MILWAUKEE (Interstat) — The Cincinnati Reds, playing the role of spoiler, used a collective pitching effort to stifle the Milwaukee Brewers’ offense and secure a 3-1 victory on Friday night at American Family Field.

A crowd of 40,316 watched as the Reds’ bullpen combined for 4 1/3 innings of perfect relief, retiring all 13 batters they faced to close out the game and hand the playoff-bound Brewers a rare home loss.

The game was a pitcher’s duel defined by missed opportunities for Cincinnati and a lone bright spot for Milwaukee. The Reds out-hit the Brewers 9-3 but grounded into two double plays, stymieing potential rallies.

Milwaukee struck first in the bottom of the third inning against Reds starter Zack Littell. Christian Yelich sparked the offense with a sharp line-drive double to right field. After a strikeout, Brice Turang singled up the middle to score Yelich, giving the Brewers a 1-0 lead.

Cincinnati answered immediately in the top of the fourth against Brewers starter Quinn Priester. Gavin Lux led off with a double and advanced to third on a single by Miguel Andujar. Spencer Steer then delivered a clutch single to left field, scoring Lux to tie the game. The Reds threatened for more, loading the bases with only one out, but Priester induced an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play from Ke’Bryan Hayes to escape further damage.

The Reds broke the tie for good in the sixth inning. Lux again was the catalyst, doubling to left field and advancing to third on a fielding error by left fielder Jake Bauers. Andujar followed with a line-drive single to center, plating Lux. Andujar then moved to third on a single by Elly De La Cruz and scored on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Stephenson to extend the lead to 3-1.

From there, the Reds’ bullpen took over. Connor Phillips, who recorded the final out of the fifth inning and struck out the side in the sixth, earned the win to improve to 5-0. Graham Ashcraft, Tony Santillan and Emilio Pagán each contributed a perfect inning of relief. Pagán struck out one in the ninth to record his 31st save of the season.

Priester took the loss for Milwaukee, falling to 13-3 after allowing three runs on nine hits over five-plus innings. Brewers relievers Tobias Myers and Nick Mears combined for three perfect innings, but the Milwaukee offense could not mount a comeback against the dominant Cincinnati relief corps.

Littell delivered a solid start for the Reds, allowing one run on three hits over 4 2/3 innings. Lux led the Cincinnati offense, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored. TJ Friedl also added two hits.

The victory improved the Reds’ record to 82-78, while the National League Central champion Brewers fell to 96-64. The result defied pregame projections from Interstat, which gave Milwaukee a 65.3 percent probability to win and had simulated a final score of 6-5 in the Brewers’ favor.

The two teams continue their three-game series on Saturday.