Brewers' offensive barrage allows Eric Lauer to breathe easy in big win over the Padres

SAN DIEGO -- Thanks to an offensive barrage, Eric Lauer was able to breathe easy on Friday night.

Rowdy Tellez homered twice, Christian Yelich also went deep and the Milwaukee Brewers hammered out a season-high 15 hits – including nine of the extra-base variety – in crushing the San Diego Padres, 11-2, at Petco Park.

Lauer was staked to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and enjoyed a comfortable cushion throughout his six-inning start in a game that was a far cry from the 4-3, 10-inning nailbiter pulled out by the Brewers one night earlier.

"It always helps," said Lauer of the support he received. "It helps you relax and know, 'Hey, now I can just go out there and attack the zone. I've got a little wiggle room. Those kinds of innings you go into it thinking I can really attack these guys now, and that's a really good feeling."

Milwaukee improved to 10-4 on the same day the Tampa Bay Rays lost their first game, tying the 1987 Brewers and 1982 Atlanta Braves for the longest winning streak to start a season.

Padres starter Michael Wacha entered with a 6-0 record and 3.38 earned run average in 15 career appearances (14 starts) against the Brewers but much of that success came early in his career during his time with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The right-hander was coming off a six-inning, 10-strikeout performance at Atlanta his last time out but Milwaukee had him on the ropes from the outset of this one.

The Brewers took a 1-0 lead just seven pitches in after consecutive doubles by Yelich and Willy Adames and by the end of the inning they'd logged four two-baggers and four runs.

Brian Anderson doubled in Adames, then Luke Voit singled in the third run and scored the fourth himself on a highlight-reel play as he chugged all the way around the bases on Mike Brosseau's double to left and slid in just under the tag of Luis Campusano.

BOX SCORE: Brewers 11, Padres 2

"All kidding aside, he made a great slide," Counsell said. "We underestimate that, but that slide at the plate -- we've seen that foot pop up so many times, and he kept his foot down and that's why he was safe.

"Was he slowing down? Absolutely. But he made a great slide, and that's why he was safe."

Yelich's one-out homer in the second made it 5-0.

"We just did a nice job," Counsell said. "We had great at-bats that first inning. Bunch of just hard-hit balls. Hit some balls in the gaps and it led to a big number, then we kind of took it from there."

The Brewers missed a couple chances to tack on a few more in the ensuing innings, but it proved to be no issue as Lauer sailed through the first three innings on some strong pitching and quality defense behind him.

His first spot of trouble came when he walked Manny Machado and Juan Soto to open the Padres' fourth but Lauer recovered quickly by striking out Nelson Cruz and then getting Ha-Seong Kim to line into a 4-6 double play.

Tellez's second homer in as many days and Anderson's second double chased Wacha to a chorus of boos in the fifth then Voit greeted Nabil Crismatt with his third single, a shot to center that scored Anderson to make it 7-0 and gave Milwaukee its season-high-tying 13th hit.

"They wouldn't stop," Lauer said of the offense. "That's a great feeling as a pitcher going out there and knowing all I have to do is attack these guys, make them uncomfortable, try to work their pitcher a little harder by having quick innings."

The Padres broke up the shutout when Campusano homered to lead off the bottom of the fifth but the Brewers answered back with three more runs in the sixth when Adames drew a leadoff walk, William Contreras singled and Tellez blasted his second homer of the game – this one way out to right-center.

"He's a player that can hit home runs," said Counsell. "When he's locked in it's going to be homers, and 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."

Tellez has four hits so far in San Diego, including the three homers, and his average is up over the Mendoza line for the first time this season at .214. His five homers lead the Brewers and tie him for fifth in the major leagues.

"I think I'm putting together better at-bats," Tellez said. "A little more consistent. You get guys on base in front of you and guys have got to pitch a little different. It's nice to have that going on. But it's something the whole team is doing, so I think my success isn't just my success -- it's the whole team that's putting it together."

Lauer (2-1) retired the side in order in the sixth, putting the wraps on his first quality start of the season. He allowed five hits, a run and two walks with five strikeouts over 94 pitches.

"I thought Eric was good tonight," Counsell said. "I thought his cutter was really good tonight and that was kind of the equalizer as far as slowing them down. He did well. He scattered some balls at times but he also made some good pitches."

Bryse Wilson allowed one run behind Lauer to register his second three-inning save of the season.

"Bryse finishing the game is really valuable," Counsell said. "Just to cover those three innings is really valuable for us."

Counsell was jokingly asked if Wilson is pushing Devin Williams for the closer's role now with Wilson having a 2-1 lead in saves to this point.

"I hope so," he said with a laugh. "I hope we have a lot of games like that."

More: Former Brewers closer Josh Hader says he was surprised by timing of last year's trade to Padres but didn't take it personally

More: Is William Contreras already transforming into an elite defensive catcher with the Brewers?

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Eric Lauer the beneficiary of Brewers' offensive barrage vs. Padres