Brewers 6, Padres 5
Ryan Braun belted a solo homer, Chris Dickerson drove in two runs and rookie Mike McClendon tossed three scoreless innings as the Milwaukee Brewers held on for a 6-5 triumph over the San Diego Padres on Saturday.
Rookie Jonathan Lucroy had an RBI single and Alcides Escobar and Braun scored twice for Milwaukee (59-64), which posted its fourth straight win.
Coming in for an ineffective Chris Narveson, McClendon (1-0) kept the Padres in check. The 25-year-old right-hander, who was making just his second major-league appearance, allowed just one hit while both walking and striking out three.
Two relievers bridged the gap to John Axford, who struck out four in 1 2/3 innings to secure his 19th save of the season.
Veteran slugger Matt Stairs belted a two-run homer to set a major-league record with 21 career pinch-hit blasts.
Chris Denorfia had a two-run double and pitcher Kevin Correia added a run-scoring single for NL West-leading San Diego (73-49), which dropped its second straight after winning 10 of its previous 11 games.
As for on the mound, Correia (10-8) struggled right from the start in this one. The 29-year-old right-hander permitted five runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings to take the loss.