MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds broke open a scoreless game in the 10th inning without the benefit of a hit and held on to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Brett Anderson worked seven innings of one-hit ball for Milwaukee and combined with three relievers on a two-hitter, but it all fell apart for Brad Boxberger (2-2) in the 10th.
Boxberger hit Tyler Stephenson with a pitch and walked Joey Votto to load the bases. Then he hit Eugenio Suárez with a pitch to score Nick Castellanos, who started the inning at second base. Stephenson scored on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Farmer.
Boxberger “just didn’t have a feel for his changeup,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “It wasn’t like crisp to the first couple hitters, really, and they got two guys on base.”
Cincinnati, which has won five straight and 10 of 12, also was outstanding on the mound. Luis Castillo allowed three hits in seven scoreless innings, and four relievers completed the four-hitter. Lucas Sims (4-1) pitched a scoreless ninth and Amir Garrett got the final out for his third save.
The Brewers' Daniel Robertson had a two-out RBI single in the 10th off Heath Hembree.
“I just feel like tonight we did what it took to grind out a win,” Reds manager David Bell said. “It wasn’t easy.”
The teams combined to strike out 27 times on the day Major League Baseball said it would crack down on pitchers using illegal foreign substances to improve their grip and throw pitches with more spin. Neither team got a runner past second base until the sixth inning.
Castillo came in with the most losses (nine) and highest ERA (6.47) among major league starters but had little trouble with a Brewers lineup that entered Tuesday with the lowest batting average and most strikeouts in the NL. He struck out seven and walked three.
Anderson hasn't won since April 17. He struck out nine and walked one.
“Incredible,” Castillo said through a translator. “When two starters are going at each other, battling it out, you hardly ever see it that much anymore.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reds: Sent 3B Mike Moustakas (right heel contusion) to Triple-A Louisville on a rehabilitation assignment. He was placed on the 10-day injured list on May 20.
Brewers: Counsell said LHP Angel Perdomo (lower back strain), who went on the 10-day IL on May 30, will be sent to Triple-A Nashville when the team departs for a series against Colorado that starts Thursday. Counsell said he expects 2B Kolten Wong (strained left oblique), who went on the 10-day IL on June 4, to be activated during that series. ... Entering Tuesday, Milwaukee had used 46 players this season, second in the majors to Seattle’s 51.
FOREIGN SUBSTANCES
“If you follow the rules, you don't have to worry about anything.” — Milwaukee right-hander Freddy Peralta on MLB's new enforcement of the foreign-substance rules.
UNRETRACTABLE ROOF
On June 15, 1944, a storm ripped off a 120-foot section of the grandstand roof at Milwaukee’s Borchert Field, injuring at least 31 people attending a game between the Brewers and the Columbus Red Birds, according to a Milwaukee Sentinel report at the time. The teams were part of the American Association minor league. The major league Brewers began playing in Milwaukee in 1970.
SNAPPY DEFENSE
Brewers SS Willy Adames, acquired from Tampa Bay in a trade on May 21, went deep in the hole between shortstop and third to backhand a grounder, leaped and threw against his body to Daniel Vogelbach, who scooped the throw out of the dirt to retire Suárez and end the second.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati RHP Tyler Mahle (6-2, 3.56 ERA) faces Peralta (6-1, 2.25 ERA) on Wednesday as the Reds seek a three-game sweep. Mahle has won each of his previous four starts, while Peralta has given up one run in each of his past three.
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