CINCINNATI _ The Milwaukee Brewers broke out the big lumber in making up for two games' worth of frustration on Thursday night.
With Ryan Braun's home run three batters in setting the tone, they went deep a season-high six times in all in steamrolling over the Cincinnati Reds, 11-3, at Great American Ball Park.
Jonathan Villar hit a pair in his first start back from the disabled list, Jesus Aguilar hit a three-run shot and Manny Pina and Domingo Santana each added round-trippers as well as Milwaukee avoided a series sweep.
Staked to a 2-0 lead after two and ahead by 10 runs entering the fourth, Jimmy Nelson was able to pitch largely without pressure and mostly cruised through seven innings before hitting the showers with a career-high-tying 11 strikeouts to his credit.
Braun kicked off the scoring by banging a two-out homer off the foul pole in left field in the first. It was the second homer in as many nights for Braun and his 24th career round-tripper at Great American Ball Park, the most ever by a visiting player.
Pina matched Braun with a solo shot to right-center in the second, then Jonathan Villar hit one to nearly the same spot to lead off the third. One batter later, Homer Bailey plunked Santana, leading home-plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth to speak briefly to the right-hander.
Bailey went on to record the next two outs before the Brewers got to him again. With Santana still on first, Aguilar _ starting in place of the slumping Eric Thames _ doubled to right drive in Santana and make it 4-0.
Reds manager Bryan Price challenged, believing the ball had become wedged between the padding on the wall and the ground, and was ejected for arguing after the umpires had confirmed the ball was in play.
Hernan Perez followed with a single to center, with Aguilar scoring after Devin Mesoraco couldn't handle the throw home from Billy Hamilton in center. Then after Perez stole third, Pina bounced a single to left that upped Milwaukee's advantage to 6-0.
Bailey was pulled after the third and replaced by Kevin Shackelford, who was making his major-league debut against the team that traded him to Cincinnati in 2015 as part of the Jonathan Broxton deal.
He was greeted by Villar's second homer of the night, and after Braun and Travis Shaw singled Aguilar crushed a three-run shot to straightaway center that gave the Brewers a double-digit lead at 10-0.
The first hit Nelson surrendered was _ what else? _ a homer, with Votto hitting his 22nd of the season out to right in the bottom of the fourth to break up the shutout.
Votto led off the Reds' seventh with his second homer, a shot that was also just the second hit for Cincinnati. Adam Duvall followed with a double, but Nelson (6-4) retired the next three batters _ including two via strikeout _ to finish his night.
Santana led off the eighth by homering to center to give the Brewers their sixth six-homer game in franchise history and first since Sept. 9, 2007. That one also occurred at Great American Ball Park, with Braun and Rickie Weeks each hitting a pair and J.J. Hardy and Johnny Estrada also going deep.
