Giving up his no-hitter in the eighth was bad enough for Bronson Arroyo. Losing the lead soon after made him feel awful.

At least the Cincinnati Reds rallied to win the game.

Arroyo took a no-hitter into the eighth inning on Tuesday night before giving up a three-run lead, but Drew Stubbs led off the bottom half with a homer, sending the Reds to a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Arroyo allowed only one runner through the first seven innings, hitting Ryan Braun in the first. The slumping Brewers hit only four balls out of the infield during that stretch.

Somehow, Arroyo came away with nothing to show for all of it -- still only one win in his past nine starts.

''After a gem like that, a no-decision is terrible,'' Arroyo said.

Milwaukee pulled even with three hits off Arroyo in the eighth, but Stubbs connected on a first-pitch fastball from John Axford (1-5) for his first homer since June 2.

''Bronson got the short end of the stick,'' Stubbs said. ''He pitched a fantastic game. He just caught a rough break.''

Jay Bruce also had a three-run homer for the NL Central-leading Reds, who dropped the defending champion Brewers 8 1/2 games back, matching their biggest deficit of the season.

Arroyo was aware of his no-hitter from the fifth inning on. So were the Brewers, who heard the 32,986 fans cheering a little bit louder with each out they made.

Arroyo's no-hit drama ended abruptly. He walked George Kottaras with one out in the eighth, then gave up a double by Taylor Green, who was in a 1-for-22 slump, that landed just inside the right-field line.

''Probably by the fifth inning, you see the zero up there and you really want to get one,'' Green said.

Corey Hart had a pinch-hit double that cut it to 3-2, and Norichiki Aoki singled to tie it and end Arroyo's outing.

''Bronson threw a heck of a ballgame,'' Reds manager Dusty Baker said. ''That's how it goes sometimes. I've seen guys lose a no-hitter, and then you try and save the ballgame.''