• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Brewers-Reds Preview

Jul 5, 2015 - 4:12 PM The Milwaukee Brewers' outstanding surge at the plate has them on the verge of accomplishing something they've done only once in franchise history.

That certainly doesn't bode well for Mike Leake as he looks to recover from one of his worst outings.

The NL Central-worst Brewers will try to stay hot Sunday when they go after their eighth consecutive victory in the finale of a three-game road series against the reeling Cincinnati Reds.

Jean Segura had three hits and Adam Lind went 2 for 3 with his 13th home run as Milwaukee extended its run with Saturday's 7-3 victory. Gerardo Parra and Aramis Ramirez added two hits apiece.

Segura is 7 for 12 over his last three games, Lind is batting .395 with 14 RBIs over his past 14, Parra has gone 9 for 17 in his last four and Ramirez is 11 for 21 over his past seven.

"We had a lot of positive two-out at-bats (in a six-run fifth inning)," manager Craig Counsell told MLB's official website. "We had a lot of base hits, walks and everything."

Milwaukee has batted .363 and averaged 7.8 runs while going 6-0 on this road trip. The only time the Brewers swept a road swing of at least seven games was July 18-24, 2008 (7-0).

Resurgent Milwaukee (35-48) now hopes to close within two games of the fourth-place Reds by extending its longest winning streak since a nine-game run in April 2014.

Cincinnati starters have struggled with a 7.33 ERA over the past five games. The Reds will try to avoid their seventh loss in nine games and first home sweep at the hands of the Brewers since September 2011.

Leake (5-4, 4.38 ERA) certainly doesn't appear to have a soft landing spot as he tries to regroup after allowing seven runs and nine hits over season low-tying four innings in Monday's 11-7 home win over Minnesota.

The right-hander had been 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA over his previous five starts,

"There's nothing you can do about it. It happens so all you can do is move on," he said.

Leake has been inconsistent at home all season, posting a 6.11 ERA in eight starts there compared to 2.95 in eight on the road. He's 2-3 with a 4.61 ERA in nine career outings versus Milwaukee, going 0-1 with a 3.21 mark in two meetings at Great American Ballpark.

Lucroy went 9 for 14 with a home run versus Leake last season, while Carlos Gomez was 6 for 13. Gomez is day-to-day after leaving Saturday's game with a left wrist contusion after being hit by a pitch.

Taylor Jungmann (2-1, 2.79) is making the most of his opportunity in the Milwaukee rotation, allowing two earned runs or less in four of his five starts. He gave up three runs - two earned - over six innings but did not get a decision in Tuesday's 4-3 win at Philadelphia.

The rookie right-hander will get his first look at the Reds (36-43), who have totaled six runs in their last three games and have scored three or less in six of eight. Star slugger Joey Votto has gone 3 for 28 over his past eight games after going 1 for 5 Saturday.

Todd Frazier, however, matched a career high with four hits to snap a 5-for-31 slump over his previous seven games. Marlon Byrd and Ivan De Jesus each went 2 for 4 with a home run.