Braun's ninth inning homer lift Brewers past Padres

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SAN DIEGO --Ryan Braun hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth and the Milwaukee Brewers rallied for five runs off All-Star closer Brad Hand to stun the San Diego Padres 8-6 on Friday night.



The Brewers trailed 6-3 coming into the ninth and quickly jumped on Hand (0-1) for two runs on three hits, a grounder and his throwing error.

Braun came up with runners on the corners and hit a no-doubter to left on an 0-2 pitch for his first homer this season.

Hand's shaky performance spoiled a night in which left-hander Joey Lucchesi and reliever Kazuhisa Makita made their big league debuts for the Padres.

Oliver Drake (1-0) pitched one inning for the win and Corey Knebel struck out the side in the ninth for his first save.

Lucchesi just missed getting through five innings and Makita would have gotten the win if Hand hadn't imploded.

Lucchesi, a 24-year-old left-hander, was the first pitcher from the draft class of 2016 to make his big league debut. One of the rebuilding Padres' top prospects, he allowed three runs and seven hits in 4 2-3 innings, with one strikeout and no walks.

Lucchesi allowed a double, single and sacrifice fly after getting the first out of the fifth. After a throwing error by third baseman Cory Spangenberg put runners on the corners, manager Andy Green came out with the hook. Green brought on Makita. The submariner needed just two pitches to get Domingo Santana to ground out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5HrmybHNWE

Makita threw 1 1-3 scoreless innings, allowing only a walk.

The 6-foot-5 Lucchesi, a fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft, spent a good deal of the fourth inning on the bases after reaching on a fielder's choice. He eventually reached third but didn't score.

Lucchesi fell behind 2-0 after a shaky first inning. Lorenzo Cain doubled on the rookie's third pitch of the game, stole third and scored on Braun's grounder for the second out. Travis Shaw singled and scored on Santana's double. Lucchesi then got Manny Pina to ground out.

The Padres gave the rookie a 3-2 lead in the second against Jhoulys Chacin, who pitched for San Diego last year. Spangenberg hit a two-run homer to left and Austin Hedges followed with a shot to left.

The Padres made it 4-2 on Manuel Margot's one-out single in the fourth. They had the bases loaded but Eric Hosmer grounded into a double play.

Hosmer singled in the first for his first hit with San Diego and added an RBI double in the eighth. He signed a $144 million, eight-year contract early in spring training.

Chacin lasted just 3 1-3 innings, allowing four runs and seven hits while walking two and striking out one.

OOPS

Brewers shortstop Orlando Arcia had a brain freeze in the third inning when he thought there were two outs instead of one. With Hosmer on first after drawing a walk, second baseman Hernan Perez fielded Carlos Asuaje's grounder and flipped it to Arcia for the force. Arcia didn't even try to turn the double play. Hosmer had a puzzled look on his face as Arcia started for the dugout. Manager Craig Counsell looked annoyed. Chacin got Freddy Galvis to ground out to avoid further embarrassment for the Brewers.

OUCH

Brewers reliever Brandon Woodruff was hit by line drives by consecutive batters in the seventh. He was hit on the shoulder by a liner by Freddy Galvis that went for a single and then hit by a liner by Spangenberg that caromed to first baseman Braun.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Padres: RHP Colin Rea (right shoulder strain) was transferred to the 60-day disabled list to allow the team to select Lucchesi's contract.

UP NEXT

Brewers: LHP Brent Suter is scheduled to start Saturday night's series finale. He was 3-2 with a 3.42 ERA in 22 games during six stints with the Brewers in 2017.

Padres: RHP Luis Perdomo is set to go for the Padres. He was 8-11 with a 4.67 ERA last year.