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With tension mounting, Brewers try to end slide

Aug 5, 2008 - 1:15 PM Milwaukee (62-51) at Cincinnati (52-61) , 7:10 p.m. EDT

CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- The Milwaukee Brewers haven't played well of late and frustrations appear to be mounting.

The Brewers try to avoid a third straight loss Tuesday when they continue a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds.

Milwaukee has lost eight of its last 11 games, including a 6-3 setback in Monday's series opener in which starter Manny Parra and first baseman Prince Fielder got into an altercation in the dugout.

Parra and Fielder appeared to be arguing nondescriptly in the dugout - presumably over Joey Votto's two-run grounder that the pitcher thought his first baseman should have been able to field - when Fielder shoved Parra in the chest and hit him in the face.

After the game, Brewers manager Ned Yost downplayed the situation.

"It's not a big deal," Yost said. "For eight months of the year, we are a family, at times things flair up. But it is between the family and in the family."

Yost, who got in a fight last year on August 2 with then-Brewers catcher Johnny Estrada in the dugout, denied that there would be any sort of disciplinary action as a result of the fight.

"We handled it our own way; it wasn't a major deal," Yost said. "Believe what you want. It is an in-house thing. It's between our family. There is a privacy issue here somewhere and just because it is on TV does not make it anybody's right to know what happened."

One of the leading causes of the tension may be Milwaukee's inability to hit with runners in scoring position, getting only 10 hits over its last 100 at-bats with a runner on second or third.

Dave Bush (5-9, 4.69 ERA), who was recently named the Brewers' fifth starter for the remainder of the season over Seth McClung, takes the mound on Tuesday after posting an 0-1 record and 7.30 ERA in his last two starts.

Edinson Volzquez (13-4, 2.71) counters for the Reds, who are seeking back-to-back victories for the first time since July 22-23.