| Advertisement |
MILWAUKEE -- Miller Park is extremely hitter-friendly, but for the San Diego Padres, who play in one of baseball's most spacious facilities, the Milwaukee Brewers' home field like an oasis. The Padres took advantage of their surroundings Monday, punishing the Brewers with 13 hits in a 13-5 rout.
Advertisement
"We're in a rough stretch right now," said Brewers manager Craig Counsell, whose team lost its sixth in a row. "Up until this point, despite this lengthy rough stretch, I've thought we've played decent baseball. We've just got beat."
Third baseman Yangervis Solarte bookended San Diego's offensive explosion, hitting home runs in the first and seventh innings, the latter a three-run shot that capped off a six-run inning and turned an already painful night for the struggling Brewers into a complete laugher.
Solarte was one of three Padres to finish with two hits. Second baseman Jedd Gyorko had three, including a solo home run in the fifth off right-hander Michael Blazek.
"When we're all clicking, everyone saw what we are capable of," Gyorko said. "We're playing good baseball.
"Winning cures everything. We have a great group of guys, but obviously when you're winning, it's more fun."
The offense made things easy for right-hander Tyson Ross, who went six innings and gave up three runs (two earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out five.
He got into trouble in the first, allowing an RBI single to first baseman Adam Lind then overthrowing Solarte in an attempt to pick off right fielder Ryan Braun, giving the Brewers a 2-1 lead.
Ross (8-8) settled down after that, returning 16 of his next 19 batters including nine in a row before three straight singles let Milwaukee make it a 7-3 game in the sixth inning.
"Tyson had to get ahead in the count and used that slider when he wanted to," Padres interim manager Pat Murphy said. "He used some big cutters today that got him out of some big situations. He's been rolling in all the first innings, but he misses a spot with Braun and then all of a sudden we're in a different situation. Then he tries a pickoff at third that he's done a million times and threw it errantly, and all of a sudden he wasn't feeling good about himself. It was a wakeup call, and he was great after that."
Making just his second start since a month-long stint on the disabled list, Brewers right-hander Wily Peralta (2-6) struggled with his command from the start and couldn't make it out of the fourth inning.
He gave up a one-out home run Solarte in the first. After his offense gave him a 2-1 lead in the bottom the inning, he allowed three in the second on an RBI single by Ross and a two-run triple by shortstop Alexi Amarista (2-for-5, three RBIs).
Peralta wound up allowing six runs on eight hits and three walks in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out two.
"What's frustrating is especially in the first inning, I was all right," Peralta said. "I just gave up a homer and felt fine. I was locating pretty good. After that, the third hitter in the second inning, things got away. This happened. There's nothing you can do about it. You just have to move forward and in my next start, have a good one."
Second baseman Scooter Gennett hit a solo home run in the ninth, his fifth of the year, but it wasn't nearly enough.
"At this point, we're just trying to go out there, play together and just try to enjoy the game," Gennett said. "The last few days haven't been a whole lot of fun, but that's the game. There's ups and downs, but you have to try to grind through the tough times, go out there and try to enjoy the game. It's hard to enjoy losing, but as long as we're getting better and out there playing hard, that's all we can control."
NOTES: Padres LF Justin Upton bruised his right thumb when he crashed into the wall making a catch in the seventh inning. He left for a pinch hitter, and he is day-to-day, manager Pat Murphy said. ... Milwaukee is 2-11 since the All-Star break and has scored just 29 runs (2.23 per game) during that stretch. ... The Padres are 11-5 coming out of the break and have won four of their past five series. ... Brewers manager Craig Counsell said that as of right now, struggling RHP Kyle Lohse will remain in the rotation. ... Counsell played for Padres interim manager Pat Murphy at Notre Dame and attempted to hire Murphy after being named to his job earlier this season. "I don't know that those talks got very deep, but it's flattering to be on any major league staff, much less one of a guy you know so well and respect so well," Murphy said.
