CINCINNATI (AP) - After a long night at the ballpark followed by a full day under the sun, Lorenzo Cain just wanted the game to end.
With Milwaukee winning, of course.
Cain did his part, hitting a home run off the top of the left field fence in the 11th inning that lifted the Brewers over the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 Thursday.
NL batting leader Christian Yelich went 0 for 4 with a bases-loaded walk for Milwaukee. On Wednesday night, he went 6 for 6 and hit for the cycle as the Brewers outlasted Cincinnati 13-12 in 10 innings. That’s 21 innings in less than 24 hours.
“It’s been tough on the body, this series,” Cain said. “When I hit it, I knew it was a double for sure, but this is Cincinnati, so you never know.”
The playoff-contending Brewers totaled just six hits in their latest victory. Cain hit the first pitch from Austin Brice (2-3) that hit the wall and bounced over for his 10th home run.
“We got there a little different way today,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. “It was a polar opposite from yesterday. It was hard to tell we were playing by the same rules.”
Brice, recalled from Triple-A Louisville before the game, left with what Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman said was an irregular heartbeat.
“I’ve had some stuff go on,” Brice said. “I’ve had it checked out. It always comes up negative. It’s always like an electrolyte imbalance.”
“Last night I was told around 1 (a.m.) I’m coming up. I didn’t get much sleep driving here from Columbus. I was pretty jacked up in the moment. It kind of sped up on me. My blood pressure went out the roof. It was pretty crazy,” he said.
Milwaukee has homered in 22 straight games at Great American Ball Park streak. It’s the longest streak by any team at the stadium, including the Reds.
Joakim Soria (1-0) allowed a hit with two strikeouts in a scoreless 10th to get the win. Josh Hader pitched the 11th for his 11th save.
Milwaukee left-hander Wade Miley allowed two hits and a walk in six innings before the Reds broke through in the seventh on Phillip Ervin’s one-out single and Dilson Herrera’s two-out double into the left field corner. Ervin’s safe slide across the plate survived Milwaukee’s challenge.
Miley finished with a season-high 7 1/3 innings, allowing five hits with one walk and six strikeouts.
“We brought up a couple of guys, but our bullpen was still thin,” Miley said. “If knew if it was a tight game, I was going to be stretched out as much as possible.”
Cody Reed lasted 4 2/3 innings in his 12th appearance and second start of the season, his first start since April 9. The left-hander allowed one run on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts. He left after walking Yelich in the fifth with the bases loaded.
I knew after the walk to Yelich my day was over,” Reed said. “I got Yelich out twice, but I got a little too fine with him. It is something to build off of, for sure.”
CAREER HIGH
Cain singled in the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak to 12 games, a career high. He set his previous career high in 2015 for Kansas City.
BULLPEN BOOST
Needing bullpen help after two draining games, the Brewers recalled RHP Jacob Barnes and promoted RHP Aaron Brooks from Triple-A Colorado Springs before Thursday’s game. RHP Freddy Peralta and Taylor Williams were optioned to Colorado Springs and RHP Ariel Hernandez was designated for assignment.
WELCOME SIGHT
Reds first baseman Joey Votto went 0 for 5 in his first game since Aug. 15. He’d been on disabled list with a bruised right knee.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Brewers: LHP Dan Jennings limped off the field with his arms around two trainers after rolling his left ankle helping catch speedy Billy Hamilton in a rundown in the eighth.
Reds: 3B Eugenio Suarez was scratched from the original starting lineup with mid-back spasms, the Reds announced shortly before the scheduled first pitch.
UP NEXT
Brewers: Jhoulys Chacin (13-5) pitches at Washington on Friday. Milwaukee is 19-9 in his 28 starts.
Reds: Homer Bailey (1-12) is 1-10 in 11 career starts at Busch Stadium going into Friday’s series opener at St. Louis.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.