MILWAUKEE — Through the first few weeks of the young Major League Baseball season, pitching has propelled the Milwaukee Brewers to baseball’s best record while the offense, especially at home, has tried its best to keep up.
On Wednesday night, though, it all came together for the Brewers as right-hander Kyle Lohse gave up just one earned run and shortstop Jean Segura and left fielder Khris Davis each hit home runs as the Brewers took the series from the San Diego Padres with a 5-2 victory at Miller Park.
Lohse got off to a rocky start, allowing a leadoff double to shortstop Everth Cabrera, who gave the Padres a 1-0 lead when he scored on a sacrifice fly by shortstop Seth Smith.
The Brewers got the run right back in the bottom of the inning.
Second baseman Scooter Gennett reached on a one-out single and scored on right fielder Ryan Braun’s double to left.
After Lohse worked a 1-2-3 second, the bottom of Milwaukee’s order came to life.
Davis kicked off the bottom of the inning with a base hit to left and moved to second on a single by first baseman Lyle Overbay. Both scored when Segura, who had dropped from second to eighth in the Brewers’ lineup after a slow start to the season, connected on a 1-1 changeup from Padres right-hander Tyson Ross for a home run to left — his first of the season.
“It always feels pretty good when you hit a ball out of the field,” said Segura, who had not homered since July 30 of last season. “I feel pretty good. I’ve been feeling pretty good when I play, hopefully come back and keep grinding.”
Segura went 2-for-3 and is batting .357 (10-for-28) in his last six games.
“It’s really nice to see Seggy swing the bat well,” Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. “He’s been working hard at it, hitting extra and trying to get it going so that was good to see.”
Davis led off the fourth with a solo shot to left for his second home run of the season and his first at Miller Park.
With a 5-1 lead, Lohse settled in and found a rhythm. After his tough first inning, he retired 15 of his next 17 batters.
“We had a good pace going,” Lohse said. “We had a good game plan and just went out there and just executed. We had a couple of things we wanted to do and got them done. I pitched in more than I normally do. That’s what we wanted to do.”
Lohse worked seven innings, giving up five hits and striking out five.
He ran into trouble in the seventh, giving up a one-out single to center fielder Will Venable. Second baseman Jedd Gyorko reached on a fielder’s choice and moved to third on a throwing error by third baseman Aramis Ramirez.
Gyorko scored on a pinch-single by Nick Hundley, but the Padres could not do anything more against Lohse, who ended the inning by striking out pinch-hitter Yasmani Grandal.
“We haven’t gotten the big hit enough times to really change the momentum of the game,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “We got to get some hits to build confidence and they are not coming at a rate where guys are going to build their confidence.”
Right-hander Tyler Thornburg and lefty Will Smith combined to work a scoreless eighth and right-hander Francisco Rodriguez worked around a one-out walk in the ninth to pick up his ninth save in as many opportunities.
“When we have any lead going into the seventh, eighth or ninth, we feel pretty good about our bullpen,” Roenicke said. “Hopefully, that continues and the offense has the feeling like we just need to get them a lead. If our starters can go those seven innings, we can protect them.”
The Brewers’ five runs were a season high for Ross (2-3), who had not allowed more than three in a start this season and was coming off a eight-inning shutout of the San Francisco Giants his last time out.
“He just couldn’t get ahead of hitters and put them away,” Black said. “They jumped out on some balls that were out of over the plate. The big blow was the home run. Anytime there is a three-run homer in a ballgame, that puts a little dent in your game.”
NOTES: Brewers RHP Brandon Kintzler threw a 40-pitch simulated game on Wednesday and is expected to be return to the team on Friday. Kintzler had been out since April 9 with a strained rotator cuff. … Padres RHP Josh Johnson will undergo Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery on Thursday. Signed in November, Johnson did not appear in a game this season for San Diego.
