The June Swoon comes to an end
PHILADELPHIA – Ryan Braun loves hitting at Citizens Bank Park.
Mired in the worst opening stretch of his career and having no luck when he did hit the ball hard, Braun broke loose in a big way Friday night, smacking two home runs and driving in five runs as the Milwaukee Brewers shook free of a runscoring slump with a 12-4 whipping of Philadelphia.
The offensive outburst tied the Brewers’ run total for the first five games of the trip, when they went 1-4 in Chicago and Cleveland. They finished with 13 hits, including a single and monstrous home run by Christian Yelich.
Braun entered the game batting .229 with six homers, 24 RBI and .699 OPS, some 200 points below his career norm. But he also entered the game with a .397 batting average, 11 homers and 34 RBI in 31 career games at Citizens Bank Ballpark.
Braun got the Brewers going with a three-run homer in the first inning, jumping on a 2-2 curveball from Vince Velasquez and driving it out to left. He capped a six-run outburst in the fourth by lining another 2-2 curveball, this one from reliever Mark Leiter Jr., just inside the left-field foul pole and just over the fence for a two-run homer.
It was the 29th two-run homer game for Braun but his first this season. By the end of the night, his career numbers in the Phillies’ home park were: .400 batting average, 13 HRs, 39 RBI in 32 games.
Velasquez was roughed up in a big way, allowing nine hits and 10 runs in only 32⁄3 innings. Before Braun’s homer off Leiter, who took over with two outs in the fourth, Jesús Aguilar doubled in a pair of runs and Travis Shaw doubled in another.
Given the big early lead, Brewers starter Jhoulys Chacín cruised until running out of gas in the seventh, when the Phillies rallied for three runs and knocked him from the game. Prior to that breakthrough, Philadelphia was shackled on two hits and one run by Chacin, who boosted his record to 5-1 with a 3.58 ERA.
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
OFFENSE NEEDED A SPARK: The Brewers entered the series struggling to score runs on the trip. In going 1-4 in Chicago and in Cleveland, they scored a total of 12 runs, with five coming in the lone victory against the White Sox. During those five games, the Brewers were 4for-25 (.160) with runners in scoring position. Manager Craig Counsell attributed some of those struggles to facing two tough Indians pitchers, Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco, but said the offense did need to pick things up: “Offenses are going to go through stretches like this.”
CAIN SHOWING PATIENCE: Entering the series against the Phillies, Brewers leadoff hitter Lorenzo Cain had a 14.7% walk rate, by far the highest of his career. For instance, last season he had an 8.4% walk rate. Batting leadoff for the first time in many years after hitting mostly in the three-hole for Kansas City, Cain obviously is showing more patience at the plate. “I think he’s just having really good at-bats,” Counsell said. “Whether that spot in the order has put an emphasis on getting good pitches to hit, he’s making really good decisions. He’s still slugging pretty close to normal.”
CHACIN IS CRUISING: Though he ran out of steam in the seventh, Chacín has been on a roll for the Brewers. Over his last 11 outings, he is 5-0 with a 2.92 ERA. The Brewers are 11-3 in his 14 starts. His only loss came in his second start on April 4 against St. Louis.
BUNCH OF NIGHT OWLS: It’s too bad for the Brewers the remaining two games of this series are afternoon tilts. The Brewers are 26-13 (.667) in night games this season, the best mark in the National League.
DOUBLE WEB GEM: The Brewers assured themselves some highlight-reel action in the bottom of the eighth when Nick Williams’ fly to shallow center popped out of the glove of shortstop Orlando Arcia but was snared by Cain, who made a sliding catch backing up the play.
RECORD
This year: 38-25 Last year: 33-30
COMING UP
Saturday: Brewers at Phillies, 12:05 p.m. Milwaukee LHP Brent Suter (5-4, 4.55) vs. Philadelphia RHP Jake Arrieta (5-3, 2.66). TV: FSWis. Radio: AM-620.