Brewers 6, Reds 4
CINCINNATI -- Khris Davis hit a pair of two-run homers and Scooter Gennett added a solo shot, lifting the Milwaukee Brewers to a 6-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night at Great American Ball Park.
Brandon Phillips hit his 16th home run of the season for Cincinnati.
Jim Henderson struck out Joey Votto with the tying run on base in the ninth to seal his 20th save. Rob Wooten (2-0) was the winner.
Davis put the Brewers ahead 3-2 with a two-run homer on a 2-2 pitch from Reds starter Homer Bailey in the sixth.
Phillips tied the score in the bottom of the sixth with a 408-foot solo blast to center field.
But Davis launched the first pitch from right-hander Alfredo Simon for a two-run homer in the eighth, making the score 5-3. It was the first multi-homer game of Davis' career.
Moments later, Gennett homered on a 1-0 pitch from Simon. The home run, confirmed by replay, put Milwaukee ahead 6-3.
Simon (5-4) took the loss, allowing three runs and three hits, including two home runs, in two-thirds of an inning.
Bailey allowed three earned runs and six hits, walked two and struck out five in six innings.
Yovani Gallardo allowed three runs (two earned) through six innings for Milwaukee.
Reds right-hander Nick Christiani pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in his major league debut.
Milwaukee took a 1-0 lead in the third when Gennett singled, was sacrificed to second and then scored on Nori Aoki's RBI single.
In his last start against Cincinnati, Gallardo allowed just three hits through 6 1/3 innings in a 2-0 Brewers win on Aug. 17 at Miller Park. But he ran into trouble in the fourth inning on Friday.
With runners on first and second with two outs, Zack Cozart fouled off five pitches during a nine-pitch at-bat before lining an RBI single to center. A second run scored on the play when Carlos Gomez bobbled the ball in center. That gave the Reds a 2-1 lead.
NOTES: Brewers manager Ron Roenicke was satisfied with Ryan Braun's statement released Thursday in which he expressed regret for using performance-enhancing drugs. "I think he explained himself, certainly enough for me," Roenicke said. "There are probably some things he still can't say. This is a nice young man that messed up. He's got a long road ahead of him. He needs to heal some relationships." ... Gomez was in the lineup for the first time since Aug. 15, when he sprained his right knee making a leaping grab against Cincinnati at Miller Park. ... Reds RHP Jonathan Broxton had season-ending surgery on Friday morning to repair a flexor mass strain in his right forearm. "It's a silver lining that it wasn't the ligament or in the joint," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "It could've been a lot worse." Broxton is expected to miss six months. ... Reds LHP Tony Cingrani experienced some discomfort during his bullpen session on Friday and he might miss Sunday's scheduled start. Cingrani left Tuesday's game in the fourth inning with a lower back strain.
