CINCINNATI -- Indians manager Terry Francona considered resting Edwin Encarnacion and playing Carlos Santana at first base during Cleveland's two games against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.

Encarnacion was having none of it.

"He really wanted to play, and I like that," Francona said. "I was really happy to have a guy who wanted to play that bad. I'm glad I didn't rest him."

Encarnacion homered twice against his former club, and Yan Gomes and Francisco Lindor also went deep, lifting the Indians to an 8-7 victory over the Reds on Tuesday night.

"That was a hard game to win," Francona said. "Seemed like there was traffic all night. We were fortunate to scratch one across (to break an eighth-inning tie) and make it hold up."

Cleveland (24-20) pounded Reds rookie left-hander Amir Garrett, who allowed seven runs and yielded a season-high four homers in five innings.

The Indians led 7-3 in the seventh, but Cincinnati's Adam Duvall singled home a run, and pinch hitter Eugenio Suarez's three-run homer off Bryan Shaw tied the score 7-7.

"We're a hard team to take lightly, even after you get ahead," Reds manager Bryan Price said.

After all the home runs, it was a wild pitch from Drew Storen (1-1) that allowed the Indians to score the go-ahead run from third in the eighth. Cleveland did not record a hit in the inning. Encarnacion, who scored the winning run, reached on a fielding error by third baseman Scooter Gennett.

"It was a changeup away," Storen, who issued two walks in the inning, said of the wild pitch. "Against a team like that, you can't give them free baserunners, especially with a leadoff walk."

Then, in the bottom of the inning, Daniel Robertson, who had shifted from center to right field the inning before, prevented the Reds from tying the score when he threw out Jose Peraza at home for the third out.

Andrew Miller (3-0) got the win after throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Miller's at-bat in the eighth in which he struck out provided a moment of levity in a tense contest. Miller has four career hits, but Francona wasn't comfortable with one of his top relievers standing at the plate.

"You should just be able to hold up three fingers, he's out," Francona said. "When he was asking what the guy's secondary pitches were, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry."

Cody Allen struck out Gennett for the final out in the ninth with two runners on to wrap up his 13th save.

Cincinnati (21-24) has lost nine of 11.

After the thriller, the home-and-home interleague series shifts to Cleveland for games at Progressive Field on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Lindor started the scoring with his 10th home run of the season in the first inning.

The Reds tied the score on back-to-back two-out doubles by Joey Votto and Duvall in the bottom half.

Garrett put the Reds ahead in the second when he faked a bunt and then lined a double to right for his first career hit, driving home the go-ahead run. However, the Indians continued to get good swings against the former St. John's University basketball standout.

In the third, Michael Brantley had an RBI double and Santana capped a 10-pitch at-bat with an RBI hit.

Encarnacion, who hit a 428-foot foul ball to left in Monday's series opener, reached the left field bleachers in the third with a fair ball for a two-run homer, his eighth long bal of the season. Gomes followed with his fourth homer, making the score 6-3.

"When he's really good, he throws three pitches for strikes to both sides of the plate," Price said of Garrett. "He didn't have the ability to cluster pitches for strikes today. He's a young pitcher learning the ropes and how to manage his stuff. I thought he had good stuff."

Encarnacion, who spent five seasons in Cincinnati, homered on a 3-2 pitch from Garrett in the fifth for his 26th career multi-homer game, his first this season.

"I feel really good," Encarnacion said via a translator. "When I feel this good, I want to play. Does me no good to sit on the bench. I'm feeling better about my results every day."

NOTES: The Indians signed free agent OF David Lough to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Columbus. ... Reds 2B Jose Peraza extended his career-high hitting streak to 10 games with an eighth-inning single. ... Reds LHP Brandon Finnegan threw 21 pitches in a bullpen session with no issues, and he is expected to throw again Saturday. Finnegan is on the disabled list due to a left shoulder strain.