Milwaukee Brewers: Braun’s heroics to the rescue in win over Padres

Ryan Braun added yet another signature moment to his illustrious career on Friday night.

Ryan Braun launched a no-doubter into the left-field seats off All-Star closer Brad Hand. His blast put the Brewers on top for good in the ninth. Braun’s home run capped off a 5 RBI day at the dish.

Chacín’s return to Petco

Coming off an excellent start from Chase Anderson, the Milwaukee Brewers looked for more of the same from former Padre Jhoulys Chacín.

There was good reason to expect a quality outing from Chacín. He posted a 1.79 ERA limiting his opponents to a .175 average in 100.1 innings at Petco Park as a member of the San Diego Padres last season.

What a difference a year makes. Chacín was rocked in his Brewers debut as he went 3 1/3 innings, and allowed seven hits, two walks, and four earned runs.

Lucchesi’s debut

The Padres countered Chacín by sending Joey Lucchesi to the hill for his Major League debut. The unorthodox lefty went 4 2/3 innings with seven hits and three earned runs allowed.

The Milwaukee Brewers jumped on Lucchesi early when Lorenzo Cain led off with a double and stole third. Braun was able to cash in on the situation by grounding out to short allowing Cain to score the games first run. Domingo Santana added on when he drove in Travis Shaw.

Chacín hit hard

The Padres responded in the bottom of the second when Cory Spangenberg took advantage of a Freddy Galvis single and took Chacín opposite field to level the contest. Wasting no time, Austin Hedges golfed another homer to give the Padres a one-run lead

Chacín ran into more trouble in the bottom of the fourth when he hit Spangenberg to lead the inning off and walked Hedges. Manuel Margot‘s broken-bat single drove in Hedges and a Wil Myers single signaled the end of Chacín’s day.

New acquisition pays off

Newly acquired reliever Dan Jennings paid dividends immediately for the Milwaukee Breweers when he got Eric Hosmer to ground into a double play to get out of a bases-loaded jam.

Jennings worked 1 2/3 innings of one walk-ball to keep the game close. Jennings looks to be a fixture in the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen this season.

Ninth inning comeback

Things looked bleak for the Milwaukee Brewers as Hand entered the game with a three-run lead. Manny Pina started the rally with a single. Jesus Aguilar followed suit. Orlando Arcia beat out a chopper to load the bases and set the stage for Jonathan Villar. Villar, who had a disappointing 2017, came through big with an RBI single to cut into the lead.

Cain and Christian Yelich had opportunities to win over fans with the game on the line. Cain drove in a run with a groundout, but Yelich grounded into a fielders choice.

Enter Ryan Braun.

The legendary Brewer was built for moments like these. Padres catcher Austin Hedges motioned for Hand to give Braun a pitch up in the zone. Braun made them pay.

Knebel Dominant

Milwaukee Brewers closer Corey Knebel rebounded from a blown save the day prior and pitched a gem. Knebel blew away the Padres striking out the side and shutting the door on the Brewers comeback win.

Looking Ahead

The Milwaukee Brewers guaranteed themselves an opening weekend series win with the victory on Friday night.

They look to earn the sweep when Brent Suter takes the mound against Luis Perdomo with a 7:40 PM CT start time.

Next: Ryan Braun heading to the Los Angeles Dodgers?

Afterwards, the Crew will make their return to Miller Park for a home opening series against the rival St. Louis Cardinals.

Monday April 2nd: Miles Mikolas vs Zach Davies

Tuesday April 3rd: Jack Flaherty vs Chase Anderson

Wednesday April 4th: TBA vs Jhoulys Chacín