MILWAUKEE -- Something about the Cincinnati Reds
brings the best out in Lyle Overbay.
Overbay went 5-for-5 with a homer and Doug Davis tossed his
fifth career complete game as the Milwaukee Brewers routed the
Cincinnati Reds, 13-3, completing a three-game sweep.
After picking up three singles in his first three at-bats,
Overbay led off the sixth inning with a double and scored one
batter later on Damian Miller's two-base hit that pushed the
Brewers' lead to 8-2.
Overbay capped his day with a three-run blast to right against
Reds reliever Joe Valentine that made it 12-2. The crowd
continued to cheer after the blast until Overbay came out for a
curtain call.
"That's quite an honor right there, to be able to do that,"
Overbay said. "That's awesome."
In the series, Overbay hit .818 (9-for-11) with three homers and
seven RBIs. He has a career .473 batting average against
Cincinnati - his highest against any team he has faced more than
twice.
Overbay became the first Brewer to record five hits in a game
since Geoff Jenkins accomplished the feat on April 11, 2003.
The offensive outburst was more than enough for Davis (3-3), who
allowed just three hits before Sean Casey and Joe Randa had a
pair of meaningless doubles in the ninth. The lefthander, who
had not made it out of the fifth in two of his previous three
starts, struck out eight while walking one.
"I wasn't challenging hitters in my last two starts," Davis
said. "Today, I challenged all the hitters who went up there."
After Randa's double, Brewers manager Ned Yost made went to the
mound to talk to Davis, who had thrown 124 pitches.
"I told him, 'Look, you're in my danger zone, I'll give you one
guy,'" Yost said.
Davis responded by getting Rich Aurilia to ground out on the
next pitch. After the Reds scored a run in the top of the first,
Jenkins delivered a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning
to give Milwaukee the lead.
The Brewers broke open the game with four runs in the third
against Reds starter Ramon Ortiz. Brady Clark and Bill Hall
opened the frame with consecutive doubles as the first six
batters reached.
Activated from the disabled list prior to the game, Ortiz (0-1)
failed to record an out in the third and was hammered for six
runs and seven hits.
Clark tied a career high with four hits and Hall was a triple
shy of the cycle for Milwaukee, which pounded out 19 hits.
Russell Branyan was the only starter who failed to get a hit.
Davis, who had just one hit in 64 at-bats last season,
contributed a single against reliever Ben Weber in the fifth.
"It's a confidence builder, knowing that if one guy doesn't do
it, the next guy will," Overbay said. "We've got protection
everywhere. There's not an easy out there, even Doug Davis."
Pinch hitter Wily Mo Pena homered in the fifth for the Reds, who
have lost four straight games.