PHOENIX -- Kyle Lohse threw three scoreless innings, Martin Maldonado homered and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-3 Tuesday for their first win this spring.
The Brewers had been outscored 27-14 in losing their first five exhibition games.
Lohse, projected as the opening day starter, allowed two hits and struck out four.
Reds starter Johnny Cueto gave up a run and three hits in three innings.
"Spring is a little boring, but it's what you have to do to get ready for the season," Cueto, coming off his first 20-win season, said through a translator. "I felt good even though you don't have a lot of time out there."
Maldonado, getting plenty of playing time with catcher Jonathan Lucroy still out with a hamstring problem, is hitting .556 for the spring (5 for 9) with a double, a triple and a homer.
"Maldy's trying to get MVP of the Cactus League," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. "It's always nice to win a game, although we still got sloppy on a couple of plays. But it was better and we had some good offense."
Shane Peterson had a two-run homer and Jason Rogers got three hits for Milwaukee.
The Reds scored all their runs in the ninth off reliever Tyler Cravy.
Lohse had a little mechanical issue with his delivery but the results were good. He struck out Brayan Pena and Todd Frazier to end the first and Brennan Boesch to end his outing in the third with runners on first and third.
"I was coming out of my delivery a little bit, but I was able to figure it out by the third inning," said Lohse, who has allowed one earned run with seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. "We're down here to learn how to consistently deliver the ball. It doesn't matter to me who I'm facing."
Milwaukee expects first baseman Adam Lind to make his first Cactus League appearance Thursday against Colorado. He has been slowed by lower back stiffness. He has battled back problems for the past four years. Meanwhile, catcher Jonathan Lucroy will play in minor-league games on Thursday and Friday with an eye toward a Cactus League game as the next step.
