Next game: Wednesday, Aug. 26 vs. Cincinnati
Brewers Gameday with the Jockey Pregame Show at 6:30 p.m., followed by Brewers Extra Innings after the game on 620WTMJ and coverage on Live at 10 on TODAY'S TMJ4 HD.

While the masses may be counting out the Brewers, nobody wearing the jersey is.

That was pretty evident as the Brewers rallied back from a 6-1 deficit with a five-run ninth inning to tie the game. Two solo home runs by Joey Votto and Laynce Nix in the 13th inning proved why the masses are counting out the Crew as the Brewers comeback attempt fell short with an 8-6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

"The loss is tough but the way they battled back is terrific," Brewers manager Ken Macha said.

Some of the loss can attributed to the fact that it seemed like the Brewers just ran out of bodies. The Brewers used all four bench players before the extra frames so they were without a quality bat to pinch hit. The Crew ate up five relievers before Coffey came on in the 11th so with only three relievers left in the pen that had already logged a heavy workload, Coffey had to go as long as could. He could only go so long before cracking and Coffey (4-3) ended up with the loss.

"Coffey was our best, most rested guy, he pitched pretty good and we couldn't score [in the extra innings]," Macha explained.

Still, the Brewers put up a heck of a fight considering the offense slept walk through the first eight innings. It woke up just in time to pull off the last minute rally as the Brewers took advantage of a complete meltdown by the Reds' bullpen and defense. The rally was set up by a Reds error and the Brewers put up five runs in the inning including getting three big hits off Reds closer Francisco Cordero. Yes, the same former Brewers closer that two offseason's ago went off to claim bigger riches in Cincinnati.

The Crew could not pull off the walkoff run in that inning when Mike Cameron hit a bases-loaded, one-out sacrifice fly attempt to Darnell McDonald. McDonald's throw to home from left field was right on target to get a charging Ryan Braun out at home.

"You don't have a crystal ball, you don't know where that ball is going," Macha said in defense of third-base coach Brad Fischer's decision to send Braun.

"It was the right place to send him there."

Jeff Suppan made his first start since being placed on the disabled list July 30th with an oblique strain. From the beginning, it was pretty evident he was rusty. Suppan walked five, gave up four runs and nine hits in 4.1 innings of work. He had just one strikeout and of the 90 pitches he threw, only 50 went for strikes. Suppan allowed a baserunner every inning and a run in all but one of the innings he threw.

Suppan has not picked up a victory in his last nine starts and has given up 36 earned runs in 48.1-innings of work during that time.

"I mentioned in the pregame [press conference] there might be some rust and there was," Macha thought.

Laynce Nix blasted a two-run bomb in the seventh off Carlos Villanueva to put the Brewers in a hole that it looked like they would not climb out of. The reason it was looking like that was Reds starter Bronson Arroyo. He only made one mistake by coughing up a home run to Felipe Lopez in the third inning during seven strong innings of work.

It was tough to get any offense going on Arroyo as he gave up six hits, struck out four and walked one. He stranded seven baserunners and the Brewers went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position as Arroyo escaped jams with magician-like precision. Arroyo had to settle for the no-decision as his bullpen let him down.

Reliever Daniel Ray Herrera (2-4) got the win for pitching a clean 13th inning.

Notes
Braden Looper (11-6, 4.95) will start game two of this three-game set. Kip Wells is tentatively scheduled to start for the Reds.