Goldschmidt hits 2 HRs, D-backs bash Brewers in 7-3 win

MILWAUKEE — The fly ball carried high and far into the air, soaring easily over the 400-foot sign on the wall in straightaway center. Only the scoreboard stopped Paul Goldschmidt’s homer from going any farther in Miller Park.

The Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman sure loves hitting in Milwaukee.

Goldschmidt outslugged the Brewers with two homers and four RBI, leading the Diamondbacks to a 7-3 win Saturday and sending the Brewers to their seventh straight loss.

Goldschmidt led off the third with a homer. His long, three-run shot in the fourth caromed off the Miller Lite sign at the bottom of the scoreboard in center and made it 7-2.

“Most of the time as a hitter when you are having success, you are hitting mistakes,” Goldschmidt said.

Two big mistakes in the case of Brewers starter Kyle Lohse (3-6) on pitches down the middle of the plate. Goldschmidt pounced, finishing with three hits and two runs to improve his career average at Miller to .511.

“I think overall this is a pretty good hitters’ park,” he said.

The Diamondbacks pounded out 11 hits off Lohse, who went 3 1/3 innings and left after Goldschmidt’s second homer.

Even Arizona starter Jeremy Hellickson (3-3) got in on the fun at the plate with two hits, including an RBI single through a drawn-in infield in the second.

The Brewers dropped to a major league-worst 16-34.

They took another hit in the first inning when left fielder Khris Davis departed after taking an awkward swing while striking out. A frustrated Davis after the game that he will need surgery Tuesday for a torn meniscus in his right knee.

Asked how tough a season it has been for the team, Davis responded with just two words.

“The worst,” he said.

HOMER HAPPY

The Diamondbacks, who have won the first two games in Milwaukee, have homered in eight straight games for the first time since 2013.

The Brewers couldn’t keep up.

They got to Hellickson for two runs and four hits over the first two innings before the right-hander settled down to retire 14 of the next 16 hitters. Hellickson went six innings, and reliever Randall Delgado allowed one run over the final three innings for his first career save.

“I feel like the fastball command wasn’t as good as it has been but everything was down. The defense was great again,” Hellickson said.

LOSING LOHSE

The long ball was again a huge problem for Milwaukee.

Lohse has now allowed 13 homers in 11 starts. The Brewers came into the day having allowed 64 homers, second only behind the 66 given up by San Diego.

Lohse’s ERA rose to 6.50 ERA, not even close to the kind of performance that the Brewers need from their opening day starter.

Manager Craig Counsell said the veteran isn’t being aggressive enough on the mound. Lohse is at his best when he’s keeping a quick pace; now he said he’s struggling trying to do too much.

“It is just getting back to doing what I do,” Lohse said. “I’m mechanically trying to do too much and making a lot of mistakes back out over the plate.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Diamondbacks: SP Bronson Arroyo threw a 30-pitch bullpen session on Friday at the team’s Salt River Fields training complex in Arizona, while David Hernandez is next scheduled to pitch at Double-A Mobile on Sunday after going back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday. Both right-handers are recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Brewers: Gerardo Parra will likely take over as the regular left fielder with Davis seemingly sidelined for a while. Counsell said Davis was due to have more tests on Sunday.

UP NEXT

Diamondbacks: The road doesn’t seem to affect RHP Chase Anderson (1-1), who is scheduled to make his fourth straight start away from home on Sunday. Anderson is 1-0 with a 1.86 ERA over his last three starts.

Brewers: RHP Tyler Wagner will make his big league debut in his first home game this season. The team tabbed the rookie to start Sunday after beginning the season at Double-A Biloxi, which has played all its games on the road as it awaits the opening of its new home park on June 6. Wagner was 5-1 with a 2.01 ERA in nine starts in the minors.