Just call Eric Thames Mr. April, or if you're the Reds, pitch around him

Maybe, finally, the Cincinnati Reds have learned.

After watching Eric Thames torch them again Wednesday afternoon with a two-run home run in the third inning – a shot that would decide the game in favor of the Milwaukee Brewers – manager Bryan Price made the call.

With two on, two outs, first base open and Thames due up in the fourth inning, Price intentionally walked the Brewers' slugging first baseman to instead face Christian Yelich.

Granted, it was Yelich's first game back since being reinstated from the disabled list. But Yelich is one of the better young hitters in the National League, and Price chose to load the bases to face him rather than give Thames another shot against youngster Tyler Mahle.

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The decision paid off for Price and the Reds as Yelich struck out. But the Brewers still had the last laugh as for the second straight game they rode Thames's homer to a 2-0 victory to take the series.

"They’re walking him to face Yelich with the bases loaded," manager Craig Counsell  said, somewhat incredulously. "That’s Eric Thames against the Reds. That’s what that means, how good he’s been.

"It’s incredible."

The Brewers travel to Cincinnati for a three-game series starting April 30 and you couldn't blame Thames if he wants to get down to Great American Ball Park much earlier.

With his homers Tuesday and Wednesday, he has gone deep against the Reds in 12 of 19 games since the start of last season. Only Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees has hit as many homers against a single opponent over the span, with the Baltimore Orioles serving as the subjects of his torment.

"We wonder why they pitch to him in the first place," said reliever Jacob Barnes, who closed out Wednesday's game with a two-inning save. "We’re like, ‘Wait, you haven’t learned the first (12) times?

"I don’t know what it is, but he’s figured them out, and we enjoy seeing it because he produces runs. That’s what we like."

Thames also has upped his April homer total to 18 over the past two seasons, most in the major leagues and one ahead of Washington's Bryce Harper. He was the story in the major leagues a year ago at this time, and then rode a wave of inconsistency from May on en route to a 31-homer season.

"I'm not getting too caught up in all that stuff," Thames said when asked about his continued success against Cincinnati and in the month of April. Thames has 12 hits so far – he's hitting .231 overall – and seven have gone for homers.

"Just trying to have a good at-bat, quality ABs. I just got a pitch to hit and I didn't miss it."

One thing is for sure, and that's Counsell and the Brewers hope some of Thames's current long-ball magic rubs off on the rest of an offense that's been stuck in neutral for much of the season.

Injuries to key cogs Yelich, Lorenzo Cain and now Ryan Braun certainly haven't helped. The Brewers showed some signs of life on Wednesday with eight hits overall and action on the bases in the early going, but they left nine runners on and finished 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position.

After beating the Reds, Milwaukee ranked fifth in the National League in hitting with a collective .239 average but 10th in on-base percentage, 11th in OPS and 12th in runs.

"It’s only April 18 and we have quite a way to go here," Counsell said. "We’re still looking to find a groove offensively, but he’s certainly covered us. It’s certainly similar to what happened last year. He got us through and then some other guys started picking up the place. Hopefully, we keep going that way."

As deserving of mention as Thames after Wednesday's victory was Milwaukee's pitching staff, with Zach Davies, Dan Jennings and Barnes combining to shut Cincinnati out on three hits for the second consecutive game after allowing 10 runs in the opener.

Davies (1-2) went a season-high 6 ⅓ innings, making arguably the best of his four starts, and might have gone even deeper had Jonathan Villar not booted a routine ground ball that put two on with one out for the left-handed Jesse Winker.

Jennings entered at that point and got Winker to ground into a 6-4-3 double play.

"We pitched outstanding," said Counsell. "I thought Zach was really good today. He recognized some things they were trying to do so he pitched accordingly; he pitched in a lot, threw his fastball a bunch.

"It was a nice, well-executed game for him."

Until the offense can break out of this cycle of playing close game after close game, it's going to be incumbent on the pitching staff to continue to do solid work to help keep the 10-9 Brewers afloat along with Thames and his homer binges.

"We’re in close-game mode," Counsell said. "It’s been close-game mode quite frequently; the wins have certainly all been close games. We’ll get the offense. Those guys are going to get going.

"We’ve got a lot of good hitters so I’m confident that we’re going to get something going here."