• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Brewers hold off Reds

Jul 8, 2011 - 3:53 AM Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - Rickie Weeks hit a three-run homer and the Milwaukee Brewers survived John Axford's shaky ninth to beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4, in the opener of a four-game series between the National League Central foes.

Chris Narveson (6-5) was solid through six innings, scattering seven hits and two runs to pick up the win, Milwaukee's second straight.

"He spotted his fastball a lot better. His changeup was good and he kept it down in the zone," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said of his starter.

Axford gave up solo home run in the ninth to Ramon Hernandez, but retired All- Star second baseman Brandon Phillips with runners at the corners to end the game.

Homer Bailey (3-4) was touched for five runs on eight hits in his six-inning start for the Reds, who needed 13 innings to beat the Cardinals in St. Louis on Wednesday.

Cincinnati was trying to win back-to-back games for the first time since mid- June, and got within a run on Hernandez's blast in the ninth.

It was the first home run allowed by Axford since the season opener -- a game- winning three-run shot by Hernandez. Axford walked Drew Stubbs with one out, but a pitch-out helped Jonathan Lucroy nab Stubbs trying to steal second.

"The bench called a pitch-out. When they call that, it's pretty much 100- percent sure they're going to run," Lucroy said.

Miguel Cairo kept the inning alive with a broken-bat bloop that trickled off the top of Weeks' glove, and Joey Votto's single put runners on first and third.

Axford, though, avoided another letdown against the Reds and notched his 23rd save of the season by getting Phillips on a bouncer back to the mound.

Yuniesky Betancourt's sacrifice fly scored Prince Fielder in the second inning. Both starters hit one-out doubles in the third, but only Bailey came in to score, doing so on a Cairo single to tie things.

Narveson was stranded at third, then gave up an RBI single to Hernandez in the fourth. Zack Cozart, recalled from Triple-A Louisville before the game, recorded his first major-league hit prior to the gapper to right and scored all the way from first.

"I'm happy to get that first hit out of the way," Cozart said. "It's pretty cool just to be here."

But the Brewers took the lead on a laser from Weeks in the fifth. Lucroy began the inning with a single before Narveson worked a four-pitch walk. Bailey's next offering ended up in the field of play, but only after Weeks' line drive caromed off the backdrop beyond the wall in left-center.

Mark Kotsay added a run-scoring single after Weeks' 16th home run of the season for a 5-2 cushion.

The Reds put runners on the corners with no outs in the eighth, but LaTroy Hawkins limited the damage to Jay Bruce's run-scoring groundout.

Game Notes

Bringing up Cozart was one of four transactions by the Reds on Thursday. They sent starting pitcher Edinson Volquez back to Triple-A and demoted shortstop Paul Janish as well. Relief pitcher Carlos Fisher was also recalled from Louisville...Cincinnati went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine.