Reds 11, Brewers 10: Offense finally explodes, but it's not enough

The Milwaukee Brewers’ slumbering offense finally got its wake-up call Friday night.

Unfortunately, the Cincinnati Reds' offense already had done too much damage.

Down, 10-2, entering the sixth inning at Miller Park, the Brewers exploded for seven runs to get back in the game. They could not pull off an improbable comeback, however, falling to the Reds, 11-10, to drop their sixth game in a row.

It's the second six-game losing streak since the all-star break for the Brewers, who are 9-18 over that stretch. They fell back to .500 (59-59) and into a third-place tie with Pittsburgh in the NL Central.

Exactly four weeks earlier, the Brewers began the second half with a 50-41 record and 5 ½-game lead in the division.

Down by two runs entering the bottom of the ninth, the Brewers pulled with one on Jonathan Villar's one-out homer off Raisel Iglesias but it stopped there. 

The seven runs the Brewers scored in the sixth were more than they tallied in an entire game since beating Washington, 8-0, on July 25. They sent seven batters to the plate before making an out, including five in a row against reliever Blake Wood before he was removed.

RELATED: A loss is a loss but explosion might allow Brewers to finally exhale

NOTES: Counsell said players' meeting provided more communication

BOX SCORE: Reds 11, Brewers 10

MLB: Live scoreboard, box scores, standings, schedules

The big blow of the inning was a three-run homer by Eric Thames, who turns into Babe Ruth every time he faces Cincinnati. In 10 games against the Reds this season, Thames has slugged nine homers and driven in 16 runs.

The outburst would have been more dramatic had the Reds not scored 10 runs against Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson before the fourth inning was done.

On paper, the pitching matchup appeared to decidedly favor the Brewers. Nelson was 9-5 with a 3.24 ERA and 158 strikeouts in 141 2/3 innings, including a 2.71 ERA over his previous 18 outings.

Cincinnati starter Homer Bailey checked into the team hotel with a 3-6 record and 8.86 ERA in nine games in his return from three elbow surgeries and seemingly endless months on the DL. In his previous outing against St. Louis, Bailey was pummeled for 10 hits and 10 runs in 3 1/3 innings.

But it was Nelson who was roughed up this time around, though much of the damage probably felt like death from a thousand paper cuts. The Reds collected one soft hit after another in the third inning, scoring six runs with two outs.

It began with a two-run single that former Brewers second baseman Scooter Gennett dumped into shallow right. Eugenio Suarez punched a RBI single to center and Jesse Winker sliced an opposite-field, two-run double just inside the left-field line.

When second baseman Jonathan Villar muffed Tucker Barnhart’s infield hit for his second error of the inning, Winker scored all the way from second to make it 7-2. Three more runs in the fourth chased Nelson, whose ERA rose to 3.72.

Nelson’s outing came on the heels of a poor showing the previous evening by Zach Davies, who surrendered a career-high 11 hits and seven runs. So, in consecutive games, the Brewers’ top two starters were tagged for 22 hits and 17 runs (16 earned) in 9 1/3 innings.

Bailey reminded no one of Max Scherzer but did make it through five innings, allowing five hits and five walks but only two runs, those coming on Manny Piña’s homer in the second.

BEHIND THE BOX SCORE

» After tinkering with different lineups in an attempt to awaken his slumbering offense, manager Craig Counsell went back to an oldie with Villar leading off and Thames batting second.

“These are the guys that have to do it,” Counsell said. “I’d put Eric in that category, too. We’ve got to get these guys on base to get the lineup clicking and working on all cylinders.”

» Catcher Stephen Vogt (sprained left knee) made his first minor-league rehab appearance as the DH for Class A Wisconsin and went 0 for 4 with a strikeout. The plan is for Vogt to catch part of the game there Saturday and DH again Sunday before moving on to Class AAA Colorado for a few games.

If all goes well, Vogt will join the Brewers next weekend in Colorado.

STAT SHEET

» Thames’ nine home runs against Cincinnati are the most any hitter in the majors has against one team this season.

» Ryan Braun has strung together six consecutive games with multiple hits.

TAKEAWAY

The Brewers have been waiting for weeks to get their offense going and it finally happened in the seven-run sixth inning. Unfortunately, the Reds had built a 10-2 lead before that outburst and it went for naught. So, the losing continues. 

RECORD

This year: 59-59 (31-30 home; 28-29 away)

Last year: 52-66

ATTENDANCE

Friday: 34,517

2017 total: 1,870,567 (30,665 avg.)

Last year: 1,768,207 (28,987 avg.)

NEXT GAME

Saturday: Brewers vs. Reds, 6:10 p.m. Milwaukee LHP Brent Suter (2-2, 3.31) vs. Cincinnati RHP Scott Feldman (7-7, 4.34). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.