Lackluster hitting deflates Reds in loss to Brewers

Any time you get swept, it isn't going to be pretty.

But the sweep the Milwaukee Brewers completed Sunday against the Reds was particularly ugly for the home team. The Brewers won 6-1 Sunday before a crowd of 28,882 at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds were outscored 25-6 in the three-game series.

"There are times when I think we have to do the small things better," Price said. "We need to do a better job of little detail things. That's what you say after you get swept.

Box score:Brewers 6, Reds 1

"You get frustrated. It wasn't a very well-played series."

The Reds are 36-44. They are only two games ahead of the Brewers, who are in last place in the National League Central. Can the Reds remain competitive?

"It's going to play itself out," Price said. "We've kind of set up our late bullpen pieces. But we have some young pitchers in our rotation. If (Mike Leake) and (Johnny Cueto) don't have a particularly good start, we have to bridge ourselves and find a way to get back in the game.

"That's falling on guys who for the most part weren't with us to start the season. It's an opportunity for some guys. For some guys, it's like 'hey, man, you've got to find a way to do this.' If you can't, we've got to find somebody else."

Mike Leake (5-5) pitched six innings and allowed three runs on eight hits. He walked three and struck out four. Leake has given up 10 runs on 17 hits over 10 innings in his last two starts.

"They're a hot team right now," Leake said. "If you make mistakes, they make you pay. I think they could be a threat."

"He was kind of around the zone," Price said. "He's a very pitch-specific guy –crisp, sinker-cutter. When he's on, he's really locked in. He's ahead in the count. He can expand the zone. There were a lot of near misses off the plate.

"He had to pitch out of some bad counts, which is hard to do against a team that is hot. Obviously, Milwaukee's doing a lot of things right, getting on base close to 60 times in the series. They just kept it going today."

Leake struggled from the start Sunday. He gave up a leadoff single to Gerardo Parra. Two outs later, Aramis Ramirez singled Parra in.

"It was a battle inning," Leake said. "It wasn't like I was trying to avoid bats. They fouled some pitches off. They made me work."

Jean Segura led off the Milwaukee second with a single. Scooter Gennett doubled him home.

The Brewers added a run in the fifth. Ryan Braun doubled with one out and scored on Adam Lind's single.

Carlos Contreras took over for Leake and gave up a pair of home runs in the seventh – a solo shot to Parra and a two-run shot to Lind.

"Trying to bridge ourselves to our late guys is a little bit challenging," Price said. "It was only a week or so ago when we were talking about our bullpen going 26 consecutive innings without an earned run.

"It's the ebb and flow of the season. This is a great opportunity for pitchers who are getting an opportunity to pitch here. It has to be understood that this is an audition to see if you can play here ... They need to pick it up."

The Reds didn't have a hit until Jay Bruce led off the fifth with a double.

The Reds didn't score until the eighth. Pinch-hitter Skip Schumaker walked with two outs. Brandon Phillips followed with a drive to the wall in left. Shane Peterson caught the ball, but it came out of his glove when he hit the wall.

"We've got to get back on track," Leake said. "We've got to keep competing. Nobody wants to go through this."