Brewers 7, Astros 1: Norichika Aoki and Ryan Braun hit back-to-back homers in the first inning and Rickie Weeks belted a two-run shot in the sixth as visiting Milwaukee handed Houston its ninth consecutive loss.
Aoki added an RBI single and Yovani Gallardo tossed six strong innings for the Brewers, who have won five of seven.
With one out, Aoki deposited a 3-2 pitch from J.A. Happ over the right-field wall for his fifth blast of the season and a 1-0 lead. Braun then drilled a 3-2 offering to left-center for his National League-leading 24th shot.
Weeks made it 4-1 in the sixth, following Corey Hart's two-out double with his seventh homer. Carlos Gomez hit an RBI triple in the seventh and scored on a single by Aoki, who came home on Aramis Ramirez's double two batters later.
Gallardo (7-6) allowed one run and four hits in improving to 11-2 lifetime against the Astros. The right-hander, who walked three and struck out six, has won eight consecutive meetings with Houston.
Happ (6-9) was battered for seven runs and nine hits over 6 1/3 frames to lose for the sixth time in eight starts.
Scott Moore belted a solo homer and Jason Castro recorded two of the five hits by the Astros, who returned home from an 0-7 road trip.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Aoki's home run extended his career-high hitting streak to 13 games ... Houston CF Jordan Schafer went 0-for-4 in his return to the starting lineup. Schafer was pulled from Wednesday's contest for what Brad Mills termed "behavioral reasons," but met with the manager on Thursday to discuss the issue. "Everything's good," said Schafer, who appeared in Thursday's loss as a pinch hitter. "We're on the same page and everything will be all right."
Milwaukee | Houston | |
Yovani Gallardo | Player | J.A. Happ |
Win | W/L | Loss |
6.0 | IP | 6.1 |
6 | Strikeouts | 4 |
4 | Hits | 9 |
1.50 | ERA | 9.95 |
Milwaukee | Houston | |
Norichika Aoki | Player | Jason Castro |
2 | Hits | 2 |
2 | RBI | 0 |
1 | HR | 0 |
5 | TB | 2 |
.500 | Avg | .667 |