Ben Sheets dominated for five innings before a tight pitching arm forced him from the game Friday night, and the Milwaukee Brewers held on for a 5-2 victory over the slumping Cincinnati Reds.

Sheets (3-0) allowed only a pair of singles, looking very comfortable in a hitter-friendly ballpark where he has never lost. At age 29, the hard-throwing right-hander is having one of the best Aprils of his career, allowing only three earned runs in four games.

That good start has hit a snag.

Sheets felt tightness in his right biceps and left for a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning with the Brewers ahead 5-0. In the last two years, Sheets has been limited by a strained groin, a torn finger tendon, shoulder tendinitis and a sore chest muscle.

Sheets was coming off a 5-3 win over the Mets and Johan Santana on Sunday, when he retired 18 batters in a row over one stretch.

Bill Hall hit a two-run homer off Bronson Arroyo (0-2), who gave up five runs in 5 2-3 innings. The lanky right-hander hasn't lasted six innings in any of his four starts, a product of his high pitch counts. On Friday, he threw 116.

One of the NL's deepest bullpens held on despite two late rallies by the Reds, who have lost six of seven with an offense struggling in the clutch.

Cincinnati loaded the bases with none out in the eighth, but failed to score. Left-hander Mitch Stetter struck out Paul Bako and Scott Hatteberg, and David Riske retired pinch-hitter Corey Patterson on a fly ball to maintain the shutout.

Riske gave up Adam Dunn's run-scoring single with one out in the ninth. Eric Gagne came on with two runners aboard and gave up Edwin Encarnacion's RBI single before closing it out for his fifth save in seven chances. Bako fouled off three full-count pitches before taking a called third strike to end it.

Ken Griffey Jr. was 1-for-4 with a bunt single, leaving him four homers shy of 600 career.

Hall hasn't been able to get many good swings off Arroyo, going 2-for-16 career with 11 strikeouts. In the third inning, he connected on a full-count pitch that was right down the middle. The 439-foot drive landed in the upper deck and gave Hall six homers for the season.

It was that kind of night for Arroyo, who walked three batters in a free-swinging lineup that ranks last in the majors at taking walks. He also hit Jason Kendall with a pitch.

It could have been worse. After loading the bases to open the game and getting runs on Prince Fielder's sacrifice fly and Corey Hart's single, the Brewers ran themselves out of the rally. Ryan Braun was out at home on the back end of a double steal.