CINCINNATI -- The frustration in David Bell’s face told the story Saturday night after his club lost its third straight to the Brewers, 5-4, at Great American Ball Park.

The Brewers did all the things that make them an 80-win team heading into September and rolling toward their third NL Central title in the past four seasons.

Blake Perkins ranged back in center and robbed Noelvi Marte of a homer to end the sixth inning of a 4-4 game.

Rookie Jackson Chourio returned from a one-game absence due to a rolled right ankle and hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth.

And then, when closer Devin Williams worked himself into a two-out bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth, Jake Bauers made a diving grab of a hard-hit grounder off the bat of Ty France to end the game and give the Brewers their ninth win in 12 tries against the Reds so far this season.

The Reds?

Elly De La Cruz couldn’t quite get a routine grounder for his MLB-leading 27th error of the season. Marte couldn’t score from third on a routine ground ball double play.

“As a runner at third base, in that situation, you're going on the ground ball that they can turn a double play on,” Bell said. “If it's softly hit, especially to a third baseman, you want to stay because they're not gonna be able to turn a double play.

“You'd rather have second and third and be able to throw, throw the runner out at the plate. So as a runner, you have to make a split-second decision and make that read. And if it's hit hard, to go, but if it is hit slower, you want to be able to stay.”

Bell was asked how he could get the Reds to play defense like the Brewers showed Saturday and how they’ve played all season.

“The guy [Bauers] made a great play, and we put together a great inning,” a frustrated Bell lamented. “They made a great play to end the game, maybe we can talk about that [Sunday]. Fair question. It's just not, not the right time.”

The Reds had one final chance in the ninth because of their two-out tenacity against Williams.

Williams walked Tyler Stephenson and De La Cruz before hitting TJ Friedl on the back knee to load the bases, setting the stage for Bauers’ game-saving heroics on France.

“The Brewers, they're a good team, and they did what they had to do tonight to win the game,” Bell said. “They made great plays, great swings off good pitches. I mean, they're good.”

The crowd on hand for the game followed by a Diesel (also known as the one and only Shaquille O’Neal) concert was treated to a show in the ninth.

Justin Wilson (1-4) gave up the go-ahead homer to Chourio and took the loss while Aaron Ashby (1-2) worked two scoreless innings over the seventh and eighth to earn the win.

Willy Adames put the Reds in a 3-0 hole with his third homer in as many games. His 27th roundtripper and 12th this season with two men aboard came against Buck Farmer in the third inning.

The Reds wiped out an early 3-0 deficit by getting to their former teammate, Frankie Montas, for four runs on seven hits and three walks over six innings.

Spencer Steer had a two-run single in the fifth and Amed Rosario tied the game with a 420–foot two-run homer in the sixth.

The Reds’ biggest weapon Saturday night was the strikeout pitch. Opener Fernando Cruz worked out of first and second inning base traffic with five strikeouts in two innings.

Cruz, Farmer, David Buchanan (Reds debut) and Tony Santillan combined to fan 14 Milwaukee batters as the Brewers went 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position.