Hoskins’ homer lifts Brewers over Reds 1-0 for 5th straight win
MILWAUKEE — Rhys Hoskins hit a 405-foot home run in the eighth inning to lift Milwaukee to a 1-0 win over Cincinnati on Saturday night for the Brewers’ fifth straight win and their ninth straight series win over the Reds.
Hoskins’ 20th homer came on a 97 mph fastball from reliever Tony Santillan (0-1), giving him a careerhigh 14-game hitting streak.
“When we feel like we can win any game at any point, good at-bats tend to happen,” Hoskins said.
Hoskins missed the 2023 season after tearing the ACL in his right knee in spring training. He signed as a free agent in Milwaukee in the offseason.
“The kid just comes up big, takes his game seriously,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
Milwaukee rookie Tobias Myers gave up three hits over 71/3 innings and struck out a career-high nine batters. Seven of his strikeouts were against the first three batters in the Reds order, Jonathan India, Elly De La Cruz and Tyler Stephenson.
Cincinnati’s Nick Martinez gave up one hit and struck out seven in a career high-tying seven innings. He pitched five shutout innings in his previous start, at Miami, his eighth start of the season.
“I was really commanding all my pitches,” Martinez said.
Reds manager David Bell said, “What a start, when we needed it the most, you just can’t be any better than that.”
Both starters had a no-hitter until giving up a two-out single in the fourth inning. Neither allowed a runner past first base.
The only other Brewer to reach base was Gary Sánchez. He was hit by a pitch from Martinez.
Joel Payamps (2-5) pitched in the eighth inning to earn the win in the 2-hour, 3-minute game. With a runner on first base and one out, he retired Noelvi Marte and India.
Devin Williams pitched the ninth inning, striking out all three batters he faced to earn his first save of the season. Williams, making his fourth appearance, didn’t pitch until July 28 after recovering from a back stress fracture.
The NL Central-leading Brewers had scored 42 runs in their four previous games, including a threegame sweep in Atlanta and an 8-3 win over Cincinnati on Friday. They are a season-high 18 games above .500 (67-49).
Milwaukee leads second-place St. Louis by eight games. That’s tied for the largest lead in the majors with Philadelphia, which is ahead of the second-place Mets in the NL East.
The Reds have lost two straight. They are in last place in the division, 111/2 games behind the Brewers.