CINCINNATI (AP)—Left-hander Dontrelle Willis(notes) of the Cincinnati Reds has
been scratched from his start against the Milwaukee Brewers because of back
spasms.

Lefty Matt Maloney(notes) was moved up in the rotation to take Willis’ spot on
Sunday. Maloney had been scheduled to start Monday against Houston.

Willis (0-6), the 2003 NL Rookie of the Year and a two-time All-Star, has
made 12 starts since being called from Triple-A Louisville on July 10. He’d been
the victim of three blown saves and had allowed three runs or fewer in nine of
his starts.

Maloney opened the season with the Reds and was 0-2 with a 6.88 ERA in six
appearances before going on the disabled on May 26 with a cracked rib that kept
him out until Aug. 16.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Nyjer Morgan and the Milwaukee Brewers had the
Cincinnati Reds right where they wanted them in the ninth. Instead,
they squandered the opportunity.

Morgan failed to get down a bunt in a key situation and Jay
Bruce sparked Cincinnati’s five-run 10th inning with a leadoff
homer, helping the Reds beat the Brewers 8-4 on Saturday night.

“I have to keep my head up. I was a little frustrated there that
I didn’t get the job done,” Morgan said. “I was hoping my boys
behind me were going to pick me up and we were going to win it
right there. But it was just one of those things where the kid
didn’t get the bunt down and, you know. It was just that one
run.”

Milwaukee had won three straight, including two one-run
decisions against the Reds.

The Brewers had a great chance to post another dramatic victory
in the ninth inning. Logan Ondrusek gave up a leadoff single to
Rickie Weeks before leaving for Bill Bray.

Bray (2-1) immediately threw errantly to first, allowing Weeks
to advance to second. Morgan then struck out on a sacrifice attempt
after it rolled foul, slamming his helmet in the dugout in
frustration.

“He’s a pretty good bunter. They were tough pitches to bunt,”
Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. “First two were tough pitches to
bunt as they were down and out. (The third pitch) was a breaking
ball down and away and he wanted to make sure he pulled it to make
it fair and he pulled it too much.”

Corey Hart followed with a fly ball that would’ve been plenty
for a sacrifice fly, but instead only moved Weeks to third.

After Bray walked Prince Fielder, he got Mark Kotsay, Friday
night’s hero, to pop out harmlessly.

“I guarantee you that Morgan is going to be successful more
times than not with that bunt,” catcher Jonathan Lucroy said. “It’s
a team loss. I’m just as guilty as he is. I could have hit a home
run each time I was up.”

Milwaukee fell back into a tie with St. Louis in the NL Central,
a game ahead of Pittsburgh and three games up on Cincinnati.

Bruce hit a towering drive to right against Marco Estrada (2-6),
and the Reds tacked on four more runs while sending 10 men to the
plate.

Scott Rolen doubled after Bruce’s 21st homer and moved to third
on Edgar Renteria’s sacrifice. Ramon Hernandez then hit an RBI
single, and Miguel Cairo, Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips each
drove in a run later in the inning.

For the third straight game, the teams swapped leads
back-and-forth in the early innings.

Milwaukee went up 2-0 in the first on singles by Hart and
Kotsay. The Reds took a 3-2 lead in the second on Fred Lewis’
double and Hernandez’s two-run homer to straightaway center field.
Milwaukee tied it in the bottom of the second on Shaun Marcum’s
suicide squeeze. That’s the way it stayed until the 10th.

“We battled all night and we got good pitching,” Morgan said.
“Everyone hung tight. We just got the wrong side of the coin right
there.”

NOTES: The teams wore replica uniforms as part of Milwaukee’s
sixth annual Negro Leagues tribute with the Brewers representing
the 1923 Milwaukee Bears and the Reds honoring the 1936-37
Cincinnati Tigers. … Kotsay has an eight-game hitting streak. …
Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun missed his seventh straight game
with a strained left calf and will skip the All-Star game on
Tuesday. He likely will only be available in an emergency role in
Sunday’s finale. … Hart has reached base in eight straight plate
appearances with six hits, an error and a fielder’s choice.

MILWAUKEE (AP)—Nyjer Morgan(notes) and the Milwaukee Brewers had the Cincinnati
Reds right where they wanted them in the ninth. Instead, they squandered the
opportunity.

Morgan failed to get down a bunt in a key situation and Jay Bruce(notes) sparked
Cincinnati’s five-run 10th inning with a leadoff homer, helping the Reds beat
the Brewers 8-4 on Saturday night.

“I have to keep my head up. I was a little frustrated there that I didn’t
get the job done,” Morgan said. “I was hoping my boys behind me were going to
pick me up and we were going to win it right there. But it was just one of those
things where the kid didn’t get the bunt down and, you know. It was just that
one run.”

Milwaukee had won three straight, including two one-run decisions against
the Reds.

The Brewers had a great chance to post another dramatic victory in the ninth
inning. Logan Ondrusek(notes) gave up a leadoff single to Rickie Weeks(notes) before leaving
for Bill Bray(notes).

Bray (2-1) immediately threw errantly to first, allowing Weeks to advance to
second. Morgan then struck out on a sacrifice attempt after it rolled foul,
slamming his helmet in the dugout in frustration.

“He’s a pretty good bunter. They were tough pitches to bunt,” Brewers
manager Ron Roenicke said. “First two were tough pitches to bunt as they were
down and out. (The third pitch) was a breaking ball down and away and he wanted
to make sure he pulled it to make it fair and he pulled it too much.”

Corey Hart(notes) followed with a fly ball that would’ve been plenty for a
sacrifice fly, but instead only moved Weeks to third.

After Bray walked Prince Fielder(notes), he got Mark Kotsay(notes), Friday night’s hero,
to pop out harmlessly.

“I guarantee you that Morgan is going to be successful more times than not
with that bunt,” catcher Jonathan Lucroy(notes) said. “It’s a team loss. I’m just as
guilty as he is. I could have hit a home run each time I was up.”

Milwaukee fell back into a tie with St. Louis in the NL Central, a game
ahead of Pittsburgh and three games up on Cincinnati.

Bruce hit a towering drive to right against Marco Estrada(notes) (2-6), and the
Reds tacked on four more runs while sending 10 men to the plate.

Scott Rolen(notes) doubled after Bruce’s 21st homer and moved to third on Edgar
Renteria’s(notes) sacrifice. Ramon Hernandez(notes) then hit an RBI single, and Miguel Cairo(notes),
Joey Votto(notes) and Brandon Phillips(notes) each drove in a run later in the inning.

For the third straight game, the teams swapped leads back-and-forth in the
early innings.

Milwaukee went up 2-0 in the first on singles by Hart and Kotsay. The Reds
took a 3-2 lead in the second on Fred Lewis’(notes) double and Hernandez’s two-run
homer to straightaway center field. Milwaukee tied it in the bottom of the
second on Shaun Marcum’s(notes) suicide squeeze. That’s the way it stayed until the
10th.

“We battled all night and we got good pitching,” Morgan said. “Everyone
hung tight. We just got the wrong side of the coin right there.”

NOTES: The teams wore replica uniforms as part of Milwaukee’s sixth annual
Negro Leagues tribute with the Brewers representing the 1923 Milwaukee Bears and
the Reds honoring the 1936-37 Cincinnati Tigers. … Kotsay has an eight-game
hitting streak. … Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun(notes) missed his seventh straight
game with a strained left calf and will skip the All-Star game on Tuesday. He
likely will only be available in an emergency role in Sunday’s finale. … Hart
has reached base in eight straight plate appearances with six hits, an error and
a fielder’s choice.