SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Sure, Josh Hader heard the boos. Of course, he knew they were coming.
The All-Star reliever retired four batters to earn a win while making his first appearance on the road since the lefty’s years-old racist and homophobic tweets surfaced during the All-Star Game, helping lead the Milwaukee Brewers past the San Francisco Giants 7-5 on Thursday night.
Hit with rather subdued boos as he ran in from the bullpen to pitch with two outs in the sixth, Hader (3-0) immediately got Brandon Crawford to ground out.
“Like I said before, I can’t control what they’re going to say to me. I’ve made mistakes in my earlier years,” Hader said. “I’ve just got to go out and focus on what I’ve got to do and that’s to get outs and help this team win. I can’t let my mistakes distract me from my job going now. Obviously I don’t like what I said back then and I obviously regret what came out, but we live and we learn as human beings. We’re not perfect. It’s how you learn from what you do and just become a better person from it.”
Travis Shaw hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning. Pinch-hitter Ryan Braun contributed a key RBI single as Milwaukee rallied in the eighth.
Andrew McCutchen hit an RBI double in the ninth for San Francisco after Chase d’Arnaud’s sacrifice fly.
The Brewers want Hader to work on getting past the mistakes he made as a teenager that last week became public knowledge.
“The approach that we’ve tried to take with Josh is let’s move forward. From our perspective it’s important that we love him and we support him and make his days as normal as possible,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s hurting. I don’t think that’s going to go away today.”
Christian Yelich hit a tying homer leading off the sixth then singled to start a rally in the eighth against Mark Melancon (0-1). Shaw singled one out later and also scored as Erik Kratz followed Braun with a base hit.
The Giants got one back in the eighth then Corey Knebel relieved Jeremy Jeffress and struck out Hunter Pence with the tying run on third and finished for his 13th save. Jesus Aguilar added an insurance single in the ninth before Shaw connected.
“We had some chances at the end against some tough pitchers,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.
Yelich hit his 14th homer against Giants starter Dereck Rodriguez to make it 2-all and has a 10-game hitting streak.
Rookie Rodriguez struck out five over six innings with two walks and five hits allowed but missed winning a third straight start.
Giants third baseman Evan Longoria returned from the disabled list and went 2 for 4 while Steven Duggar had an RBI single on a night first-pitch temperature was a chilly 59 degrees with a breeze.
Longoria had been sidelined since breaking his left hand and having surgery after being hit by a pitch at Miami on June 14.
WELCOME, JOAKIM
Two-time All-Star closer Joakim Soria is set to be activated Friday and available for the Brewers after they acquired him from the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. Counsell said Soria won’t be his closer.
“What we’re doing with adding Soria is just adding another guy to get outs down in the bullpen,” Counsell said. “We’ll just kind of continue to add to a group that’s been really, really good this year. He’s having a very nice season. He’s performed at the back end of a bullpen. But he’ll get outs for us, like we consider all of those guys down there as just out-getters.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Brewers: An MRI on RHP Zach Davies’ back showed no major issues. He is rehabbing a shoulder injury. If he has a good couple of days the Brewers will proceed with sending him on a rehab assignment. … The club recalled SS Orlando Arcia from Colorado Springs for his third stint in the majors this year, and optioned RHP Jorge Lopez to Triple-A. Arcia, who had an eight-game hitting streak in the minors, was starting and batting eighth. “He had performed really well,” Counsell said. “A lot of this was give some time to just get your confidence going. … I think he’s had a pretty good stretch, an extended stretch, of playing well and swinging the bat well.” … C Stephen Vogt, popular in the Bay Area after his time with the A’s, is a couple of weeks from ramping up baseball activity with some light throwing as he recovers from season-ending right shoulder surgery.
Giants: 1B Brandon Belt went on the 10-day disabled list with a hyperextended right knee. San Francisco recalled LHP Ty Blach immediately from Triple-A Sacramento after being sent down Wednesday. RHP Chris Stratton also was recalled while INF Kelby Tomlinson was optioned to Sacramento. … 2B Joe Panik (strained left groin) went 1 for 3 with a single and run scored as he began a rehab assignment with Sacramento playing five innings. He’s scheduled to play seven innings his next game then nine before spending a couple of days with Class-A San Jose once Sacramento goes on the road.
UP NEXT
Brewers: RHP Chase Anderson (6-7, 3.81 ERA) seeks his first win in five July starts since beating the Reds on June 29.
Giants: LHP Madison Bumgarner (3-3, 3.19) makes his 10th start of the season with the Giants going 4-1 so far in his home outings. The 2014 World Series MVP is coming off a career-high six walks last Saturday at Oakland lasting only four-plus innings.
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