San Diego, CA – The Milwaukee Brewers scored five runs in the first inning and defeated the San Diego Padres, 7-1, on Monday to pick up their eighth straight win.
Ryan Braun had a two-run homer and drove in three runs while Yuniesky Betancourt hit a three-run shot for the Brewers, who won the first game of a three-game set.
"I just enjoy coming back to the West Coast, it's always rejuvenating for me," said Braun. "It feels like home. Obviously, it's still a challenging ballpark to hit in, but I think I've enjoyed hitting here over the course of my career and as a team, I think we've enjoyed getting the chance here to come out and play."
Kyle Lohse (1-1) was having a solid start, allowing just one run on five hits and a walk in five innings but in the sixth, as he was reaching first on a bunt, he bumped into Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko and left the game with a dislocated left pinky.
Jason Marquis (1-2) lasted just 4 2/3 innings, surrendering seven runs on four hits and four walks. Anthony Bass, who came on in relief of Marquis, drove in the lone run for the Padres, who were swept by the Giants over the weekend.
"Today, we got behind the 8-ball early," said Padres manager Bud Black. "But overall, we outhit them, we made some good plays in the field. Just a complete game, we're not playing. Now we got to do that more often, we just can't do it here and there."
Braun put the Brewers on the board with a two-run blast that plated Rickie Weeks. After Jonathan Lucroy struck out, Logan Schafer and Carlos Gomez were both hit by a pitch, setting up Betancourt's shot.
In the fifth, Jean Segura drew a leadoff walk and stole second base. Following a walk for Weeks, Braun hit a liner to left, scoring Segura. Four batters later, Marquis was replaced by Bass, but he threw a wild pitch with Betancourt batting and Weeks reached home to make it a 7-0 game,
The Padres got on the board in the bottom of the inning. Gyorko hit a leadoff double and reached third after Nick Hundley fouled out to right. Bass then grounded out to the shortstop but was able to score Gyorko.
Alfredo Figaro pitched the final two innings for the Brewers, fanning three while allowing three hits to end the game.
Game Notes
The last time the Brewers won eight straight games was August 5-13, 2008 ... The Padres were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base ... Everth Cabrera stole his sixth base of the season, tied with Andrew McCutchen for most in the National League ... Padres batters struck out 10 times ... San Diego has lost six straight at home.
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