CLEVELAND -- Jason Kipnis provided much of the offense and Cleveland's six pitchers took it from there as the Indians beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-2 on Wednesday night at Progressive Field.

Kipnis drove in three runs with a homer and a two-run double and five Cleveland pitchers combined to work 4 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of right-hander Cody Anderson.

Kipnis' seventh home run of the year came leading off the eighth inning against left-hander Will Smith and gave the Indians a 6-2 lead.

In addition to not allowing a run, the five Cleveland relievers combined for seven strikeouts and one walk.

"We can do it because we have a day off (Thursday)," Indians manager Terry Francona said of liberally using his bullpen. "Everyone did what they are supposed to do and Manship did what he's done all year."

Right-hander Jeff Manship (1-0), the third of the five Cleveland relievers, pitched 1 1/3 scoreless and hitless innings to get the win. It's his first major league win since April 26, 2014, while pitching for Philadelphia.

Since Manship's recall from Triple-A Columbus in mid-June, he has made 19 relief appearances and posted a 1.48 ERA with 17 strikeouts and four walks in 24 1/3 innings.

Right-hander Jimmy Nelson (10-10) walked eight and threw 83 pitches in 3 1/3 innings. It's Nelson's first loss since July 10. In seven starts between losses, he was 4-0 with a 2.15 ERA.

"He was just off tonight. He had a lot of trouble throwing strikes," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.

Milwaukee scored a run in the fifth to cut the Cleveland lead to 5-2. The Brewers, who have lost four in a row, had a great chance to add runs in the seventh when they had runners at first and second with no outs.

But right-hander Zach McAllister retired the next three batters in a row, striking out two of them.

The Brewers had an even better opportunity to score in the eighth when they had runners at first and third with no outs. But right-hander Bryan Shaw struck out the next three batters to end that threat.

"We had some chances," Counsell said. "The fifth inning, the seventh inning, the eighth inning. We were just missing the next hit."

Left fielder Khris Davis' home run leading off the second gave Milwaukee a 1-0 lead.

The Indians countered with three runs in the bottom of the second, two of them scoring on Kipnis' double down the left field line, giving Cleveland a 3-1 lead.

Nelson walked two batters in each of the first four innings.

"Cleveland is a very disciplined team," Counsell said. "That's one of the most disciplined lineups we've faced. They rarely chase pitches. That made for a rough night for (Nelson)."

In the bottom of the third, Indians right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall doubled and Nelson walked the bases loaded with two outs. Chisenhall then scored from third on a wild pitch by Nelson to make it 4-1.

After walking two of the first three batters in the fourth, Nelson was removed from the game. Chisenhall's two-out RBI single against right-hander Tyler Thornburg extended the Cleveland lead to 5-1.

Milwaukee got a run back in the top of the fifth. Herrera walked, went to third on an error by shortstop Francisco Lindor and scored on a sacrifice fly by center fielder Logan Shafer.

The starting pitchers both made early exits. Nelson pitched 3 1/3 innings, giving up five runs and four hits with four strikeouts and eight walks. Anderson, who was activated from the disabled list before the game, lasted 4 1/3 innings, giving up two runs and two hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

"For being down 19 days, I thought he did a really good job. That's probably farther than we thought he might get," Francona said.

Anderson said, "I thought it went pretty well for not having seen a live batter for quite a while. When they give me the ball, I keep throwing until they take it away from me. I gave it all I got until Tito came out there."

NOTES: The Indians placed RHP Carlos Carrasco on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation and activated Anderson off the disabled list. ... Indians RHP Gavin Floyd, who has been on the DL all season after surgery on a broken right elbow, will make a three-inning rehab appearance with Double-A Akron on Saturday. ... OF Ryan Braun's next grand slam will be the sixth of his career, which will be a Brewers record. Braun is tied with Cecil Cooper, John Jaha and Jeromy Burnitz for the franchise record with five.