Rhys Hoskins snapped a scoreless tie with a two-out homer in the eighth inning to lift Milwaukee to a 1-0 victory over the visiting Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night, extending the Brewers’ winning streak to five.
Held to just one hit through seven innings by Reds starter Nick Martinez, Hoskins sent an 0-1 fastball from Tony Santillan (0-1) 405 feet to left for his 20th homer.
Brewers starter Tobias Myers was almost as effective as Martinez, allowing three hits without a run before departing with one out in the eighth and one aboard.
Joel Payamps (2-5) got the final two outs in the eighth and Devin Williams struck out the side in the ninth for his first save of the season. Williams, the reigning National League Reliever of the Year, was making his fourth appearance after missing the first 104 games with a back injury.
Martinez, making consecutive starts for the first time since late April, retired the first 11 batters before Gary Sanchez blooped a single into shallow center with two outs in the fourth.
The only other baserunner allowed by Martinez was Sanchez, who was hit by a pitch with one out in the seventh, but pinch runner Blake Perkins was thrown out trying to steal second.
Martinez, who has shuttled between the bullpen and rotation, was making his seventh start, compared with 26 relief appearances.
Myers, who struck out a career-high nine with no walks, allowed singles in the fourth and seventh before giving up Ty France’s leadoff single in the eighth.
The Brewers had scored 42 runs in their four previous games, their most over a four-game span since scoring 47 in 2010.
–Field Level Media
