SAN DIEGO (AP) — Rowdy Tellez swatted two balls deep into the right field seats at Petco Park, which is a great sign for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Tellez homered twice and drove in four runs and Christian Yelich also connected and had one of Milwaukee's six doubles to lead the NL Central-leading Brewers to an 11-2 rout over the San Diego Padres on Friday night.
The Brewers had 15 hits to back left-hander Eric Lauer, who held his former team to one run and five hits in six innings. It was the second straight night a former Padres pitcher did well against his old team after Colin Rea threw 5 2/3 strong innings in a 4-3, 10-inning victory Thursday night.
Tellez has five homers for the Brewers, who have won the first two games in this four-game series and three of four.
“You love seeing it because he has the ability to just mash baseballs left and right," Lauer said about the burly Tellez. "When he's hot and he's on and he's seeing the ball well, he's a really, really dangerous hitter. We love when he gets on streaks like that and hopes that it continues.”
Tellez hit a solo homer deep into the stands in right with one out in the fifth off Michael Wacha (2-1) to give the Brewers a 6-0 lead. He added a monster three-run shot deep into the seats in right-center in the sixth off Nabil Crismatt to make it 10-1. He has five this season.
“I think I'm putting together better at-bats, a little bit more consistent,” Tellez said. "Guys are getting on base, we’re pitching really well, we’re playing really good ball, so I think that lightens the load, too.”
Manager Craig Counsell said Tellez is "a player that can hit home runs, so when he’s locked in it’s going to be homers. Those are quick runs on the board. He put three on the board with one swing and that put the game out of reach a little bit.”
Yelich homered into the porch in the right field corner with one out in the second, his second.
Lauer (2-1) was a first-round draft pick of the Padres in 2016 and made his big league debut in 2018. He was traded to the Brewers along with infielder Luis Urias on Nov. 27, 2019, for Trent Grisham and Zach Davies.
“When you get a bunch of runs for your starter that always makes his job easier,” Counsell said. “It lessens pressure pitches obviously. I thought Eric was good tonight.”
Bryse Wilson pitched the last three innings for his second save.
Wacha gave up seven runs and 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings.
The Brewers jumped on Wacha for four runs on four doubles and a single in the first. Yelich and Willy Adames opened with doubles before Wacha retired William Contreras and Tellez. But the veteran righty then gave up a double to Brian Anderson, a single to Luke Voit and a double to Mike Brosseau.
The game was so out of hand that Padres manager Bob Melvin had first baseman Brandon Dixon pitch the ninth. Dixon, who was just lobbing pitches to the plate, retired the side on seven pitches, none that reached 52 mph.
Luis Campusano hit a leadoff homer in the fifth for the Padres, who have lost four of five. It was his first.
UP NEXT
Brewers RHP Freddy Peralta (2-0, 0.75 ERA) is scheduled to start Saturday against Padres RHP Seth Lugo (2-0, 1.38) in the third game of the four-game series.
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