Milwaukee built its lead early and survived a furious Cincinnati comeback, winning 6-5 Wednesday night at Great American Ball Park. The Reds pulled within one in the eighth but could not complete the rally, dropping their second straight game while the Brewers extended their winning streak to three.
William Contreras was the engine of the Milwaukee offense. He finished 3-for-3 with a home run, 2 RBI and 2 walks — a two-run shot to center in the third inning that gave the Brewers a lead they never surrendered. Contreras, hitting .302 with 8 home runs and 48 RBI on the season, was the catalyst from the first swing that mattered. Jake Bauers added a solo homer to right center in the same inning, pushing the lead to 3-0. Andrew Vaughn then delivered a two-out double in the seventh that scored three runs, extending the advantage to 6-1 and effectively putting the game out of reach — or so it seemed.
The Reds chipped away. Blake Dunn's double in the sixth scored Noelvi Marte to make it 3-1. In the seventh, a Eugenio Suárez double brought Sal Stewart home. Then in the eighth, Arroyo scored on a Stewart groundout, and Spencer Steer followed with a two-run homer to center — his 13th of the year — cutting the deficit to 6-5. Cincinnati had 11 hits on the night but could not push across the tying run.
Rhett Lowder absorbed the loss, falling to 3-5. He allowed 3 runs on 8 hits over 5.2 innings, striking out 6, with a 4.81 ERA. Shane Drohan started for Milwaukee and worked 4.1 scoreless innings before giving way to the bullpen. Chad Patrick earned his fifth win, pitching 1.2 innings and allowing 1 run. Joel Kuhnel closed it out for his sixth save, navigating 1.1 innings despite allowing 2 walks.
Milwaukee improved to 48-29, the best record in the division, riding a three-game winning streak. Cincinnati fell to 37-41, sitting fifth in the division and now losers of two straight.