CINCINNATI -- It came with none of the fanfare, nor the intense, world-wide scrutiny that Barry Bonds has shouldered this season. Heck, even the scribes on hand failed to immediately take note.

But career home run No. 200 felt every bit a milestone to Carlos Lee.

"I felt like Barry Bonds trying to get 714," Lee said with a chuckle.

Lee snapped a 13-game homerless streak with a two-run shot, and Doug Davis overcame wildness and pitched seven innings for the second straight start as the Brewers beat the Reds, 6-2, on Wednesday night in front of 29,065 at Great American Ball Park.

For the second straight series, the Brewers avoided a three-game sweep with a win in the finale.

"It was important for us to get out of here with a win and move on to Philly," Lee said before the Brewers traveled for a series that begins Friday night. "We can start over again with Philadelphia."

With No. 200 in the books, Lee can start over, too. He set a franchise record with 10 home runs in April, then hit five more in the first eight games of May to give him 199 for his career. But that's when the hot streak came to a sudden end, and Lee had just three hits in his last 30 at-bats entering play Wednesday against Brandon Claussen (3-5) and the Reds.

Lee finished 2-for-3 with two walks and a two-run home run in the fifth inning that gave the Brewers a 5-1 lead. Now he can move on without that milestone home run weighing on his mind.

"It was," Lee admitted. "I have to think that was the reason I kind of slid a little for a while. I was trying to look first pitch to drive the ball, instead of letting it happen. ... I got to 199, and I just hit a wall."

Brady Clark had three hits for the Brewers and Prince Fielder capped a solid series by contributing a sacrifice fly in the first inning and an RBI groundout in the seventh. That was plenty for Davis (3-3), who put together his first quality start since May 4, allowing two Reds runs on five hits and three walks in seven innings.

Davis had to beat the Reds and an illness. Did he feel it was his best start this season?

"Yeah, and that's not saying much," said Davis, who has consistently struggled with command.

The key inning may have been the third, when Davis threw 28 pitches, surrendered two walks and a hit, but escaped with a 3-1 lead intact. He followed up that long inning with a 1-2-3, five-pitch frame in the fourth, part of seven he retired in order.

"I might have thrown a lot of pitches, but I made my pitches when I had to," he said of the escape act in the third.

Austin Kearns hit a solo home run in the sixth inning, but Davis denied the Reds the chance to sweep.

"Doug's good at limiting the damage," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "He's got an uncanny knack for doing it."

Davis even chipped in on offense. With runners at first and third in the second inning, he dropped a sacrifice bunt up the first-base line. When Reds catcher Jason LaRue moved to field it, Damian Miller broke from third base and scored.

"We worked on that this spring, and it paid off," Miller said.

The Brewers continued their torture of Claussen, who was on the hook for five runs and seven hits in six innings. In 10 career starts against the Brewers, Claussen is 1-6 with an 8.18 ERA.

Claussen's only win against the Brewers came in his first-ever start against them, a seven-inning, two-run performance in July 2004. He has a 9.37 ERA in nine matchups since, including his shortest-ever start (1 1/3 innings on Sept. 3, 2004) and a pair of games in which he surrendered a career-high nine earned runs.

One of those nine-run nightmares came April 22 at Miller Park, when Claussen tied a Major League record by serving up four home runs in one inning. The Brewers added another homer off Reds reliever Chris Hammond to tie the Major League record for a single frame.

For his career, Claussen has a 4.81 ERA. Remove the Brewers from the picture, and it's a more-respectable 4.14.

"I really felt like this was a big start, but those first two innings, I was pitching scared, to be honest with you," Claussen said. "I was trying to be too fine and forcing it in there. When that happens, you leave the ball over the middle of the plate. A team like that, that's probably pretty confident against me, is going to get the job done."

The Brewers will probably face Claussen again, so they were careful to say all the right things.

"It's just one of those baseball things. It's weird," Miller said. "I like the way he pitches. He comes after you. He's aggressive. He throws strikes. We just capitalize on his mistakes, that's all. ... His next start, he could dominate us."

Claussen was on the wrong end of Lee's milestone home run. The Reds were able to retrieve the baseball from the left-field seats, and presented it to Lee.

"Wanna buy it?" Lee asked. "I'll sell it to you."

He was kidding. Lee said he planned to keep the baseball, which was authenticated by a Major League Baseball official.

"Some day I'll show it to my son," he said. "I'll say, 'Look, I was good.'"