Brewers 7, Mets 0
NEW YORK -- Right-hander Kyle Lohse allowed two hits over eight shutout innings Friday night and right fielder Ryan Braun hit two homers as the Milwaukee Brewers routed the New York Mets 7-0 at Citi Field.
Left fielder Gerardo Parra homered, had two RBIs and came within a triple of the cycle for the Brewers (13-23) who improved to 6-5 under new manager Craig Counsell. Milwaukee also received three hits from third baseman Aramis Ramirez.
Lohse entered Friday with a 7.03 ERA in his first seven starts, but the skidding Mets -- who have lost five straight, a stretch in which they've scored just 10 runs, to fall to 20-16 -- proved to be the perfect tonic. The 36-year-old walked just one and struck out eight in a 107-pitch performance.
Lohse (3-4) didn't allow a hit until the fifth, when Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores laced a clean leadoff single to center. Second baseman Daniel Murphy doubled in the seventh before Lohse retired the final five batters he faced, the last four by strikeout.
Mets right-hander Bartolo Colon failed in his attempt to become the first seven-game winner this season. Colon (6-2) gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits and no walks while striking out two.
He has not issued a walk in his last 45 1/3 innings, two shy of the team record held by Bret Saberhagen.
The Brewers took the lead in the second, when first baseman Adam Lind doubled and scored two pitches later on Ramirez's double, before scoring four runs in the third.
Shortstop Hector Gomez led off with a routine grounder to short, but the throw from Flores drew first baseman Lucas Duda off the bag for Flores' ninth error. The Brewers needed just four pitches to extend their lead to 5-0 on back-to-back RBI doubles by Carlos Gomez and Parra and a two-run homer by Braun, who crushed the first pitch he saw into the second deck in left field.
Parra homered leading off the fifth and Braun hit his second homer leading off the eighth.
NOTES: The Brewers recalled INF Luis Sardinas from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Friday. He takes the spot of SS Jean Segura, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a fractured right index finger. Sardinas didn't start Friday, but Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Sardinas would see regular time at shortstop while Segura is out. ... Brewers 3B Aramis Ramirez, who missed the previous six games with a sore lower back, returned to the lineup and batted fifth. ... Mets CF Juan Lagares returned to the lineup after missing three games with a mild strain of his right armpit. ... Mets C Johnny Monell made his first major league start in his 741st game as a professional. Monell, 29, became the 36th player to catch RHP Bartolo Colon.