Reds 5, Indians 3: Brandon Phillips went 3-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs, and Mat Latos struck out seven over seven solid innings as Cincinnati beat in-state rival Cleveland for the second straight night.
Phillips started the scoring with an RBI single in the first and added a two-run blast to left-center in the seventh to help the Reds protect their National League Central lead.
Latos (5-2) allowed two runs on seven hits. He has won five straight decisions dating back to a loss at St. Louis on April 18.
Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth for his seventh save but allowed a solo home run by Jose Lopez with two outs. Chapman has surrendered at least one earned run in each of his last three outings after allowing just one unearned run over his first 24 appearances.
Indians starter Derek Lowe (7-5) battled control issues with six walks. He gave up three runs on five hits over six innings and has lost four of his last five starts.
Cleveland's Michael Brantley extended his career-best hitting streak to 20 games, the longest active run in the majors.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Phillips' home run was just the second against Indians reliever Nick Hagadone in 20 2/3 innings this season. … At least one home run has been hit in 58 consecutive games at Great American Ball Park, the longest active streak in the majors. … The Indians hold a 39-38 all-time advantage in the series, but Cincinnati is 16-10 at home since Great American Ball Park opened in 2004. ... The home run against Chapman was the first since July 15, 2011, when Albert Pujols took him deep.
Cleveland | Cincinnati | |
Derek Lowe | Player | Mat Latos |
Loss | W/L | Win |
6.0 | IP | 7.0 |
4 | Strikeouts | 7 |
5 | Hits | 7 |
4.50 | ERA | 2.57 |
Cleveland | Cincinnati | |
Jose Lopez | Player | Brandon Phillips |
1 | Hits | 3 |
1 | RBI | 3 |
1 | HR | 1 |
4 | TB | 6 |
.500 | Avg | 1.000 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Cleveland | 8 | 1 | 12 | .222 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Cincinnati | 7 | 1 | 11 | .250 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1 |