CINCINNATI _ The Milwaukee Brewers' bullpen, which has done yeoman duty for the most part during the first two weeks of the season, had a day to forget.
The relief corps could not stop the bleeding Saturday afternoon at Great American Ball Park, allowing the Cincinnati Reds to come away with a 7-5 victory. It was the Brewers' first loss on the road in five games.
In many ways, the Brewers were fortunate to keep the score that close. The Reds accumulated 11 hits and five walks, keeping the pressure on throughout the game.
It turned out to be a short day for Reds starter Brandon Finnegan. He had trouble throwing strikes in the first inning, walking three batters to set up a two-run double to center by Hernan Perez with two outs.
Finnegan departed after that inning, yielding to right-hander Robert Stephenson. It was later announced the lefty departed with a strained left lat, a muscle behind the shoulder.
Brewers starter Zach Davies, who struggled badly with his control in his first two outings (10.61 ERA), paid for more mistakes in the second inning. Scott Schebler led off with a home run, winning an 11-pitch battle. Eugenio Suarez doubled and later scored on a triple by Zack Cozart, who then scored on a groundout.
Home runs by Thames in the third and Perez in the sixth allowed the Brewers to climb on top, 4-3. Perez had to wait on second base as umpires watched video reviews to see if his towering drive cleared the wall in left, which it did.
Davies had to battle to hold the Reds off the board after the second and did so, exiting with a 4-3 lead after five innings. But it didn't stay that way for long.
Normally reliable reliever Carlos Torres surrendered three runs in the sixth, a rally that began with an opposite-field triple by Suarez. The big blow was the first big-league hit by Jesse Winker _ an opposite-field blooper that took a bad hop past left fielder Ryan Braun for a two-run double.
Thames pulled the Brewers within a run with his second homer of the game in the seventh _ a monstrous blast to center off lefty Tony Cingrani. But the Reds came back with a run off Jared Hughes in the seventh, and it was a familiar face doing the damage.
Former Brewers second baseman Scooter Gennett, who singled in a run in the sixth, delivered again with an RBI double to make it a 7-5 game.
