Cueto strong, but Brewers find way to stop struggling Reds

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Bill Hall got 'em again.

Hall hit a two-out, two-run double in the 10th inning Saturday that kept the Milwaukee Brewers perfect in extra innings, setting up a 5-3 victory over a slumping Cincinnati Reds team that can't figure out what to do with him.

Already, they've seen enough.

"Bill Hall's been a thorn in our side for a long time," manger Dusty Baker said.

The third baseman feels so comfortable at Great American Ball Park that whenever he comes to bat, he expects something good to happen. This weekend series has been just the latest installment.

Hall's two-run homer led to a 5-2 win in the opener. A day later, he sent a full-count pitch from David Weathers (0-2) into the gap in right-center to break a 3-all tie and send the Reds to their seventh loss in eight games.

Milwaukee has scored 10 runs in the two games. Hall has driven in half of them.

"I just feel comfortable when I come here to play," said Hall, who has eight career homers at the ballpark and a .313 career average against Cincinnati. "I know I've had success here, so that puts an ease to my mind. I always seem to do something when I come here -- when I play against them in general, actually."

With two on and two out in the 10th, Hall guessed that he'd get a slider on the outside part of the plate. Good guess, good swing.

Nothing new for the Brewers, who have gotten good at keeping their composure after blowing a lead. They're 4-0 in extra innings this season.

"That's their nature," manager Ned Yost said. "That's what they are. That's who they are."

Guillermo Mota (1-0) pitched two perfect innings, and Eric Gagne finished off a combined four-hitter for his second save in the series. After a rough start, Gagne has converted his last five chances, leaving him 6-for-8 overall.

Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-4 with a run-scoring groundout. He remains four homers shy of 600, with five games left on Cincinnati's homestand.

Weathers left the game later in the 10th after he got an uncomfortable feeling in his forearm. A medical test after the game found no serious injury.

"I threw a pitch and I knew something wasn't right," Weathers said. "When you pitch as long as I have, you know it when you feel something in your arm that you shouldn't. I don't think I tore anything."

Jeff Suppan and the Brewers bullpen took the luster off another solid performance by Reds rookie starter Johnny Cueto, who gave up three runs -- two earned -- in seven innings.

Suppan gave up only three hits before handing a 3-1 lead over to the bullpen with two outs in the seventh. Joey Votto hit left-hander Brian Shouse's second pitch for a tying two-run homer, his third in the last four games.

Votto's homer spared Cueto from a loss. The 22-year-old starter has been one of April's biggest surprises, piling up strikeouts with his 96 mph fastball.

The big question is how he will fare once teams have gotten familiar with him. The Brewers were the first team to see him a second time around. They managed two runs off him in a 3-2, 10-inning win on April 8.

The result was similar.

"He was great," catcher Paul Bako said. "He left a pitch up [on the homer], but other than that, he gave us a great chance to win. We just didn't score enough runs. With our lineup, we know we're going to turn it around. I just hope it's sooner rather than later."

Cueto struck out four of the first eight he faced. Corey Hart, who struck out in all three at-bats against Cueto in Milwaukee, caught up with a fastball on his first swing Saturday, sending it over the wall in center for his first homer.

In his case, familiarity helped.

Prince Fielder doubled into the gap in left-center in the fourth inning, another sign he's emerging from his slow start. Hall had an RBI single to left, and Adam Dunn's throwing error on the play set up a sacrifice fly by Gabe Gross that made it 3-0.

Cueto has given up two earned runs or less in three of his four starts. He was coming off his first loss, 9-1 to Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Game notes
The Reds plan to activate RHP Matt Belisle off the disabled list on Monday to start against the Dodgers instead of RHP Josh Fogg (13.09 ERA), who will move to the bullpen. A roster move will be made before the game. ... Plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt ejected Bako in the eighth for arguing balls and strikes. He later ejected Ryan Freel after he struck out as a pinch hitter and complained from the dugout. ... Yost declined to say who would start Sunday's game. RHP Yovani Gallardo is with the team and could be activated off the DL.