Rookie Jackson Chourio hit a tiebreaking solo homer with one out in the ninth inning, Devin Williams escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom half and the surging Milwaukee Brewers hung on for a 5-4 victory over the host Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night.
The Brewers won their fifth straight game and improved to 15-6 over their past 21 road contests. Milwaukee has won 13 of 17 overall and leads the National League Central by 10 games.
Chourio fouled off three pitches from Justin Wilson (1-4) before capping an eight-pitch at-bat with his 17th homer. He regained the lead for the Brewers by lifting a full-count fastball into the right field seats.
Chourio had three hits and reached base four times after sitting out the second game of Friday’s doubleheader with a tweaked ankle.
Williams struggled before getting his eighth save. He issued two walks and hit TJ Friedl in the leg to load the bases but finished it when first baseman Jake Bauers made a diving stop on Ty France’s grounder.
Willy Adames accounted for Milwaukee’s first four runs by hitting a three-run homer in the third and scoring on a groundout by Garrett Mitchell in the sixth.
Spencer Steer hit a two-run single and Amed Rosario blasted a two-run homer off Frankie Montas in the sixth to tie it at 4-4 before the Reds lost for the 12th time in 16 games.
Montas allowed four runs on seven hits in six innings. The right-hander walked three and struck out four in his first career start against Cincinnati, which dealt him to the Brewers at the trade deadline.
Aaron Ashby (1-2) struck out three in two scoreless innings in relief before Chourio’s decisive homer.
Reds opener Fernando Cruz went the first two innings before Buck Farmer allowed Adames’ home run in the third that made it 3-0.
Tony Santillan fanned Adames with two on to end the seventh and whiffed Joey Ortiz with a runner on second to end the eighth.
–Field Level Media
