Garrett Mitchell capped a 4-for-4 game with a tiebreaking triple in the seventh inning, leading the host Milwaukee Brewers past the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 on Wednesday night.
The Brewers won their third straight game to open a four-game series.
Noelvi Marte homered for the Reds, who took their fourth loss in a row.
Mitchell’s two-out triple into the left-center-field gap gave the Brewers a 3-2 lead. The hit scored Andrew Vaughn, who had doubled. Mitchell then scored on a wild pitch from Brock Burke (3-4).
Milwaukee reliever Aaron Ashby (12-1) increased his major-league-leading win total as he tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Closer Trevor Megill pitched around a double in the ninth for his 12th save.
Brewers starter Shane Drohan gave up two runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings with a walk and seven strikeouts. He retired 11 in a row from the second to the fifth inning.
Reds starter Andrew Abbott allowed two runs and five hits in five innings with five walks and three strikeouts.
In the third inning, Cincinnati first baseman Spencer Speer made a pickup and flip with his glove to get Mitchell at the plate on a safety-squeeze bunt attempt by Cooper Pratt. Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy challenged the call, but the ruling was upheld.
Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz saved a run in the bottom of the second with a diving stop of William Contreras’ grounder up the middle. It came with runners on first and second and two out. The play wound up as an infield single, but De La Cruz’s stop forced Jackson Chourio, who was on second, to stop at third.
Abbott then struck out Jake Bauers with the bases loaded to end the inning.
Marte socked a two-run homer in the top of the second, his fifth of the season, to tie the game 2-2. The liner down the left field line snuck just inside the foul pole.
Milwaukee took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a run-scoring groundout by Contreras and a sacrifice fly by Bauers.
