MILWAUKEE -- Jonathan Lucroy has been frustrated, struggling at the plate the past month despite being named to his first All-Star team. That all changed Tuesday night against the Cincinnati Reds. Lucroy homered leading off the bottom of the ninth to give the Milwaukee Brewers a 4-3 victory over the Reds. "To be honest with you, the last couple of weeks have been kind of tough for making solid contact, but Im glad to help the team out, contribute and get it done tonight," said Lucroy, who was batting just .200 (21 for 105) in his last 25 games. It was Lucroys second homer of the game and 11th of the season. It was his second career walkoff homer and both were against the Reds. His first was last season off closer Aroldis Chapman and this one was off Sam LeCure. The Brewers had lost five consecutive series before beating the Reds in the first two games of this series. Lucroys average had dipped from .341 on June 18 to .308 entering Tuesday nights game. "Hes frustrated because he thinks hes squaring up some balls," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. "Its not like he wasnt locked in, but today obviously he was." Francisco Rodriguez (4-3) pitched the ninth to earn the victory. Cincinnati, which is 0-5 since the All-Star break, brought in LeCure (1-2) to pitch the ninth. His outing lasted just three pitches as Lucroy hit a 1-1 offering for a line drive homer inside the left field foul pole. His first homer of the game was on a 3-2 pitch from starter Homer Bailey in the sixth. The Reds came out of the All-Star break just 1 1/2 games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central but have quickly fallen 4 1/2 games back. "We just havent executed," Cincinnati manager Bryan Price said. "We havent swung the bats well. We havent gotten a quality start. "And we havent played particularly good defence, weve missed some signs and just havent played terribly well," he said. Milwaukee scored all its runs on solo home runs. Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez hit back-to-back homers in the first inning on the one-year anniversary of the start of Brauns 65-game suspension for violating Major League Baseballs drug policies. "Im glad Im not facing them so its nice to have them on our side," Milwaukee starter Jimmy Nelson said of having Braun, Ramirez and Lucroy in the lineup. Braun hit his 13th homer and Ramirez followed with his 12th homer, and first since June 26. Cincinnati made it 2-1 in the fourth on Jay Bruces RBI double that scored Billy Hamilton from third. Lucroys first homer extended Milwaukees lead to 3-1. Cincinnati tied it 3-3 in the seventh. Nelson hit Ramon Santiago on the foot with a pitch with the bases loaded and pinch-hitter Chris Heisey hit a sacrifice fly off reliever Brandon Kintzler. Billy Hamilton then hit a soft fly ball but Zack Cozart was doubled off second base to end the inning. Kintzler, Zach Duke and Rodriguez pitched three hitless innings of relief for Milwaukee. "Kintzler did a great job, coming in with the bases loaded and no outs," Nelson said. The Reds managed only five hits and Milwaukee had six. Nelson allowed three runs, four hits and a walk and hit three batters while striking out five in his fourth major league start. "He was down in the zone and his slider was good," Roenicke said. Bailey allowed three runs, four hits and two walks while striking out three in his first start since leaving a game against the Chicago Cubs on July 10 due to right knee soreness. NOTES: Brewers 2B Scooter Gennett left the game in the fifth inning due to tightness in his right quad. Roenicke said he was day-to-day. ... Cozart left the game after being hit on the right hand by a pitch from Nelson in the seventh inning. X-rays were negative and the team said he was day-to-day. ... The Reds placed RHP Logan Ondrusek on the 15-day DL retroactive to July 13 and recalled RHP Curtis Partch from Triple-A Louisville. ... 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Speaking to reporters at a charity event, Johnson said: "I just kind of wonder sometimes: Is this still the place for me?" Johnsons comments came after he was asked why he recently skipped a voluntary minicamp.PHILADELPHIA -- Jonathon Niese stayed warm, and the surprising New York Mets cooled off Philadelphia. Niese pitched seven steady innings on a rainy Tuesday night and Daniel Murphy had three hits to lead New York to a 6-1 victory over the Phillies. Ruben Tejada doubled and had two RBIs for the Mets, who chased Cole Hamels in the fifth and have won seven of nine. They improved to 15-11 overall, marking the first time New York has been four games over .500 since July 14, 2012. "Conditions are really tough and Jon just keeps cruising along," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "You have to be pretty impressed with the way hes going about it. He used all of his pitches. It seemed like he had good command of his curveball even though it was wet. ... He went out and pitched another great game." Marlon Byrd homered and Ryan Howard had two hits with a double for Philadelphia, which lost for only the third time in nine games. The start was delayed by rain for 1 hour, 28 minutes, and the temperature at first pitch was a chilly 46 degrees. Many in the announced crowd of 28,189 who braved the cold were dressed more appropriately for a Philadelphia Eagles football game in December, with hooded sweat shirts, winter coats and wool blankets. There was a misty rain for the first 2 1/2 innings before heavy rain began to fall in the bottom of the third. The rain tapered off to a drizzle before becoming heavy again in the seventh. The weather hardly affected Niese (2-2), who didnt allow a hit until Byrds two-out homer in the fourth. The left-hander gave up four hits while striking out five and walking one. "It was another cold one," Niese said, "but it seems like the more I pitch in cold weather, the more I figure out how to stay warm." Niese sat near a heater in the Mets dugout and kept his hands in his jacket pockets, which contained hand warmers. While on the mound, Niese said he made sure to move around constantly rather than stand still. "I was able to effectively throw my pitches," he said. Said Murphy, "He threw the ball great. It was a treat to watch from second base." Hamels (0-2) struggled in his first home start of the season, allowing six runs on eight hitss with five walks and a hit batter in 4 2-3 innings.dddddddddddd Seeking his 100th career victory, Hamels lost the strike zone in the fourth when he walked four batters, including Niese with the bases loaded, as the Mets took a 3-0 lead. Hamels was making his second start of the season after opening on the disabled list due to left biceps tendinitis. The leftys ERA rose to 6.75 as he dropped to 2-8 in his last 10 home starts against the Mets. Murphy had a two-out RBI single in the third, and Josh Satin singled home a run in the fourth. "Ive never seen Cole be that erratic, and Im sure a lot of that was the conditions," Collins said. "Its early in the year and he missed a lot of spring training. Hell be fine, Im sure." Hamels said the conditions made it difficult to pitch but blamed himself for not being able to adjust better. "The elements got the best of me today," he said. "From my standpoint, Im truly embarrassed because I didnt really give anyone a chance." Hamels said a lack of perspiration made gripping the ball difficult. "When youre able to perspire, youre able to get certain types of grips with the baseball," he said, before joking: "Today might have been the day to use pine tar, but unfortunately I dont do that. It might have been the day to learn. It was difficult to throw the baseball and difficult to throw strikes. You have to be able to battle out there, and I wasnt able to do it." Byrds homer pulled the Phillies to 3-1, but New York chased Hamels when it got an RBI double from Chris Young and a two-run single from Tejeda to make it 6-1 in the fifth. NOTES: Mets starters have given up more than three runs once in the last 13 games. ... Murphy extended his hitting streak to 10 games. ... Mets RHP Bartolo Colon (2-3, 4.50 ERA) is scheduled to face RHP Kyle Kendrick (0-2, 3.52) in the conclusion of the two-game series Wednesday night. ... During the rain delay, the Phillies showed Game 6 of the NHL playoff series between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers on the scoreboard and rang the bell in centre field traditionally rung for home runs when Wayne Simmonds scored a first-period goal to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead. ' ' '