Field Level Media
Jun 8, 2021
Avisail Garcia led off the fourth inning with a homer and added an RBI single in the seventh to lift the visiting Milwaukee Brewers to a 5-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday.
Milwaukee's Travis Shaw made a stellar defensive play at third base to end the sixth inning and added a two-run double in the ninth.
Adrian Houser (4-5) allowed one run on five hits in 5 1/3 innings for the Brewers, who have won five in a row and 10 of their past 11 games. Houser struck out four and walked three.
Shogo Akiyama had an RBI single in the second inning for the Reds, who saw their four-game winning streak come to a halt.
Cincinnati's Joey Votto went 0-for-2 with two walks in his return from the 10-day injury list. The 2010 National League MVP had been sidelined due to a broken left thumb since being hit by a pitch from Chicago White Sox left-hander Dallas Keuchel on May 5.
Reds right-hander Sonny Gray, however, exited the contest prior to the start of the fourth inning because of groin tightness. He tossed a few warmup pitches and was seen stretching out his right leg before appearing to grimace in pain between throws.
Cincinnati manager David Bell said Gray would undergo an MRI exam Wednesday morning. Gray struck out five while allowing two hits and no walks.
Gray was replaced by Sean Doolittle, who saw Garcia deposit his 1-0 fastball over the left field wall for his team-leading 12th homer of the season and sixth in the past 13 games.
Garcia's blast forged a tie at 1, and the Brewers seized the lead the following inning.
Ryan Hendrix (2-1) walked Luis Urias and Daniel Vogelbach, and his second wild pitch of the inning left runners on the corners. Urias came around to score after Christian Yelich grounded into a double play.
Brent Suter relieved Houser with one on and one out in the sixth. He struck out pinch hitter Tyler Stephenson before Shaw snagged Kyle Farmer's hard smash toward the third base line. Shaw then threw from his knees to first base, completing the inning-ending groundout.
Garcia's infield single with the bases loaded gave Milwaukee a 3-1 lead in the seventh inning.
Shaw tacked on insurance in the ninth inning by plating Tyrone Taylor and Omar Narvaez with a double to right-center field.
--Field Level Media