Mikolas has splashy return after 3 years spent in Japan
Miles Mikolas won in his first big league game after a three-year stint in Japan, but he left his biggest impression at bat.
Hitting a home run to help spoil the Brewers’ home opener was special for the St. Louis righthander.
Paul DeJong connected for the second straight game, hitting his third homer this season, and Mikolas collected his first big-league hit with a two-run homer in the Cardinals’ 8-4 win Monday.
Mikolas gave up a two-run homer to Eric Thames and solo shots to Lorenzo Cain and Manny Piña. Mikolas, a 29year-old righty, benefited from the Cardinals’ outburst at hitter-friendly Miller Park.
“I guess I figured if I’m going to give up some home runs, I might as well try to get one back, help my cause a little bit,” Mikolas joked.
It was a memorable return to the majors for Mikolas, and a disappointing opener for the Brewers. They lost for the first time after opening the season with a three-game sweep at San Diego.
“Any pitcher home run, pitcher RBIs, it always feels tough to come back from that,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said.
Mikolas gave up seven hits and four runs in 52 ⁄3 innings in his first bigleague start since Aug. 25, 2014, when he pitched eight innings for the Rangers in a 2-0 win over Seattle.
Mikolas played 37 games for San Diego and Texas from 2012 through ’14. He was 4-6 on the mound and 0-for-4 at the plate.
The power started building in Japan, where Mikolas hit two home runs in three seasons.
He’ll savor his fifthinning drive off Zach Davies to break a 2-2 tie.
“I might remember the home run just because that was a highlight of the day,” Mikolas said. “But looking back, I’ll probably look at the mistakes I made as a pitcher ... and make myself better moving forward.”