CINCINNATI _ This was not the way the Milwaukee Brewers wanted to begin the second half of the season.
Up by two runs in the sixth inning, the Brewers were unable to stop the last-place Cincinnati Reds from coming from behind to take a 5-4 victory Friday night at Great American Ball Park.
The Brewers appeared in good shape when starter Matt Garza took a 3-1 lead to the bottom of the sixth inning. But before that frame was done, the Reds had gone on top, 4-3, and they hung on for a one-run victory.
Down by two entering the ninth, the Brewers had a chance to at least extend play when pinch-hitter Hernan Perez singled in a run and they loaded the bases with one down. But Scooter Gennett and Ryan Braun both popped out and the Reds escaped with the win.
The Brewers struck quickly in the first inning for a run off Reds right-hander Anthony DeSclafani. Jonathan Villar led off with an opposite-field single to left and motored to third with one down on Braun's hit-and-run single to right.
Jonathan Lucroy, fresh off his 1-for-1 appearance in the All-Star Game, punched a single to right field to send home Villar for a 1-0 lead.
The Brewers came close to padding their lead when Chris Carter sent a one-out drive to deep right in the fourth inning. But Bruce ranged back and leaped against the wall, hauling in the ball at the top of the barrier.
The speed of Billy Hamilton allowed the Reds to pull even in the bottom of the inning. Hamilton led off with an infield hit and moved to second as Villar robbed Joey Votto of a hit on a sharp grounder up the middle.
After Bruce walked, Adam Duvall hit a grounder to third baseman Will Middlebrooks, who tried to initiate an around-the-horn double play. Hamilton never stopped running around third base and when Gennett's throw to first was late and to the outfield side of the bag, Hamilton easily beat Carter's throw home to score.
The Brewers came right back with a run in the fifth to go back on top, benefitting from a lucky bounce. Ramon Flores (one-out single) was on second with two down when Villar hit a slow bouncer down the first-base line. Votto did not step forward to field it and the ball struck the bag and caromed over his glove for what became an RBI single.
Gennett boosted the Brewers' lead to 3-1 in the sixth when he led off with a home run to right, his eighth of the season. But things went sour in the bottom of the inning as Cincinnati rallied for three runs to take the lead.
With one down, Votto singled to left and Bruce worked Garza for a nine-pitch walk after falling behind in the count, 0-2. Duvall sent a towering drive to left that bounded off the yellow stripe atop the wall and back on the field for an RBI double.
The Reds requested an umpire's review to see if the ball went out but it did not and the call stood, making it a one-run game. That was all for Garza, who was replaced by Carlos Torres.
The Brewers had a chance to escape with the lead after Brandon Phillips struck out but Eugenio Suarez drew a walk to load the bases. Tucker Barnhart then slapped a pitch just inside the left-field line for a two-run double that gave Cincinnati a 4-3 lead.
The Reds boosted their margin to 5-3 in the seventh when Blaine Boyer surrendered a two-out, run-scoring double to long-time Brewers tormentor Bruce.
