Castro pumped his first as he rounded first base on his one-out homer into the lower deck in left field. Castro has been limited by a sore back in the past week.

Danny Graves (1-2) pitched the last two innings to get the win, only Cincinnati’s second in its last eight games.

Milwaukee had been 10-0 when leading after seven innings, a streak that Dunn snapped when he led off the eighth with a homer off Ben Ford. The teams then took turns wasting chances.

Ken Griffey Jr., out of the Reds’ lineup for a second straight game because of a tight hamstring, pinch hit and took a called third strike from Brooks Kieschnick with runners on first and third. Kieschnick also got Ryan Freel looking, ending the eighth.

Milwaukee got two runners aboard against Graves in the ninth, but Scott Podsednik grounded into a double play.

The Reds topped that, failing to score despite loading the bases with one out in the ninth. Luis Vizcaino struck out Brandon Larson and Jason Romano.

Milwaukee’s Ben Sheets matched his career high by striking out 10 in six innings, then turned a 4-3 lead over to the bullpen. Sheets didn’t mind missing Griffey, who is 3-for-7 career against the right-hander with two homers.

There were more pitching problems for the Reds, who demoted struggling starter Jimmy Haynes to the bullpen before the game.

Jose Acevedo developed a blister on the middle finger of his right hand and had to leave the game in the fifth inning, another blow to a staff that ranks near the bottom of the NL.

Keith Ginter, who turned 28 on Wednesday, got the Brewers going with a solo homer in the first. Teammates slapped his hand and wished him happy birthday when he returned to the dugout.

Lyle Overbay had an RBI double, extending his hitting streak to seven games, and catcher Javier Valentin’s throwing error let in another run as the Brewers pulled ahead 3-0.

Valentin’s two-run homer, his second in three games, tied it at 3 in the fourth inning.

Acevedo left the game after throwing his 66th pitch in the top of the fifth. Phil Norton replaced him and immediately gave up an RBI single to Geoff Jenkins that put Milwaukee up 4-3.

Notes: Podsednik has been successful on his last 16 steal attempts, leaving him one behind Robin Yount for the franchise record. … RHP reliever Adrian Hernandez with start for the Brewers on Saturday in New York. Hernandez made three starts for the Yankees in 2001 and one more for them in 2002. … RHP Todd Van Poppel will take Haynes’ spot as the fifth starter. Van Poppel is 23-34 career as a starter with a 6.45 ERA. … Dunn had a walk and a pair of strikeouts against Sheets. He is 1-for-15 career against the right-hander.

AP-ES-05-05-04 2230EDT