PEORIA, AZ (LEARFIELD-WSAU) Ryan Braun hit his third homer of the spring and went 2-for-3 in the Milwaukee Brewers’ 6-to-5 exhibition loss to San Diego yesterday in Peoria Arizona. Braun doubled in the fourth inning and homered in the fifth off Jason Lane.
After a slow start, the Brewers’ left fielder is hitting .361 this spring — and he declares he has regained his swing following a nerve injury in his right thumb. Braun hit a career-low .266 a year ago, as he returned from a 65-game drug suspension in 2013 and played through an injury that did not allow him to keep his top-hand on the bat.
Jonathan Lucroy also homered for Milwaukee. Matt Garza said he was happy with his final Spring Training start, despite giving up four runs and eight hits in three innings. Garza struck out six, as he regained control of a slider he was missing a year ago.
For the Padres, Matt Kemp had two hits, and Tyson Ross tossed three scoreless innings in San Diego’s spring finale.
The Brewers dropped to 11-16-and-1 in Cactus League play. They have two more Arizona exhibitions, the first of which is this afternoon against Cleveland. Brewers’ manager Ron Roenicke says his Opening Day roster is “solid in every area,” and he considers himself fortunate not to have any “question marks.” The Brewers finalized their 25-man roster yesterday by sending utility player Elian Herrera to the minors. That gave outfielder Logan Schafer the final spot on the Milwaukee bench — along with newcomers Luis Jimenez and Hector Gomez as back-up infielders.
Roenicke said it was not easy to send down the versatile switch-hitting Herrera — but he believes Schafer has the edge on defense. He also has a .270 career batting average off the bench, and Roenicke says the big league average for such a reserve is around .220. However, Schafer only hit .181 last year, while Herrera hummed along at a .274 clip.
Herrera should be back with the Brewers soon enough, though, given the normal injuries and roster adjustments made during the season. Milwaukee’s 2015 campaign opens Monday at home against Colorado.
