A bad inning does in Reds in 7-3 loss to Brewers

Right-hander Michael Lorenzen (3-3) was impressive in his first 13 appearances. The latest was the worst with Fiers giving up eight runs – four earned – and six hits with three walks in four innings of a 16-10 defeat on April 21.

“They’re a hot team right now”, Leake said of Milwaukee. “They’re finding holes. They were fouling off good pitches and made it tough on me”. Still, both Parra and Lind make a lot of sense for the Halos since they’re in need of left field and designated hitter help.

After allowing four runs and walking six over three innings in his big-league debut at Pittsburgh on June 23, Smith showed improvement but continued to struggle with his command Sunday.

Fans in the sellout crowd of 40,760 had barely settled in when Parra opened the game with his sixth homer of the season and seventh leadoff homer of his career, including two this season.

Smith remains in search of his first win as he makes his third major-league start – and first at home.

Bruce went to third when Shane Peterson trapped Marlon Byrd’s line drive single to left.

RED SOX 5, ASTROS 4 Hanley Ramirez hit a go-ahead, two-run home run in the seventh inning and host Boston beat Houston. The Reds will take on a right-hander (Fiers) in this game and have a 27-30 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Tucker Barnhart hit into a double play when Jungmann deflected the ball hit up the middle.

“The key for Josh is to work ahead and challenge more in the zone”, manager Bryan Price told MLB’s official website. “You try to stay locked in, but I probably got out of my rhythm a little bit”.

Jungmann (3-1) lost his shutout when Skip Schumaker scored from first on Brandon Phillips’ double with two outs in the eighth on a ball that left fielder Peterson had in his glove before slamming into the wall. 356 and averaged 7.5 runs during their longest win streak since a nine-game run in April 2014.

The Cincinnati Reds and the Milwaukee Brewers figure to have plenty of attention from opposing teams as they kick off a three-game series in Cincinnati on Friday. Starting pitcher Mike Fiers turned in another strong effort, limiting the Reds to three hits over seven scoreless innings while walking two and striking out two.

“We believed we could hit but the whole year we never put it together like we’ve been doing the last five, six games”, said Gomez. “I don’t think he’s going to miss much time”, manager Craig Counsell said.

BLUE JAYS 10, TIGERS 5: Justin Verlander remained winless in four starts since his return from the disabled list, allowing seven runs as his ERA ballooned to 6.75 ERA in Detroit’s loss to Toronto.

AP photo Milwaukee’s Gerardo Parra scores against the Reds’ Tucker Barnhart on a double by Jonathan Lucroy during Friday’s game in Cincinnati.