Sean Casey digs Aaron Boone's low throw out of the dirt to retire Jeffrey Hammonds. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Sean Casey hit a home run — something he hadn't done since last August — and his teammates acted as if they didn't notice.

        When Casey rounded the bases and reached the dugout, his teammates sat on the bench, feigning indifference. Casey raised his fists in triumph and his teammates then popped up to offer congratulations.

        “I finally got the gorilla off my back,” said Casey, who doubled three times Monday night but had gone 53 games and 192 at-bats without a homer. “Barely over the wall or not, that thing's gone.”

        The Reds took advantage of another dismal showing by a Milwaukee starter, pulling ahead 7-0 in the third inning.

Elmer Dessens hits a two-run single. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        After Casey's homer, the Reds loaded the bases with two outs and Brewers starter Glendon Rusch went to a 2-2 count on Reds starter Elmer Dessens. He threw a breaking ball that appeared to be strike three — Dessens even started toward the dugout — but plate umpire Rick Reed called it a ball. Dessens lined the next pitch for a two-run single, essentially finishing off the Brewers.

        “That was a big curveball,” Dessens said of the 2-2 pitch. “I thought he had me struck out.”

        Dessens' two-hit game was the first by a Reds pitcher this season. Dessens, a .150 career hitter, had three two-hit games last season.

        The Brewers lost for the 12th time in 14 games, leaving them with the league's worst record at 9-24. They've been particularly bad on the road, losing eight straight.

        Milwaukee has the majors' worst road record at 2-15 and has gone 3-24 on the road since last Sept. 8.

        “This is hard times,” manager Jerry Royster said. “We've been in a funk for 15 games. Winning one out of every eight games is not going to get it.”

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