Eugenio Suárez hit a two-run homer, Luis Castillo won his fourth straight start, and streaking Cincinnati moved above .500 for the first time since opening day, beating the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 Monday night.

The Reds (28-27) won for the eighth time in nine games, a season-best surge that’s put them back in playoff contention. They’re chasing the Cardinals for second place in the NL Central.

“The whole team is working perfectly,” Castillo said. “We’ve won eight out of nine. Everything is going our way.”

The Reds are coming off six losing seasons and haven’t been to the playoffs since 2013. They spent $156 million in the offseason — one of the majors’ biggest splurges — to try to reverse course.

And now, they’ve got their chance.

“The last few games we’ve played like this is our year,” Suárez said. “We’ve got to play all the rest of the games like they’re also playoff games.”

The Brewers (26-27) had their season-high four-game winning streak snapped, wasting a chance to move above .500 for the first time this season. They’ve reached break-even seven times.

“I know we’re chasing two teams, St. Louis and Cincinnati,” said Brandon Woodruff, who gave up Suárez’s pivotal homer. “Honestly I haven’t really looked at the record. We know we’re pretty much neck-and-neck, and we know we need to win these games.”