CINCINNATI (AP) — Billy Hamilton didn’t use up all of his speed to beat the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.

He had enough left to avoid the media after the game.

Hamilton wasn’t around to talk about dashing home on All-Star Jonathan Lucroy’s passed ball with two outs in the ninth inning, giving the Cincinnati Reds a 1-0 win over Milwaukee.

Manager Bryan Price was more than happy to talk about the disruptive Hamilton.

“Billy is that guy,” Price said. “He affects the game. He changes the look of the game. He creates a lot of anxiety on the basepaths. That ball didn’t get that far away from Lucroy. That ability of his to start and stop creates the opportunity.”

The speedy Hamilton drew a two-out walk from Tyler Thornburgh (3-3). Left-hander Will Smith relieved and walked Joey Votto.

Hamilton stole third with Jay Bruce hitting, setting up the game-winning play. Smith’s curveball glanced off Lucroy’s glove as Bruce swung and missed and rolled away to the catcher’s left.

The ball didn’t even reach the dirt track near the visitor’s dugout, but still was plenty far enough away for Hamilton to score easily.

“That’s what speed does,” Smith said. “It makes you freak out.”

It was originally scored as a wild pitch, then changed to a passed ball.

“The pitchers deserve better,” Lucroy said. “(Starter Zach) Davies deserved better. That can’t happen. That’s minor league stuff right there. I should’ve caught it. If it’s in the air and I get a glove on it, I’ve got to catch it.”

Tony Cingrani (2-2) pitched a perfect ninth for the win.

Davies and Cincinnati starter Dan Straily each pitched seven impressive innings.

Straily, who was 1-4 over his last five starts, gave up three hits, walked one and struck out four. He set down nine straight batters in one stretch and didn’t allow a runner to reach second base until the sixth, when Jonathan Villar led off with a walk and stole his major league-leading 33rd base.

Villar went to third on catcher Tucker Barnhart’s throwing error, but Lucroy grounded out to end the threat.

“I was able to throw my fastball where I wanted to, when I wanted to,” Straily said. “I felt good. The All-Star break is designed to allow us to refresh, and I really felt good today.”

Davies, recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs before the game, allowed four hits with no walks and five strikeouts.

The Reds got two hits on his first three pitches, putting runners at first and third, but Davies escaped.

Four of his five strikeouts were called and he fielded four balls, only one hit sharply.

“That’s a really good example of knowing when I’m locating and mixing it up,” Davies said. “I know it’s going right when they’re taking pitches and not getting good swings on balls.”

Milwaukee put runners at first and second with two outs in the eighth against Michael Lorenzen, but Ryan Braun grounded out.

NOT SO FAST

Reds rookie Jose Peraza was caught stealing second by Lucroy with one out in the second inning. Peraza was 13-for-13 in his brief career going into the game, including 10-for-10 this season.

STRUGGLING SUAREZ

Reds 3B Eugenio Suarez went 1 for 3, leaving him 4 for 32 (.125) since his seven-game hitting streak was snapped on July 3 at Miami.

CONSISTENT STREAKER

Villar went 0 for 3 to see his hitting streak snapped at seven games, his fourth streak of that length this season. Seven games is his season high.

POWER OUTAGE

Reds pitching was able to keep Braun in the ballpark for the entire three-game series, a rare luxury. The Milwaukee left fielder went into the series with 32 homers against Cincinnati, more than against any other team, and 19 at Great American Ball Park, more than at any other location.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Brewers: OF Hernan Perez didn’t play, but manager Craig Counsell said he was available off the bench a day after leaving with a sore left foot, the result of a foul tip.

Reds: RHP Caleb Cotham, who’s been on the disabled list since May 31 with right shoulder inflammation, reported no problems after throwing 13 pitches, nine for strikes, in one inning of a rehab assignment with Double-A Pensacola on Saturday.

UP NEXT

Brewers: After a day off Monday, Milwaukee plays the first of 16 second-half games against the Pirates. RHP Chase Anderson (4-10) is the Brewers’ scheduled starter in the opener of a three-game series in Pittsburgh.

Reds: Atlanta comes to town for a three-game series between the teams with the worst records in the majors. LHP Brandon Finnegan (4-7) is Cincinnati’s scheduled starter in Monday’s opener.

SUNDAY’S GAME

Reds 1, Brewers 0

Milwaukee AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

Villar ss 3 0 0 0 1 0 .302

Gennett 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 .267

Braun lf-rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .313

Lucroy c 4 0 1 0 0 0 .303

Carter 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .224

Nieuwenhuis cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .201

Smith p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —

Middlebrooks 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .167

Flores rf-cf 3 0 1 0 0 0 .222

Davies p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .067

a-Wilkins ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000

Thornburg p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —

Elmore lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .100

Totals 31 0 4 0 2 4

 

Cincinnati AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

Cozart ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 .264

Hamilton cf 3 1 1 0 1 0 .238

Votto 1b 3 0 1 0 1 1 .261

Bruce rf 3 0 0 0 0 0 .265

Duvall lf 3 0 0 0 0 1 .247

Suarez 3b 3 0 1 0 0 1 .224

Peraza 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .237

Barnhart c 3 0 0 0 0 1 .264

Straily p 2 0 0 0 0 2 .000

Lorenzen p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Cingrani p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —

b-De Jesus ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .227

Totals 28 1 4 0 2 7

 

Milwaukee 000 000 000 = 0 4 0

Cincinnati 000 000 001 = 1 4 1

 

Two outs when winning run scored.

a-walked for Davies in the 8th. b-popped out for Cingrani in the 9th.

E-Barnhart (6). LOB-Milwaukee 6, Cincinnati 3. 2B-Flores (8). SB-Villar (33), Hamilton (24). CS-Peraza (1).

Runners left in scoring position-Milwaukee 3 (Braun, Lucroy, Davies); Cincinnati 1 (Duvall). RISP-Milwaukee 0 for 3; Cincinnati 0 for 3.

GIDP-Bruce.

DP-Milwaukee 1 (Carter, Middlebrooks).

 

Milwaukee IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

Davies 7 4 0 0 0 5 92 3.79

Thornburg L, 3-3 1 2-3 0 1 1 1 2 28 2.70

Smith 0 0 0 0 1 0 8 2.12

 

Cincinnati IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA

Straily 7 3 0 0 1 4 99 4.07

Lorenzen 1 1 0 0 1 0 18 3.09

Cingrani W, 2-2 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 3.29

 

Inherited runners-scored-Smith 1-1. WP-Smith.

Umpires-Home, Mark Carlson; First, Mike DiMuro; Second, Brian Gorman; Third, Quinn Wolcott.

T-2:34. A-23,085 (42,319).