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 With two outs and two strikes in the ninth, Gagne blew his second save in three chances when Corey Patterson hit a homer just over right fielder Corey Hart's leap to tie the game.
Gagne, who signed a one-year, $10 million contract this offseason to close for the Brewers after Francisco Cordero cashed in with a $46 million contract with the Reds, also blew a save on opening day against the Cubs on Wednesday.
Milwaukee won that game in the 10th and did the same against the Reds.
J.J. Hardy singled to start the inning and pinch-hitter Joe Dillon sacrificed Hardy to second. Jason Kendall singled off David Weathers (0-1) to right field to set up Weeks, who hit it just past shortstop Jeff Keppinger. Salomon Torres (1-0) got the win.
Gagne's failure overshadowed the pitching performances of Reds rookie Johnny Cueto and Brewers veteran Jeff Suppan. Cueto dominated the Brewers with his 96 mph fastball and hard slider, striking out eight in 6 1-3 innings to follow up the 10 Ks he had in his major league debut and victory on Thursday.
After the Brewers first six hitters started 0-for-16 with seven strikeouts against the 22-year-old right-hander, Bill Hall sent a hanging, full count slider in the seventh inning deep to the left-field bleachers, giving Milwaukee a 2-1 lead Gagne couldn't hold.
Cueto left one batter after giving up Hall's homer. He struck Hart for the third time before being relieved by Jared Burton. Cueto allowed five hits and has yet to walk a batter in his short career.
The Brewers scratched their first run across in the third inning.
After Hardy's slow rolling single, Suppan, batting in the eighth slot, bunted Hardy over to second for Kendall, who delivered with a blooper just over the infield to left that brought Hardy home.
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Milwaukee nearly did it again in the fifth after Hardy singled and Suppan sacrificed. But Kendall's single was too hard to right field and kept Hardy at third. Cueto settled and struck out Weeks on a slider in the dirt to end the inning.
In the dugout after the K, Cueto pretended to be on the mound, mimicking his stare down and pitching motion before busting out with a wide grin and taking a seat.
Suppan, though, kept the Reds from scoring until the seventh by relying on his sharp command, allowing a run on six hits and two walks. After Suppan twice worked out of trouble, Patterson's hot grounder got past a diving Weeks at second base to score Joey Votto. Suppan was done after the inning, finishing with a strikeout.
Cincinnati loaded the bases in the eighth, but it wasn't until Patterson got back up in the ninth and was down to his last strike that the Reds struck again.
[Associated Press; By COLIN FLY]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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