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PITTSBURGH -- Even when his team led 3-0, Ryan Braun knew that might be enough. So the slugger did something about it. Braun hit two long two-run homers and Jimmy Nelson took a shutout into the seventh inning before faltering as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-4 on Friday night.
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Braun blasted a 460-foot shot off the batter's eye in center field against Kyle Lobstein in the sixth to put the Brewers ahead 5-0.
After the Pirates drew with a run, Braun hit a 415-foot shot to dead center in the eighth, his third homer of the season, off Neftali Feliz to make it 7-4.
It was Braun's 23rd career game with multiple home runs.
"It was good to get those tack-on runs," Braun said. "The Pirates are one of the best teams in baseball and they are especially tough at home. You always want to get as many runs as you can against them."
The Brewers needed the cushion that Braun's home runs provided as pinch-hitter Matt Joyce hit a three-run homer to chase Nelson with none out in the seventh.
The Pirates cut the gap to 5-4 later in the inning on back-to-back doubles by David Freese and Starling Marte with two outs.
The Brewers, who added a run in the ninth when Kirk Nieuwenhuis drew a bases-loaded walk from AJ Schlugel, evened their record at 5-5 while sending the Pirates (5-6) to their fourth straight loss.
A breeze was blowing in from center field throughout the game but that didn't stop Braun.
"Maybe I got lucky and the wind stopped blowing when I was up to bat," he said with a smile before adding, "it was warmer here than it usually is at that time of the year, so I think that probably helped."
Braun and Jonathan Villar, who sat out the two previous games with a sore left ankle, each had three of the Brewers' 11 hits. Chris Carter and Aaron Hill added two hits apiece.
Nelson (2-1) won his second straight start and improved his career record to 5-2 against the Pirates. He gave up three runs (two earned) and four hits while walking four and striking out one.
"My responsibility is to provide innings and we shouldn't have had to use the bullpen tonight but I ran my pitch count up with the walks," Nelson said. "I'm not happy about but it's awesome that we won."
Marte had three hits for the Pirates and also robbed Carter of a potential home run in the seventh inning by leaping above the top of the left-field fence.
A wild Jeff Locke (0-1) took the loss. He walked seven in 4 2/3 innings while giving up three runs (two earned) and five hits. He had four strikeouts.
"His command wasn't we needed it to be," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Too many balls. Not enough strikes. We've got some things to work on tomorrow."
Locke walked the leadoff batter in each of the first four innings and the Brewers took advantage by scoring single runs in the second, third and fourth to move in front 3-0.
The first run scored on a double-play grounder in the second, Carter drew a bases-loaded walk in the third and Domingo Santana hit an RBI single in the fourth.
Locke was lifted in the fifth with two outs and the bases loaded before Rob Scahill escaped that jam by striking out Nelson.
"There are games where it's just frustrating to be a part of, especially when you're the one that's causing it," Locke said. "It's a tough game to watch wherever you are, especially when you're out on the mound. The name of the game with walks is they always come down to haunt you."
NOTES: Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said RHP Zach Davies will be recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs to start against the Pirates on Sunday when the Brewers will need a fifth starter for the first time this season. ... Friday was Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball -- marking the 68th anniversary of the Brooklyn Dodgers infielder breaking the game's color barrier -- and Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said he believes MLB will eventually have a female player, "though I don't think I'll still be in the dugout when it happens." ... Milwaukee RHP Taylor Jungmann (0-1, 11.57 ERA) faces Pittsburgh LHP Jon Niese (1-0, 5.73) on Saturday night in the second game of the three-game series.
