Rookie right-hander Tobias Myers is hoping the Milwaukee Brewers maintain their offensive surge when they host the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.
Myers (6-5, 3.02 ERA) will oppose right-hander Nick Martinez (6-5, 3.43), who is making consecutive starts for the first time since late April.
Milwaukee jumped out to an 8-0 lead after three innings off Carson Spiers in the series opener Friday night en route to an 8-3 victory. Willy Adames had a three-run homer and Brice Turang added a two-run shot as the Brewers won their fourth straight.
The Brewers were coming off a three-game sweep at Atlanta in which they scored 34 runs on 52 hits, batting .400 as a team. The 42 runs over the last four games are their most in a four-game span since scoring 47 runs in 2010.
Milwaukee, which leads the National League Central by seven games over the St. Louis Cardinals, moved back to a season-high-tying 17 games above .500.
The Brewers are 5-2 vs. Cincinnati this season and 33-12 over the past 45 meetings.
“It definitely seems like they have our number at the moment,” said outfielder Spencer Steer, who had one of the Reds’ two homers in the opener. “They come to play every night and you’ve got to play good baseball to beat them.”
After going 4-0 with a 1.44 ERA in five starts in June, Myers is 1-3 in his past five starts, despite a 2.54 ERA over that span.
He took the loss his last time out, despite allowing just one run in five innings in a 4-3 defeat at Washington. Opponents are batting .233 against him.
“He’s flourished,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after Myers’ last start. “He’s blossomed into this competitive major league pitcher. When he hasn’t been as sharp, he’s still been pretty darn good. When he’s been sharp, he’s been really, really good.
“Just to come from where he came from — virtually not in the plans to very much in the plans, in a year where we really needed that.”
Adames leads the Brewers with 21 home runs, including nine three-run homers, the most in the majors and a franchise record. He is hitting .314 (38-for-121) over his last 31 games with eight homers, nine doubles and 25 RBIs.
Rhys Hoskins had a third-inning single to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, matching his career high set with Philadelphia in 2017.
Martinez has split time between the rotation and the bullpen. He will be making his seventh start vs. 26 relief appearances.
In his most recent start, Martinez allowed four hits in five scoreless innings to get the win in a 10-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Monday.
Martinez is 0-0 with a 4.26 ERA in six career games vs. Milwaukee, including two starts.
Reds right fielder Jake Fraley left in the fourth inning Friday with what the team said was a left ankle sprain.
“Not serious,” Reds manager David Bell said afterward. “He should be fine. He should be back in there (Saturday).”
Steer is 4-for-8 in his last two games after going 0-for-12 in the three previous games.
–Field Level Media