Andruw Monasterio belted his first career homer in support of seven strong innings from Adrian Houser as the visiting Milwaukee Brewers won 5-1 on Sunday afternoon to secure their third straight victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

A sinker specialist, Houser (2-1) opened the game by retiring the first seven batters he faced and generated six groundouts over the first three innings.

Houser, 2-3 with a 6.14 ERA in eight previous starts at Great American Ball Park, held the Reds to one run and six hits over his seven innings.

Jake Fraley broke up the shutout with a solo homer to left center off Houser to lead off the seventh. It was Fraley’s second homer in as many games and his seventh of the season, one behind rookie Spencer Steer for the Cincinnati team lead.

The Reds have followed up a five-game winning streak with four straight losses.

The Brewers used the long ball to account for their first four runs. Monasterio clubbed a 400-foot homer to straightaway center, just over the reach of center fielder Will Benson and onto the grass berm, for a 3-0 lead in the first inning.

Ben Lively (3-3) walked Owen Miller before striking out Rowdy Tellez for the second out. After a walk to Jon Singleton, Monasterio belted his first career home run.

Monasterio was forced from the game after he collided with Benson in the third inning, as Benson slid head first back into second base to avoid a pickoff. Monasterio suffered a cut on the bridge of his nose and was examined for a possible concussion.

He was replaced by Mike Brosseau in the batting order in the fourth while Miller moved from third to second base to take over for Monasterio.

The Brewers made it 4-0 when Victor Caratini crushed a Lively sinker an estimated 429 feet to the seats in right for his third homer to open the fifth. Miller added an RBI single later in the inning for the 5-0 lead.

Lively went seven innings for the first time since September 2017 with the Phillies, allowing a season-high five runs on six hits.

Rookie T.J. Hopkins, a day after his big-league debut, made his first major league start in left field for Cincinnati.

–Field Level Media

Drew Ellis hit two home runs and Kyle Schwarber belted a pair of three-run blasts as the Philadelphia Phillies topped the host Washington Nationals 11-3 on Sunday afternoon.

Schwarber drove in six runs from the leadoff spot in the batting order and pushed his home run total to 15 for the season. J.T. Realmuto also homered to help the Phillies win for the second game in a row after a five-game losing streak.

Ellis, playing in his fourth major league game of the season and batting in the No. 9 spot, went 3-for-3 with two walks, three RBIs and four runs. Nick Castellanos also had three hits, helping Philadelphia to a double-figure run total for the fourth time this season.

Ranger Suarez gave the Phillies a strong outing as the starting pitcher, logging seven innings and allowing one run on eight hits. He struck out three and walked one.

Suarez (1-2) notched his first regular-season victory since last September, though he recorded two postseason wins for Philadelphia last fall.

Nationals starter Trevor Williams (2-4) and reliever Andres Machado each gave up two home runs.

Ellis, who was 1-for-7 entering the game, hit a go-ahead solo homer in the fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie. His two-run shot in the seventh extended the margin to 8-1.

Realmuto homered for the second day in a row for the game’s first run in the top of the second for Philadelphia.

A three-run blast by Schwarber in the sixth inning stretched the Phillies’ lead to 5-1. Schwarber was the first batter Machado faced.

Brandon Marsh had a sacrifice fly for the Phillies.

Washington scored on Stone Garrett’s fourth-inning sacrifice fly for its only run until Ildemaro Vargas’ two-run homer in the ninth. Vargas, Dominic Smith, Riley Adams and Alex Call each had two hits for the Nationals, who have lost five of their last seven games.

Williams gave up four runs in 5 2/3 innings with four walks and six strikeouts.

–Field Level Media

The San Francisco Giants placed left-hander Alex Wood on the 15-day injured list Sunday due to a low back strain.

The move is retroactive to June 1, one day after he was rocked for six runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings of a 9-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Wood, 32, is 1-1 with a 4.80 ERA in eight games (seven starts) this season.

He is 72-61 with a 3.71 ERA in 248 career games (197 starts) with the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds and Giants.

Also on Sunday, the Giants recalled right-hander Tristan Beck from Triple-A Sacramento.

Beck, 26, has a 4.10 ERA with one save and no decisions in 10 relief appearances this season with the Giants.

–Field Level Media

The Boston Red Sox placed left-hander Joely Rodriguez on the 15-day injured list amid a series of bullpen moves on Sunday.

Rodriguez, 31, is dealing with left shoulder inflammation and his designation is retroactive to Thursday.

Rodriguez has no decisions and an 18.00 ERA in five relief appearances in his first season with the Red Sox.

Boston also optioned left-hander Ryan Sherriff to Worcester and recalled right-hander Kaleb Ort and lefty Brennan Bernardino from the Triple-A club.

Sherriff, 33, pitched in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader split with the Tampa Bay Rays. He has no decisions and a 2.70 ERA in five relief appearances.

Ort, 31, is 1-0 with a 7.30 ERA in 12 relief appearances (12 1/3 innings) with Boston this season.

Bernardino, 31, is 1-0 with a 2.93 ERA in 13 games (15 1/3 innings) for the Red Sox in 2023.

–Field Level Media

Ji Hwan Bae’s two-run single in the first inning Sunday held up as the difference for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who topped the visiting St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 for a three-game series sweep.

The Pirates have won five in a row overall.

Pittsburgh starter Rich Hill (5-5), who had lost two straight starts, gave up one run and four hits in 6 2/3 innings, with six strikeouts and three walks. It was the longest start of the season for Hill, 43.

Although it seemed that Pirates closer David Bednar would not be available after pitching in each of the first two games of the series, he pitched the ninth to earn his 13th save, including one in each game of the series.

Andrew Knizner hit a solo homer in the seventh inning for the Cardinals, who have lost five of their past six games.

St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas (4-2), who had won four decisions in a row and had a 16-inning scoreless streak entering the game, allowed two runs and 10 hits over five innings, with two strikeouts and no walks.

In the bottom of the first, Bryan Reynolds singled to right and went to second on Jack Suwinski’s single to right-center. Carlos Santana popped out. Ke’Bryan Hayes reached on an infield single that went off the glove of first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, loading the bases.

Bae singled to center, driving in Reynolds and Suwinski for a 2-0 Pirates lead and ending Mikolas’ scoreless streak at 16 2/3 innings.

The St. Louis leadoff batter reached in each of the first four innings, but Hill got out of it each time.

With one out in the second and a runner on first, Cardinals designated hitter Luken Baker, making his major league debut after being brought up from Triple-A Memphis, singled to right in his first at-bat. He finished 2-for-4.

Going into the seventh, Hill had retired nine in a row. He got the first two Cardinals out to make it 11 straight before Knizner hit his fifth homer, to left, to cut the deficit in half to 2-1.

–Field Level Media

The Cleveland Guardians designated for assignment starting pitcher Zach Plesac, who was sent to Triple-A Columbus earlier this season.

With the move on Sunday, the team is letting go of a pitcher who started 49 games over the 2021-22 seasons and was in the rotation on Opening Day this season.

In a corresponding transaction, the Guardians activated right-hander Triston McKenzie from the 60-day injured list to make his season debut in Sunday’s game against the host Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis.

Plesac, 28, went 1-1 with a 7.59 ERA in five starts this season. The right-hander is 26-27 with a 4.20 ERA in 84 career games (83 starts) with Cleveland.

At Columbus, he started five games with a 1-3 record and 7.56 ERA.

Also on Sunday, the Guardians optioned Michael Kelly to Triple-A Columbus.

Kelly, 30, had yet to pitch for the Guardians this season. He recorded a 2.25 ERA without a decision in four relief appearances with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2022.

McKenzie was shut down a couple of days before the start of the season after an MRI revealed a strain in his right teres major muscle. He made his final rehab start last Tuesday but was limited to 43 pitches because of a rain delay.

McKenzie, 25, went 11-11 for the Guardians last season with a 2.96 ERA, ninth-best in the American League. He is 18-21 with a 3.68 ERA in 64 career games (60 starts) with Cleveland.

–Field Level Media

The Arizona Diamondbacks gave manager Torey Lovullo a one-year contract extension through the 2024 season on Sunday.

Lovullo, 57, is in his seventh season with Arizona and is the longest-tenured manager in franchise history. He owns a 446-483 record with the Diamondbacks.

The Diamondbacks (35-24) entered play on Sunday tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the National League West.

“I want to stay here for the rest of my life,” Lovullo told reporters before Sunday afternoon’s home game against the Atlanta Braves. “I love Arizona. My family, my wife, we love Arizona. And I want to be here for every day of the rest of my career and honor whatever contract is thrown at me.

“I have, for whatever reason, been able to work through some very tough times here, and I’m more grateful for that than I am any new contract that I’m getting. They stuck with me and I owe this organization my absolute best effort.”

Lovullo earned NL Manager of the Year honors in 2017 after guiding the Diamondbacks to a 93-69 record and a playoff appearance. Arizona defeated the Colorado Rockies in the wild-card round before being eliminated in three games in the NL Division Series by the Dodgers.

–Field Level Media