Brewers win back-to-back games after Tuesday win

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MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Brewers have won back-to-back games for the first time in two-and-a-half weeks, after beating Houston 6-1 last night at Miller Park.

Ryan Braun gave the Brewers all the offense they needed with a two-run homer in the first inning. Milwaukee scored its other four runs in the seventh, highlighted by a two-run blast from Rickie Weeks. Alcides Escobar hit a run-scoring double, and Casey McGehee added an RBI single.

The Brewers’ bullpen got a little bit of relief as Randy Wolf went seven innings – the longest outing for a Milwaukee starter since May first. Wolf gave up no runs on four hits, with three walks and four strike-outs as he evened his record at 4-and-4. Felipe Paulino took the loss to go 0-and-7. But after his two-run first, Paulino gave up just five more hits in five scoreless innings. Rookie catcher Jonathan Lucroy started his first big league for Milwaukee, going 1-for-4 with a strikeout.

The Brewers snapped an eight-game home losing streak, and they have a two-game winning streak for the first time since May 9th. They remain second-to-last in the National League Central, after expanding their lead over cellar-dwelling Houston to three games. The Brewers and Astros will play again tonight at Miller Park. Left-hander Chris Narveson will face Houston right-hander Roy Oswalt.

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Brewers’ starter Doug Davis has suffered a setback in his recovery from an inflamed lining around his heart. Davis said he felt heavy pain on Monday night, and he did not believe it was caused by the light throwing work he did last weekend. The left-hander is on the disabled list at least until next week – and he’s not sure how long the latest development will keep him out.

Meanwhile, reliever LaTroy Hawkins is recovering slower than expected from weakness in his right throwing shoulder. He was expected to start throwing again Monday, but it didn’t happen. Hawkins says it will take time, but he needs to regain his strength. Also, Brewers’ manager Ken Macha says catcher Gregg Zaun will need more than 15 days to recover from a strained shoulder that put him on the DL late last week. But not all the health news is bad. Brewers’ bullpen coach Stan Kyles returned last night, 26 days after having prostate cancer surgery. Fred Dabney has been filling in – and he’ll return to Class-“A” Brevard County as its pitching coach.

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