MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jackson Chourio homered twice and matched a career high with five RBIs as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-2 on Sunday.
Chad Patrick (1-0) allowed one run and two hits over 5 1/3 innings for his first major league win. Since starting the season 0-4, the Brewers have won five of six.
Spencer Steer went deep for the Reds, who have dropped five of six.
Chourio hit a sacrifice fly in the third to open the scoring, and Christian Yelich had an RBI single. Chourio then capped a five-run fourth with a three-run homer that made it 7-0.
He added a solo shot in the seventh.
Brice Turang had two hits to extend his hitting streak to nine games and Sal Frelick’s strong start to the season continued when he singled and scored in the fourth.
The offensive support made life easy for Patrick, who struck out four in his second big league start. The only run he gave up came when Steer led off the fifth with his first home run of the season.
Cincinnati added another in the eighth on an RBI single from TJ Friedl.
Reds starter Carson Spiers (0-2) permitted four runs and five hits in 3 1/3 innings. He was replaced by Sam Moll, who served up Chourio’s three-run homer to left field.
Key moment
Patrick had faced just one batter more than the minimum before issuing back-to-back walks with two outs in the fourth. But he got Christian Encarnacion-Strand to chase a 2-2 fastball to end the threat, preserving the Brewers’ 2-0 lead.
Key stat
Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz went 2 for 16 with no extra-base hits and five strikeouts in the four-game series.
Up next
Cincinnati opens a three-game series at San Francisco on Monday night with RHP Hunter Greene (0-1, 2.25 ERA) on the mound.
The Brewers get their first day off of the season Monday before RHP Freddy Peralta (0-1, 2.08) faces LHP Kyle Freeland (0-1, 2.13) and the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night at Coors Field.
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