Brewers 9, Reds 1: Thames gets lots of company
This looked more like the Zach Davies, Hernán Pérez and Jonathan Villar of 2016, not those who scuffled through the first three weeks of the season.
That threesome took big steps forward Tuesday night at Miller Park, leading the way to a 9-1 romp over Cincinnati.
And, yes, the game was official. Eric Thames homered again, giving him at least one in all six games against the Reds this season for a total of eight. Overall, Thames has belted 11 home runs, most ever in April for the Brewers.
Davies entered the game with an 8.24 earned run average in his first four starts, mostly because his command wasn’t the same as a year ago. But the slightly built right-hander blanked the Reds for five innings, stranding a pair of runners three times by making pitches when necessary.
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BOX SCORE: Brewers 9, Reds 1
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Pérez entered the game batting .209, but only because he collected a single, double and home run the previous evening. This time he ripped two RBI triples and followed that with another home run. By the end of the night, Pérez was batting .261.
Villar, who was such a force atop the lineup last season, began the night hitting .176 with a .553 OPS and a whopping 33 strikeouts in 93 plate appearances. He came to life against the Reds with a pair of two-run singles, the first capping a three-run rally in the fourth and the second coming in the Brewers’ five-run sixth inning.
Thames, who had been quiet with a walk and two outs entering the sixth, put the finishing touch on the outburst with a two-run shot to right off reliever Robert Stephenson.
At that point, Thames had more home runs against the Reds than any other major-leaguer had, period. Enacting something of a mercy rule, manager Craig Counsell removed Thames for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning.
The Brewers are 5-1 against the Reds this and have scored 44 runs in those six games.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
* Ryan Braun fouled three pitches off his left foot in one at-bat Monday night, which he thought might be a record. He left that game with a bruised foot but was back in the lineup for the second game of the series, wearing extra padding on his lower leg and foot.
* They didn’t record an out in the fifth inning, but Villar and Pérez sparkled trying to stop Jose Peraza’s infield hit. Villar snared it up the middle and flipped behind his back to Pérez, who made a bare-hand catch and threw a one-hopper that Thames scooped at first but too late.
STAT SHEET
* Rightfielder Domingo Santana just can’t get going at the plate. He went 0 for 5 with three strikeouts and has one hit in 21 at-bats on the homestand, dropping his overall average to .169.
* Perez collected two triples in a game for the first time. It was the 22nd time in club history and the first time since Gerardo Parra did it on July 21, 2015, against Cleveland.
TAKEAWAY
The Brewers have been waiting for their slow starters to get going. Davies, Perez and Villar were in that group but took dramatic turns in the right direction. There are still some lagging behind, but if Davies, Perez and Villar keep it going, the Brewers’ fortunes will turn for the better.
RECORD
This year: 11-11 (5-8 home; 6-3 away)
Last year: 8-14
ATTENDANCE
Tuesday: 28,449
2017 total: 384,729 (29,595 avg.)
Last year: 364,195 (28,015 avg.)
NEXT GAME
Wednesday: Brewers vs. Reds, 12:40 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Wily Peralta (3-1, 4.71) vs. Cincinnati RHP Tim Adleman (0-0, 2.70). TV: MLB Network. Radio: AM-620.