single that scored Gerardo Parra in the sixth.
“We didn’t do anything off Marquis. He threw the ball well,” Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. “We didn’t square up many balls against him. We didn’t start off well against him in his last outing, either. He kept the ball down. He had good movement. He threw a nice sinker. He knows how to change speeds.”
Struggling Reds reliever Burke Badenhop faced five batters in the top of the ninth, but retired only one while being charged with four runs. Aroldis Chapman entered in a non-save situation and let three inherited runners score. With the tying run at the plate, Chapman got the final two outs with the inning’s ninth batter, pinch-hitter Ryan Braun, striking out to end it. For the Reds, the win snapped the three-game losing streak that followed three straight wins last week at Miller Park. The Brewers’ league-worst record dropped to 4-16.
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