The Brewers had spent the better part of the past week finding just about every way to win. On Sunday, they finally ran out of answers. Milwaukee’s bid for a perfect homestand ended with a 4-3 loss to the Reds at American Family Field, snapping a five-game winning streak on an afternoon when the Brewers repeatedly threatened to extend it. Despite the loss, Milwaukee moved closer to checking another box. With the Cubs also losing Sunday afternoon, the Brewers can clinch the NL Central as early as Tuesday in Pittsburgh. For a team that has already secured its place in October and is now evaluating exactly how all the pieces might fit when it gets there, the afternoon wasn’t without encouraging developments. Start with Robert Gasser. The left-hander continued an impressive late-season stretch with five-plus innings of one-run ball, holding down a Cincinnati lineup that had been swinging the bat well. Gasser carried a 2-0 lead into the sixth before allowing a leadoff single, his final batter of the afternoon. “He was great,” manager Pat Murphy said. “He continues to just -- those first 85 pitches, he’s really, really good. … I thought he did a fabulous job against a team that’s been swinging it.”
