Week goes from bad to worse on Saturday night as Brewers lose for fifth time in six games

The good feels lasted all of one game.

Starter Aaron Ashby struggled, the bullpen surrendered three home runs and the offense went back into its shell after one big inning as the Milwaukee Brewers lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 7-5, on an oppressively hot and muggy Saturday night at American Family Field.

The setback capped a brutal week that started with a blowout in Boston on Sunday, saw Josh Hader traded on Monday and continued with a three-game sweep at Pittsburgh that concluded Thursday.

The skid was halted briefly with Friday's victory, but this one left the Brewers losers of four of their last five against the two worst teams in the National League Central Division.

Couple that with wins by the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies and now Milwaukee is not only out of first place in the Central Division after holding a four-game lead on July 30, but also out of the third wild-card spot by a game.

"We got beat tonight," manager Craig Counsell said. "Try to come back tomorrow and win the series."

The big momentum swing came midway through the game.

BOX SCORE: Reds 7, Brewers 5

RELATED: Drafting Prince Fielder 20 years ago paid off nicely for the Brewers

RELATED: Ryan Braun discussed 'multiple times' returning to Brewers in 2021

RELATED: Rowdy Tellez has had memorable moments in first full year with Brewers

RELATED: Prince Fielder's memorable highlights as member of Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers, who had drawn to within 4-3 in the fourth, loaded the bases with one out in the fifth after Christian Yelich was hit by a pitch, Willy Adames singled off second base and Andrew McCutchen walked.

Mike Brosseau followed by working starter Nick Lodolo for nine pitches, but he was ultimately called out on strikes. Buck Farmer entered for Lodolo and quickly retired Hunter Renfroe on a tapper back to the mound and leave the Brewers scoreless.

Then, after getting Ashby out of a jam to end the fifth, Hoby Milner allowed a leadoff homer to José Barrero in the sixth to stretch Cincinnati's advantage out to 5-3.

"That was obviously a point where we had a shot there," Counsell said. "Bross had a long, good at-bat and Lodolo kept making pitches, so give him credit there.

"I mean, it's still a one-run game there and there's still lots of game left. We just couldn't keep them off the board and couldn't get anything going in those middle innings."

Milwaukee again threatened in the sixth after Victor Caratini doubled and Tyrone Taylor walked against Farmer with two outs.

Yelich followed with a single to left, but third-base coach Jason Lane's send of Caratini led to an easy out at home as Aristedes Aquino's throw was on time and on the money.

"We're always going to be aggressive with two outs," said Counsell. "You're asking for the next hitter getting a hit. It's the percentage play of the next hitter getting a hit and making the guy make a good throw."

Again, Cincinnati answered – this time in the form of a one-out homer by Joey Votto off Jake McGee that made it a 6-3 game. Then, Donovan Solano homered off Brent Suter in the ninth.

An RBI groundout by Adames and sacrifice fly by McCutchen against former Brewer Hunter Strickland capped the scoring.

Brewers Wall of Honor: Jonathan Lucroy to officially retire as a Brewer, be inducted to Wall of Honor

Brewers Walk of Fame: These are the members of the Brewers Walk of Fame, including Milwaukee Braves icons

The Brewers were agitated early on with Angel Hernandez behind home plate making some dubious strike calls – one of which punched out Adames – and D.J. Reyburn with an out call on an attempted steal of third by Yelich in the first.

Counsell challenged and replays appeared to back up his decision, but the call was ultimately upheld and Yelich fell to 16 for 17 in stolen-base opportunities on the season.

"I guess where you scratch your head is how he saw him out initially," Counsell said. "You know it's going to go to replay. But I just don't know how he called him out to begin with. There was nothing that looked like he was out when the play happened.

"If they thought he might have come off the bag, that's not why he called him out."

A leadoff walk issued by Ashby followed by a balk called by Hernandez led to Cincinnati's first run on a double by Albert Almora Jr.

A two-out RBI double by Jonathan India three batters later made it 2-0, then a two-run home run by Barrero – his first in the majors – in the fourth doubled the Reds' advantage to 4-0.

Milwaukee cut into the deficit in the bottom of the frame on a pair of homers.

The first was a leadoff shot off Lodolo by McCutchen, his 11th of the season. Then, after a one-out walk by Renfroe, Keston Hiura hammered a two-run shot to make it a 4-3 game.

It was Hiura's ninth, first since July 6 and just his second off a left-hander this season.

Two walks in the fifth gave Ashby a career-high-tying five and led to Milner finishing up the inning for him and keeping the deficit at a run.

Ashby allowed three hits and the four runs to go along with five strikeouts and the hit batter in his 98-pitch outing.

"It's the misses, really -- they're just too big," Counsell said. "Lots of bad misses that the hitter is just not challenged. You're not going to get swings out of the zone with big misses.

"We've got to be a little bit better with our misses being tighter, because he will get swings out of the zone. But the misses have to be close."

Ashby, who dropped to 2-10 with the loss, indicated his work leading into his 15th start didn't set him up for success.

"I think everything goes back to preparation, whether (I) didn't have a great week of preparation," he said. "You can kind of trace everything back as far as walks, seeing my outings, not such a great week of preparation leading up to it."

Subscribe to our Milwaukee Brewers newsletter for updates on the team.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Brewers lose to Reds, have dropped five of six games