MILWAUKEE -- Since Ryan Braun first made his big league debut in 2007, he has always been well-protected in the Milwaukee lineup. But while that changed this year when Jonathan Lucroy was traded at the deadline to Texas, Braun has been swinging the bat as well as any point in his career.

Braun hit two home runs and drove in six runs as the Brewers avoided a sweep with a 7-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon at Miller Park.

Braun doubled his first time up and then homered in his next two trips. Since the All-Star break, Braun is batting .381 with eight home runs and 20 RBIs.

"We were worried a little about about what would happen after losing the hitter (Jonathan Lucroy) behind him," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. But he's responded really well and he's certainly been swinging the bat great and been really locked in."

Braun has homered five times against the Reds this year and had 35 against Cincinnati pitchers during his career, more than any other opponent.

"I try to have the same approach against everybody -- hope that when you get pitches to hit you don't miss them, regardless of who the pitcher is, who the opponent is," Braun said. "Over the last couple weeks, I've swung the bat pretty well and the pitches that I have gotten to hit, I haven't missed many of them. That's what leads to sustained success."

The Brewers stole four bases in the first inning as they put three on the board against Reds left-hander Cody Reed, who was tagged for six runs, five hits and three walks with a strikeout.

"I could tell when I started warming up today, (I was) just a little off, a little sluggish," Reed said. "But I've obviously still got to make pitches no matter how you feel, and I didn't really do that again."

Reed allowed walks to Keon Broxton and Orlando Garcia to open the first inning and then paid the price when Braun cleared the bases with a double to the wall in left center. Chris Carter singled before Reed got his first out of the inning, but Manny Pina drew a walk to load the bases and Reed hit Jake Elmore with a pitch to make it 3-0.

The second inning didn't go much better for Reed (0-7), who gave up a leadoff double to Broxton and a base hit to Orlando Arcia before Braun cracked a 1-0 changeup to left center for his 21st home run of the season, chasing Reed.

Keyvious Sampson took over from there and worked five innings and allowed just a run -- Braun's second homer of the day -- and two hits while striking out four.

Billy Hamilton went 3-for-4 for Cincinnati, which broke the shutout in the sixth on an RBI double by Joey Votto but couldn't get much else going against Peralta (5-8), who scattered four hits in six innings in his second start since returning from a two-month demotion to Triple-A Colorado Springs.

"It feels great," said Peralta, who has allowed three earned runs in 12 innings since his return. "I think I'm in good shape right now. My mechanics have been pretty good. That's one of the reasons my velocity has been there, has been up in my last few starts. Just being consistent in my delivery, that's all."

Votto made it 7-3 in the eighth when he sent an 0-1 offering from Carlos Torres to right for a two-run homer, his 19th home run of the season. The Reds managed seven hits on the day but were 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded five.

NOTES: Reds 2B Brandon Phillips is day to day after leaving the game with a left knee contusion on Sunday. X-rays came back negative. ... Milwaukee has homered in 17 consecutive games and has 27 in all during that stretch. The streak is the team's longest setting the franchise record of 20 straight games in 2008. ... 3B Jonathan Villar got a day off Sunday. Since moving from shortstop to third when Orlando Arcia was promoted from Triple-A Colorado Springs, Villar is batting .378 (17-for-45) with a .472 OBP during that stretch. ... Sunday marked the finale of Cincinnati's nine-game, 10-day road trip. The Reds have played 15 of their last 18 games on the road and are 26-30 away from Great American Ball Park this season. ... CF Billy Hamilton was back in Cincinnati's starting lineup on Sunday despite being pulled early on Saturday when he jammed his left hand. Hamilton began the day leading the league with 51 stolen bases, three ahead of Villar.