Rookie Chad Patrick and four relievers combined on a four-hitter to pace Milwaukee past the visiting Kansas City Royals, 5-0, on Tuesday night, the Brewers’ first victory after four consecutive losses.
Patrick, making his first major league start, tossed 4 2/3 scoreless innings before exiting with two aboard in the fifth. Patrick, 14-1 last season at Triple-A Nashville, struck out five and walked three in an 86-pitch outing.
Jared Koenig, Abner Uribe, and Joel Payamps blanked the Royals into the ninth and Trevor Megill finished with a perfect inning. Uribe (1-0) got the win with a scoreless 1 1/3 innings.
The Brewers, who were the only team in the majors last season to not have a losing streak of at least four games, avoided their first 0-5 start since 1984.
Eric Haase staked the Brewers to a 1-0 lead with one out in the third inning with his first home run, sending an 0-1 pitch 419 feet to left. Brice Turang and Jackson Chourio followed with consecutive singles and Christian Yelich delivered an RBI fielder’s choice to make it 2-0.
The Brewers scored twice in the sixth to extend the lead to 4-0. Yelich and William Contreras walked to open. Yelich scored on Rhy Hoskins’ one-out single to center with Contreras continuing to third on a throwing error. Contreras scored on a fielder’s choice after Sam Long replaced starter Michael Lorenzen (0-1).
Yelich opened the eighth with his first home run, a 429-foot shot to right-center, to make it 5-0.
Lorenzen allowed four runs, three earned, on five hits in 5 1/3 innings in his first start of the season.
Kansas City’s Kyle Isbel barely missed a homer in the fifth when his one-out drive to right carried just outside the foul pole. Patrick ended up fanning Isbel, but Jonathan India followed with a double. Koenig relieved and got Michael Massey on a bouncer to first.
