CINCINNATI _ It was bombs away at Great American Ball Park on Tuesday night.
Milwaukee came out on the wrong end of what was an impromptu home-run derby, however, with the Cincinnati Reds going deep four times off Junior Guerra in just four innings in handing the Brewers an 8-6 loss.
Manny Pina, Orlando Arcia and Travis Shaw all homered for Milwaukee, which came in having won six of seven against Cincinnati. But it wasn't enough to overcome Guerra's start, which easily ranked as the worst in his season-plus with the Brewers.
Much of the offense came early in this one, with the two teams combining for six homers and 10 runs in the first three innings.
Cincinnati tagged Guerra for a pair of round-trippers _ a leadoff shot by Billy Hamilton and a two-run shot by Adam Duvall _ and Devin Mesoraco added an RBI single in the bottom of the first to jump out to a quick 4-0 lead.
Pina and Arcia each hit solo blasts off Tim Adleman in the second to cut the Reds' lead in half, then Shaw hit a three-run shot out to right in the third that gave the Brewers their first lead at 5-4. It was Shaw's 16th homer of the season.
Ryan Braun, playing in his first game since May 25, contributed to the rally with a one-out double to right-center. He and Jonathan Villar were both reinstated from the disabled list prior to the game.
Not to be outdone, Eugenio Suarez went deep off Guerra in the bottom of the third and tied it at 5-5. Joey Votto's two-run shot to right-center in the fifth put the Reds back in front to stay at 7-5, and two batters later Guerra hit the showers.
A Mesoraco sacrifice fly against Carlos Torres then upped the Cincinnati lead to 8-5.
Guerra (1-2) has now surrendered 11 homers in eight starts compared to 10 in 20 starts in 2016. In four innings (76 pitches), he allowed eight hits, eight runs (earned) and three walks while striking out a pair.
The Brewers trimmed the deficit to 8-6 in the sixth after Keon Broxton reached on an infield single, stole second and scored on an Arcia single.
Their last big opportunity came in the eighth when they loaded the bases with two outs against Michael Lorenzen. But Stephen Vogt, pinch-hitting in his first game with the Brewers, popped out to shallow right field to end the threat.
The two teams fell three homers shy of tying the single-game record at Great American Ball Park, which was accomplished by Pittsburgh (six) and Cincinnati (four) on April 14, 2014.
