MILWAUKEE (AP) - Padres starter Tyson Ross got showered with hits by the Milwaukee Brewers a day after his 27th birthday.
There was little for the right-hander to celebrate after giving up season highs of nine hits and five earned runs in six innings in San Diego’s 5-2 loss on Wednesday night.
Jean Segura hit a three-run homer to help the Brewers break out of an offensive slumber at home to support Kyle Lohse and hand the Padres their third loss in four games.
“He just couldn’t get ahead of hitters and put them away,” manager Bud Black said of Ross. “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.”
Segura’s homer made it 4-1 in the second. Khris Davis added a solo shot for the Brewers, who have won five of six and are a big league-best 16-6.
Ross regressed after striking out nine and shutting out the Giants over eight innings in his previous start last week.
Milwaukee was aggressive from the outset and made solid contact early in counts. Ryan Braun doubled home a run in the first on a 1-1 pitch, the same count on which eighth-place hitter Segura hit a 385-homer off the green facade over the left-field wall.
“I was just falling behind on these guys and missing up in the zone,” Ross said. “When I did miss up, they were ready.”
Lohse (4-1) allowed five hits and no walks in seven innings. Brewers batters backed him with nine hits at Miller Park, where the team had been averaging just two runs and six hits entering the night.
Francisco Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth for his ninth save, his 313th over 12 full big league seasons.
Waiting in the on-deck circle, Lohse pumped his right fist as Segura’s drive cleared the fence. On the mound, the right-hander held the Padres to one earned run until the bullpen shut down San Diego over the final two innings.
“You get some runs on the board, it is big for us to go out and shut down the next inning to keep the other team down and keep the momentum going,” Lohse said.
San Diego took a 1-0 lead in the first off of Seth Smith’s sacrifice fly, but was otherwise limited until pinch-hitter Nick Hundley’s RBI single with two outs in the seventh.
“We’ve got to get some hits to build confidence and they are not coming at a rate where guys are going to build their confidence,” Black said.
After four straight one-run games, the Brewers got a relative breather.
“It’s always nice coming in to the last inning with Frankie (Rodriguez) coming out there and he doesn’t have to be perfect,” manager Ron Roenicke said.
Roenicke said it was only a matter of time before his squad broke out of its hitting slump at home - and his players backed him up with four runs and five hits in the first two innings.
NOTES: A fan sitting in the front row next to the Brewers dugout left with an ice pack on her right wrist after apparently being hit by a bat that flew out of the hands of Padres pinch-hitter Yasmani Grandal in the seventh on a strikeout. … Padres manager Bud Black said RHP Josh Johnson is scheduled for elbow ligament-replacement surgery for the second time in his career and will miss the entire season. Johnson was placed on the DL before the season began. … Brewers RHP Brandon Kintzler (rotator cuff) had a 40-pitch bullpen session Wednesday and appears on track to return from the DL on Friday. The setup man has been sidelined since April 9. … The Padres will send LHP Eric Stults (1-2) to the hill when they begin a three-game series in Washington on Thursday. … The Brewers are off Thursday and plan to start RHP Matt Garza (0-2) at home against the Cubs on Friday.
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