Brewers' rally falls short against Reds

CINCINNATI (AP) - Bronson Arroyo took a no-hitter into the eighth inning on Tuesday night before giving up a three-run lead, but Drew Stubbs led off the bottom half with a homer, sending the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Arroyo allowed only one runner through the first seven innings, hitting Ryan Braun in the first. The slumping Brewers hit only four balls out of the infield during that stretch.

After Milwaukee pulled even with three hits in the eighth, Stubbs connected on the first pitch from John Axford (1-5) for his first homer since June 2. Jay Bruce also had a three-run homer.

The defending NL Central champions fell to 8½ games behind the first-place Reds, matching their biggest deficit of the season.

Arroyo's no-hit drama ended abruptly. He walked George Kottaras with one out in the eighth, then gave up a double by Taylor Green - in a 1-for-22 slump - that landed just inside the right-field line. Corey Hart had a pinch-hit double that cut it to 3-2, and Norichiki Aoki singled to tie it and end Arroyo's outing.

Sean Marshall (2-3) escaped the threat, and Aroldis Chapman struck out three in the ninth for his ninth save in 12 tries, celebrating the three-hitter with a pair of somersaults in front of the mound. Chapman had blown two of his last four save chances by giving up homers.

Arroyo recovered from one of his worst starts - only four innings in a 7-1 loss in Cleveland last Wednesday. He got several impressive defensive plays behind him to keep his no-hitter intact into the eighth.

The futility felt familiar to the Brewers, who had been held to one run in three of their last four games.

Milwaukee's Marco Estrada returned from the disabled list and fanned a career-high 12 batters in six innings, but gave up Bruce's 17th homer.

For the second night in a row, a pitcher set a career high in strikeouts at hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park. Cincinnati's Mat Latos fanned 13 in a 3-1 complete-game victory in the series opener on Monday.

Estrada had been on the disabled list since May 24 with a strained right thigh. He made two rehab starts at Triple-A and came back as sharp as he's been all season.

The right-hander fanned Zack Cozart on a 91 mph fastball to open the Reds' first inning, and kept going. He struck out six of the first nine he faced, and had 10 strikeouts - a career high - through only five innings.

Estrada gave up a double by Joey Votto in the sixth, a single by Brandon Phillips and Bruce's drive, which made it 64 consecutive games at Great American with at least one homer. It's the longest such streak since Coors Field had 80 straight game with one from 2002-03, according to STATS LLC.

NOTES: Zack Greinke starts the final game of the series for Milwaukee against Homer Bailey. ... Dr. Henry Heimlich presented a life-saving award to Reds 3B Todd Frazier before the game. Frazier saved a choking restaurant patron during a series in Pittsburgh last month. ... Brewers RHP Shaun Marcum felt better during a throwing session on Tuesday. Marcum has been on the 15-day DL since June 15 with tightness in his right elbow. Manager Ron Roenicke had hoped that Marcum could be activated and start on Saturday, but decided that's no longer an option. Marcum had some discomfort while throwing on Monday. ... Cincinnati's last no-hitter was Tom Browning's perfect game against the Dodgers on Sept. 16, 1988.