MILWAUKEE (Interstat) — Brandon Sproat pitched five and one-third innings of four-hit, two-run ball, striking out seven, and the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Cincinnati Reds 7-2 on Tuesday night at American Family Field in front of 28,081 fans.

The game lasted 2 hours, 32 minutes.

Milwaukee improved to 52-31, widening its lead in the National League Central, while Cincinnati fell to 39-45.

The Reds struck first in the top of the first inning. Sal Stewart launched a line-drive home run to right field, his 16th of the season, scoring himself after Elly De La Cruz had flied out to open the game. The solo shot gave Cincinnati a 1-0 lead, and the Reds added another run in the sixth on Stewart’s RBI double.

But the Brewers answered in the bottom of the fourth with a four-run outburst that turned the game.

Trailing 1-0 entering the fourth, Milwaukee strung together five consecutive hits off Reds starter Rhett Lowder. William Contreras singled, Jake Bauers singled, Garrett Mitchell singled to load the bases, and Sal Frelick singled to left to drive in Contreras, tying the game 1-1. Joey Ortiz then grounded a single to right that scored Bauers and Mitchell, making it 3-1. Frelick advanced to third on the play. After a sacrifice bunt by David Hamilton moved Ortiz to second, Christian Yelich walked to load the bases again. Jackson Chourio delivered a sharp line-drive single to left that plated Frelick, stretching Milwaukee’s lead to 5-1. The inning ended when Brice Turang was called out on strikes after a challenge overturned the original call.

Milwaukee added a run in the fifth when Bauers led off with a solo home run to center field, his 15th of the season, pushing the lead to 6-1.

Cincinnati got one back in the sixth. De La Cruz led off with a double to center, and Stewart followed with a double to right that scored De La Cruz, cutting the deficit to 6-2. But Sproat settled down, striking out JJ Bleday and retiring Eugenio Suárez and Nathaniel Lowe on a popout and a strikeout to end the inning.

The Brewers capped the scoring in the eighth when Chourio homered to left-center, his 12th of the year, making it 7-2.

Sproat earned the win, improving to 3-4 on the season. He allowed only two earned runs on four hits, walked one and struck out seven. It was his second consecutive strong outing against Cincinnati, following a six-inning, one-hit, 10-strikeout performance on June 23.

Lowder took the loss, dropping to 3-6. He lasted just three and two-thirds innings, allowing five runs on nine hits while walking two and striking out four.

Milwaukee’s bullpen held the Reds scoreless over the final three and two-thirds innings. Chad Patrick pitched one and two-thirds hitless innings with one strikeout. Jared Koenig worked a scoreless seventh, allowing one hit. Grant Anderson pitched the eighth, giving up one hit and striking out two. Caleb Ferguson recorded one out in the sixth, allowing one hit.

Cincinnati’s Julian Garcia provided three and two-thirds innings of relief, allowing one run on two hits with three strikeouts.

Stewart led the Reds with two hits in four at-bats, including the home run and a double, driving in both Cincinnati runs. De La Cruz went 2-for-4 with a double and scored a run. Nathaniel Lowe doubled in the ninth but was left stranded.

For the Brewers, Bauers went 3-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. Frelick also had three hits, including a double, and drove in a run. Chourio had two hits, including a home run, and drove in two runs. Contreras, Mitchell, and Ortiz each had two hits. Milwaukee outhit Cincinnati 14-6.

The Brewers’ four-run fourth inning proved decisive. After a quiet start to the game — the first three innings produced just one run on a solo homer — Milwaukee’s bats erupted. The inning featured six hits, including five consecutive singles to open the frame, and turned a 1-0 deficit into a 5-1 lead. The Reds never recovered.

The victory was Milwaukee’s third in four games against Cincinnati this season, and it came one day after the Brewers beat the Reds 5-3 on Monday. The series continues Wednesday at American Family Field before the teams break for a four-game set later in the year.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Milwaukee 5, Cincinnati 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Milwaukee a 67.60 percent probability to win. The Brewers were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of nine runs went under the over-under line of 8.5.