Brewers snap losing streak with 8-3 win over Cincinnati

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MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Brewers ended a three-game losing streak with an 8-3 home victory over Cincinnati last night.

The Brew Crew jumped out to a 6-nothing lead after four innings and never looked back. All their runs came with two outs. Jonathan Lucroy put Milwaukee on the board in the first inning with a two-run single. Aramis Ramirez put the game away in the fourth with a three-run triple. Cesar Izturis hit his first homer in almost two years for the Brewers, who improved their home record to 7-7. The victory moved Milwaukee out of last place in the National League Central, where they were tied with the Chicago Cubs after a loss on Monday night.

The Brewers were helped by two spectacular back-to-back defensive plays in the second. Nyjer Morgan robbed Scott Rolen of a homer with an over-the-wall catch in center. And then Travis Ishikawa snatched a foul pop-up in the second row of the stands along the first base line. Yovani Gallardo got the win, ending a personal two-game losing streak. He struck out eight in six innings, giving up two runs on four hits. And he helped his own cause at the plate with an RBI-single. Homer Bailey lasted just three-and-two-thirds innings and gave up six runs. He took the loss, falling to 1-3. Jay Bruce hit a two-run shot for Cincinnati, and Scott Rolen hit an RBI-double – the 506th two-bagger of his career, tying him with Babe Ruth for 48th on the all-time list.

The Reds ended a two-game winning streak. Milwaukee has now won 54 straight games when leading after seven innings. The Brewers and Reds will wrap up their series this afternoon at Miller Park. Right-hander Zack Greinke faces Reds’ right-hander Johnny Cueto.

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Brewers’ owner Mark Attanasio says his general manager and field manager both provide strong, steady leadership in good times and bad. And that’s why he gave them contract extensions yesterday. G-M Doug Melvin was given a three-year extension through 2015, plus a promotion with a new title of President of Baseball Operations. Manager Ron Roenicke was given a two-year extension through 2014, with a club option for ’15. Melvin has been with the Brewers for almost a decade. When he arrived, he said his goal was to have a team more popular than the sausage races. But he’s done a lot more than that, landing trades that brought Cy Young winners C-C Sabathia and Zack Greinke to Milwaukee during key stretch drives, while signing and keeping home-grown talent like league M-V-P Ryan Braun and All-Stars Corey Hart and Rickie Weeks. Roenicke – in his first year as a manager – led the Brewers to their first division title in 29 years and got them to within two wins of a World Series. Attanasio said people forget that the Brewers only won 56 games before Melvin arrived – and Roenicke won the most games in a season in Brewers’ history, with 96 a year ago.

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