Advertisement

Eric Thames' latest home run highlights Milwaukee Brewers' rout of Cincinnati Reds

By Andrew Wagner, The Sports Xchange

MILWAUKEE -- With two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds, the Milwaukee Brewers were in control.

Hernan Perez hit two triples and a home run while Zach Davies was rolling.

Advertisement

The only thing missing was another home run by Eric Thames.

Thames came through with his 11th homer when he hit a two-run blast in the sixth to put on Milwaukee's 9-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Miller Park on Tuesday.

Thames set a franchise record for most home runs in April, surpassing the mark set by Carlos Lee in 2006. More impressively, it's his eighth of the season against Cincinnati, putting him right next to Hall of Famer Willie Stargell as the only players in MLB history to hit eight in April against one team.

Advertisement

"Obviously, I'm not trying to hit a home run," said Thames, who is hitting .371 with 19 RBIs and 25 runs scored. "I'm trying to get a good pitch to hit and put a good swing on it. The result was the result. I was happy the ball got out. It got off the end of the bat a little bit, but it went and it was fun. It's fun to make history."

Stargell did it for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1971 vs. the Atlanta Braves.

"That's an incredible statistic," Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. "He's got eight homers and nobody else has eight. That's incredible. Eleven homers in a month and we still have four games to go. It's a great month. It really is. I've seen some guys have some great months. (Former Diamondbacks teammate) Luis Gonzalez had a great April (in 2001) but this is right up there, for sure."

The home run came as part of a five-run burst Milwaukee put on Reds right-hander Robert Stephenson, who came on trying to prevent the Brewers from building on a 4-0 lead.

Advertisement

Perez spoiled that effort, sending Stephenson's second offering to center for his third home run of the season -- and third RBI of the day -- and Keon Broxton followed with a ground-rule double off the top of the wall in center.

Pinch-hitter Nick Franklin kept the inning going, reaching on an error by right fielder Scott Schebler, and Jonathan Villar made him pay by ripping his second two-run single of the day back up the middle.

"He was throwing it over the plate, he was just missing spots, and they were on it," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "The home run and double get things going and then you get back to Thames and he hits the second home run of the inning for their club. He didn't throw a lot of pitches. He just didn't have a lot of success with location and they squared him up pretty good."

Reds starter Scott Feldman (1-2) went five innings, allowing four runs on five hits and five walks with four strikeouts.

Feldman retired his first five batters in order but Manny Pina drew a two-out walk in the second to bring up Perez, who tripled to right and gave Milwaukee a 1-0 lead.

Advertisement

Perez struck again in the third, this time to center. Feldman intentionally walked Keon Broxton to face Davies, but he, too, walked and Villar made him pay with a two-run single up the middle giving Milwaukee a 4-0 lead.

"They've been swinging the bat pretty well," Feldman said. "I shot myself in the foot tonight with a couple of bad walks. They were able to score some runs there."

That would prove to be plenty of cushion for Davies, who stuck out six. He did give up six hits on the day, but managed to work in and out of jams and earned his second consecutive victory.

"I was able to get the pitches in there that I wanted to and I kind of worked the edges and got out of a couple of jams."

NOTES: LHP Tony Cingrani reported "zero pain" as he continues rehabbing an oblique injury, manager Bryan Price said Tuesday. Cingrani was placed on the 10-day disabled list after suffering the injury April 20 and did not travel with the team to Milwaukee. ... Reds RHP Barrett Astin was called up from Triple-A Louisville Tuesday, adding length and depth to their bullpen. In a corresponding move, Cincinnati optioned RHP Ariel Hernandez to Double-A Pensacola. ... Brewers UTL Hernan Perez made a second consecutive start Tuesday as manager Craig Counsell tries to get him more regular playing time. In the first two games of the series, Perez has gone 5-for-7 with a double, two triples, two home runs and seven RBIs. ... Milwaukee has homered in 19 of its first 22 games and recorded 13 games with multiple home runs.

Advertisement

Latest Headlines