Johnny Cueto Dominates Brewers

Johnny Cueto gives up very few hits.  He allowed only four Brewers to reach base in the Reds 6-2 win.

The hits he does give up travel a long distance.  Two of the three hits Cueto allowed were home runs.

Aramis Ramirez broke an 0-for-28 slump with a leadoff home run in the second inning.  Mark Reynolds clubbed his seventh to start the fifth.

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In between the two Cueto retired nine batters in a row and the Reds gave him some run support.

Cincinnnati parlayed four singles and a hit batter to score three runs in the fourth off Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo.

Brandon Phillips refreshed from a day of on Friday, laced a single to left.  Jay Bruce, who struck out in all four plate appearances on Friday lined a single to right.  Gallardo hit Todd Frazier in the ribs to load the bases.  Ryan Ludwick and Brayan Pena singled on consecutive pitches.  Ludwicks scored Phillips and Pena's scored Bruce and Frazier.

While Cueto continued to mow down the Brewers, the Reds mounted another assault on Gallardo in the sixth.

"He has the same mix of pitches that he's always had but he is attacking hitters differently," Bryan Price said.  "He can put any of his pitches on both side of the plate.  Balls look like strikes to the hitters and strikes look like balls when he throws his cutter off the plate and they come back over the plate when the hitter gives up on them.  He didn't even have to pitch from the stretch until the eighth inning."

Cueto believes this is the best stretch he has had in his career.  In the last four games he has two complete games and two games in which he completed eight innings.  He pitched seven innings in each of his first three starts of the season.

"It is important to me that I am able to pitch a lot of innings," Cueto said through interpreter Tomas Vera.  "I am working hard to say healthy. I am working for that endurance."

Brayan Pena caught Justin Verlander and compared the two.

"They are different in how they attack the hitter," Pena said. "Johnny is more of a cutter, sinker pitcher.  Verlander is more of a power pitcher.  They both work hard to stay healthy.  I may sound like a broken record but Johnny was unbelievable.  He gets ahead of the hitter then he can pitch backward.  They can't get comfortable against him."

Ludwick, rested from his day off Friday night singled to left off Gallardo.  Pena singled to right, sending Ludwick  to third.  Zack Cozart bounced back to the mound and caught Ludwick off third for the second out of the inning.  Cueto hit a hard groundball into right to score Pena.

"Johnny doesn't have the body of an Olympic athlete but he performs like one," Price said.

Ludwick had two hits and Phillips both had three, including a double after resting Friday night.

"It was good managing," Price joked. "I can't see anyone playing 162 games.  We have to have something left in September.  We have to keep the bench guys sharp when we need to.  It was Ludwick's and Brandon's turns last night.  I'm not a guy who take players out because the aren't doing something, so don't read into it.  It was just their time to take a game off."

Phillips greeted Tyler Thornburg with the double in the seventh.  He went to third when Bruce grounded to secondbase.  Frazier singled to score Phillips.  Thornburg threw two wild pitches that allowed Frazier to score.

"It is what it is," Phillips said.  "There are a lot of people hating on me but it is a long season.  We will hit."

Cueto pitched into the eighth inning for the fourth straight game.  Cueto struck out Caleb Gindl leading off the eighth.  Jean Segura got an infield hit on a slow roller over third that Frazier couldn't barehand.  Cueto caught Logan Schafer looking at a called third strike for his 10th strikeout of the game but walked pinch hitter Lyle Overbay on a couple close two strike pitches.

Phillips has been with Cueto his whole career with the Reds.

"Johnny is more of a pitcher now rather than a thrower," Phillips said.  "He always does something crazy on the mound.  He had me cracking up.  He keeps getting better.  It is fun to watch him pitch."

Manager Bryan Price visited Cueto but let him pitch to Carlos Gomez.  Gomez hit a ball to the right of the mound. Cueto deflected it to Phillips who through to Votto.  Gomez was called out on a close play that held up under review.

Sam LeCure finished off Milwaukee with a perfect ninth.