Brewers Bust Out the Brooms in Cincinnati

Game 1 -- Brewers 5, Reds 4
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Game one of the three game set started out with three scoreless frames from each side. Eric Lauer worked through the Reds lineup the first time through allowing just one single, and looked sharp, striking out four in the first three innings.

Hunter Renfroe got things going for the offense with two men on in the fourth for the Crew with his eleventh home run of the season. Willy Adames followed up with a solo shot in the fifth inning to give the Brewers a 4-0 lead. Lauer started getting into trouble in the bottom of the fifth, surrendering a two run home run to Albert Almora. In the sixth, Lauer gave up two more solo home runs that knotted the game at four.

But in the seventh, Keston Hiura provided the decisive shot.

With Hiura struggling against left handed pitching all season, his first home run against lefties came at an opportune time.  With the Brewers holding a 5-4 lead, Lauer got through one more out to finish his night at 6 1/3 innings before turning the ball over to Miguel Sanchez, who finished the seventh, Devin Williams worked the eighth scoreless, and Brad Boxberger came on in the ninth to work his first save.

Two of the first three men reached base before Boxberger induced a force groundout, to bring up pinch hitter Joey Votto . With the game on the line, Votto flew out to deep right center field, and the Brewers held on for the win. Lauer improves his record to 6-2 on the season, while Boxberger records his first save of the season.

Game 2 - Brewers 7, Reds 3
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Jason Alexander got his fifth start in place of injured Brandon Woodruff. While the peripheral stats look average at best and Alexander's strikeout rate is certainly pedestrian, the production and results have been a steady presence in the rotation while the Brewers wait for Woodruff's return.

The Brewers gave Alexander an early lead on a first inning RBI double by Rowdy Tellez. The Crew struck again in the third on a two run home run by Willy Adames, and an RBI double by Luis Urias. 

The Reds squeezed across an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Brewers got two more back in the sixth on a two-run double by Jace Peterson. In the bottom of the sixth, Alexander got into trouble, allowing four base hits and a pair of runs before being relieved by Miguel Sanchez to preserve the lead.

Renfroe tacked another run onto the board for the Brewers in the seventh with a solo home run, his second in as many days, and put the Brewers back up 7-3.

Trevor Kelly came on in the bottom of the frame and work 1 2/3 innings before giving the ball to Hoby Milner who finished the game out for the Crew. Milner didn't get credit for a save, but struck out two, giving up just a single and dropped his ERA for the season down to 2.20. Jason Alexander picks up the win, the first of the season and career for the 29 year old rookie, who is now 1-0.

Game 3 - Brewers 6, Reds 3
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Trying to complete the sweep, Craig Counsell handed the ball to Adrian Houser. Houser tossed a quality start today, going six innings and allowing three runs. He ran into trouble in the fourth inning, allowing all three runs in that frame. Houser recovered after that and tossed a scoreless fifth and sixth inning and handed the ball over to the pen. 

Houser was helped in the first by a nice grab by Andrew McCutchen, who turned back the clock a little bit to his gold glove days and took a run or two off the board from the Reds with this beautiful sliding grab.

The Brewers struck first, with an RBI double by Urias in the top of the fourth, followed by Victor Caratini's fifth big fly of the season. 

Of the twelve Brewers batsmen that have 100 or more plate appearances, Caratini is the only player with an OPS over .800 currently. One would wager that won't hold until the end of the season, but right now, he is providing a boost to the offense when he plays. 

The Reds tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, but as previously mentioned, Houser settled down and held the Reds bats in check for two more innings, completing six solid, if unspectacular innings of work. 

The Brewers took the lead back in the sixth on a sacrifice fly off the bat of utility call-up Mark Mathias, and put a few insurance runs on the board in the seventh when Renfroe knocked his third home run in three days with McCutchen on board to make the score 6-3 Brewers.

In the bottom of the frame, the Reds loaded the bases with two outs off of Kelly. With aging, but still feared slugger Votto coming up, the Brewers turned to Milner, who struck Votto out to end the threat. After that pivotal moment, Boxberger and WIlliams handled the last two innings with relative ease to complete the game and the sweep.

Houser got the win to go to 4-7, and Devin Williams picked up his 5th save. The shorthanded Brewers completed the sweep and with the Cardinals losing to the Red Sox, are now tied again for first in the NL Central. A pivotal series starts next in Milwaukee with the Brewers and Cards squaring off with first place on the line.