Brewers 1, Reds 0
Matt Garza fired a two-hitter while Aramis Ramirez had two hits and drove in the game’s only run with a first-inning single as visiting Milwaukee halted its recent struggles against Cincinnati.
Garza (6-5) rebounded from one of his worst efforts of the season in his last time out with his fourth career shutout, allowing only two walks while tying a season with nine strikeouts. Jonathan Lucroy tallied one of the Brewers’ four doubles and scored the only run as the Brewers snapped a four-game skid and won for only the seventh time in their last 24 contests in Cincinnati.
Homer Bailey (8-5) struck out eight but fell short in his quest in becoming the first Red pitcher since Johnny Cueto in 2012 to win six straight home starts, taking the hard-luck loss despite permitting only one run on seven hits and four walks over eight frames. Brandon Phillips and Zack Cozart were the only Cincinnati players to record a hit.
Milwaukee jumped ahead with two outs in the first as Lucroy doubled and Carlos Gomez walked ahead of Ramirez, who grounded past third to plate Lucroy. Garza retired the first 12 batters he faced before giving up a single to open the fifth to Phillips, but the Reds’ cleanup hitter was quickly erased when Jay Bruce lined into a double play.
Garza continued to handcuff Cincinnati’s hitters, yielding only a one-out double to Cozart in the sixth, a two-out walk to Phillips in the seventh and a one-out walk to Skip Schumaker in the eighth. The right-hander retired the final five batters he faced en route to polishing off his first shutout since 2010.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Brewers RF Ryan Braun, who complained of back pain during batting practice on Saturday, left the game in the bottom of the second with back spasms and is considered day-to-day. … Bruce went 0-for-3 and is in the midst of a career-worst 0-for-23 slide. … Milwaukee LF Khris Davis (shoulder) returned from a two-game absence and went 1-for-3 with a walk.