MILWAUKEE – Brice Turang hit a two-run homer, Tyler Alexander struck out six in 5 2/3 hitless innings for his first victory of the season and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 on Friday night.

Milwaukee has won four straight following an 0-4 start — the first team to do so since the 2021 Atlanta Braves.

The Reds played without first-year manager Terry Francona and several players who were sent back to the team hotel sick, although most key players were in the lineup. Bench coach Freddie Benavides took over managing duties.

Turang’s second homer of the season came in the fifth inning for a 3-0 lead. It gave him a career-best eight-game hitting streak — and an 11-game stretch dating to last season.

Cincinnati ended a 35-inning scoreless streak when Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth to drive in TJ Friedl. Jeimer Candelario followed with an RBI double.

Trevor Megill got Friedl to fly out for his first save.

Nick Martinez (0-2) allowed five hits and three earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.

Milwaukee left fielder Jackson Chourio, who went 0 for 5 with five strikeouts on Opening Day, has hit safely in seven consecutive games.

Key moment

Cincinnati appeared to be in danger of a fourth consecutive shutout, especially after being held without a hit through six innings before Gavin Lux hit a seventh-inning single.

Key stat

Milwaukee is 39-14 against the Reds in the last 53 games.

Up next

RHP Elvin Rodríguez (0-1, 9.00) will start for Milwaukee on Saturday against Cincinnati RHP Brady Singer (1-0, 0.00)

If you were a coming-of-age teenager in the ’90s, you were the last generation to experience life without WiFi and social media. We tuned into commercial radio to hear music, and we set our boomboxes to record in hopes of catching a song you could add to a mixtape.

There was always that friend who had the best mixtapes and introduced you to something cool that wasn’t on the radio. My best friend’s cool, older sister was that person to me, and I still have her mixtape that exposed me to my first Ani DiFranco song, “Talk to Me Now.”

I was a proud choir nerd, and the first thing I noticed was the clarity and control of Ani’s voice. She could do what I constantly practiced, and it didn’t take me long to realize this singer was more than just a voice. She was saying something I hadn’t heard before, and I knew I wanted more.

At such a pivotal moment in my life, her music was monumental. It marked my entry to Feminism, searching for music with substance, and a lifelong commitment to questioning and challenging everything. It’s been quite the learning curve, and I plan to continue on this path with Ani’s music as the soundtrack.

This story will sound familiar to the Ani fans out there. The one advantage I have is working for 88Nine, where I can play her music on the radio and have close encounters with my teen idol.

I kept my distance when she visited for a Studio Milwaukee Session many years ago and was later able to interview her via email. Then last week, my colleague (and friend), 88Nine music director Erin Wolf, asked if I was interested in doing a Zoom interview with my hero ahead of two huge events for her Milwaukee fans: Monday night’s concert at the Pabst Theater and a special encore screening of her documentary, 1-800-On-Her-Own, this Friday at the Oriental Theatre.

One jaw drop, one hug and a few days later, I was face to face (virtually) with Ani DiFranco. Admittedly, I still felt like that ’90s-era nervous teenager at the start of our conversation but eventually settled into something closer to my 40-something self by the end.

Having a conversation with my personal hero took my breath away, and then with every exhale came gratitude for what I love most in life: my friends, my family, my horse, my principles, this job I have with Radio Milwaukee, and the people in the world who inspire me to stretch my mind, search for new art and constantly grow my heart.

You’ll hear that in our conversation, as well as plenty about her most recent album, Unprecedented Sh!t, the documentary, her life on the road and how she never stops searching for more ways to connect with her fans.

Ani, from the teenage me and the not-so-teenage me, thank you for this interview and your unique ability to inspire.

The IRS will rake in $1,245,000 for the sale of a four bedroom Mequon home once owned by a Milwaukee lawyer convicted of failing to pay taxes on about $3.4 million of income.

The tax agency said there were four registered bidders seeking to buy the four-bedroom, 4½-bathroom house at 118 E. Springwood Court. The IRS didn’t disclose the buyer’s name.

The property auction was held Thursday at the Ozaukee County Courthouse and the IRS required a minimum bid of $990,000.

The agency described the property as a “stately colonial home on a private wooded lot in Beechwood Farms with natural light, spacious rooms & a functional floorplan.”

The house had been the home of Eric Lenzen, once a prominent Milwaukee lawyer.

Leznen was convicted last year and sentenced to 16 months in prison.

Lenzen led the national Financial Services & Capital Markets Industry team at the Milwaukee law firm of Husch Blackwell. Later, he and and six other partners joined Dykema Law, a national firm.

His law license is currently suspended for disciplinary and other reasons, according to wisbar.org.

Contact Cary Spivak at (414) 550-0070 or cspivak@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @cspivak.