MILWAUKEE -- Jose Barrero’s third-inning bloop double was just out of reach from the glove of big first baseman Rowdy Tellez. It was also the only thing that kept the Reds from being the victims of a combined no-hitter vs. the Brewers during Saturday’s 5-1 defeat at American Family Field that snapped a three-game win streak.

Barrero scored on TJ Friedl’s sacrifice fly for the lone Cincinnati run against Adrian Houser and the Milwaukee pitching staff.

“Tonight, [Houser] just made pitches, really, all night. We weren’t able to get anything going,” Reds manager David Bell said.

Here are four other notable things from the game:

Anderson pitched well

Reds starter Chase Anderson spent four mostly successful seasons with the Brewers rotation (2016-19) before bouncing around several organizations and becoming a reliever. Anderson pitched well against his former club while allowing two earned runs and one hit over four innings with three walks and five strikeouts.

The one hit was costly. Following a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first inning, second batter Willy Adames hit a 1-1 curveball for a two-run home run that skipped off the top of the left-center-field wall.

“Shoot, I feel like if I make that pitch another inch or two down, it’s a ground ball or a popup to left field,” Anderson said. “But welcome back to Milwaukee, it hits the top of the fence and goes out. I think the biggest thing is cutting down on the walks. If I don’t walk guys, things can look a little bit different.” 

Anderson retired 12 of his final 14 batters after the homer and finished with 84 pitches. Neither of his previous two starts lasted more than 2 2/3 innings.

“He’s definitely still building back into being a starter,” Bell said. “We actually took him quite a bit past the ideal pitch count. Just because he was pitching well, we pushed him a little bit further than we planned.”

Strong relief by Cruz

Lefty Reiver Sanmartin replaced Anderson for the bottom of the fifth inning. After Christian Yelich led off with a double, Adames was intentionally walked and Tellez walked to load the bases. A 32-year-old rookie, Fernando Cruz made his fourth big league appearance in a tough spot.

Hunter Renfroe worked Cruz to a full count before flying out to center field and the right-hander showed a lot of emotion heading back to the dugout. He came back for a perfect sixth inning with two strikeouts.

“I felt great. It was a situation that the team needed me,” Cruz said. “A little sad we lost, but at that point, we did the job and we put the team in the best situation possible.”

Risky dive backfires

In the bottom of the seventh inning with Ian Gibault pitching for the Reds down by one run, Tyrone Taylor hit a tailing liner to left field. Jake Fraley made a late diving attempt for the ball but it bounced past him and to the wall for a triple.

“We’ve got to live with plays like that,” Bell said. “We encourage our guys to make plays, we encourage them to get outs. With that come a lot of great plays. We take a lot of runners and runs off the board. You’re going to have plays like that at times.”

With the infield forced to play in, Yelich scorched a grounder through the middle for a key RBI single.

Bell ejected

With one out in the top of the eighth inning, Barrero checked his swing on an 0-2 pitch from Matt Bush. On the appeal to first base, umpire Manny Gonzalez called it strike three. Barrero, who didn’t think he went around, expressed shock. Meanwhile, Bell immediately expressed anger and was ejected by home-plate umpire Jeff Nelson.

“Everything at that point in the game is so big and important. I didn’t think he swung,” Bell said.

It was the fourth time this season that Bell was ejected but the second time this week while trying to stand up for Barrero. During Tuesday’s loss vs. the Cubs, Bell argued a strike call and was tossed in the ninth inning.

“I’m glad he’s standing up for me, he’s looking out for me every time I go out there,” Barrero said via translator Jorge Merlos. “I appreciate what he did for me there. He knows I’m going to try to give it all my best as well. And it’s not just me. He’s always standing up for everyone.”