Tellez homers twice in Crew's power-packed win over Padres

SAN DIEGO -- When the Brewers jumped out to baseball’s hottest start this side of St. Petersburg, Fla., on their opening homestand, slugger Rowdy Tellez was a supporting player rather than a star. He didn’t hit his first home run or collect his first RBI until Milwaukee’s fifth game. He was hitting .143 after the team was shut out in the opening game of its current West Coast road trip.

Now, Tellez is finally seeing some results from his mighty swings.

He smashed home runs in back-to-back innings on Friday as part of the Brewers’ best night at the plate so far this season. In an 11-2 win over the Padres at Petco Park, Milwaukee set season highs for runs, hits (15) and extra-base hits (nine) to slingshot left-hander Eric Lauer to a win in his first quality start.

It’s been a power-packed start to the road trip for Tellez, who has three home runs and seven RBIs in the first two games of the four-game series in San Diego, as well three home runs on the current road trip. His second homer on Friday, a three-run shot in the sixth, extended the Brewers’ lead to 10-1 and essentially dashed the Padres’ comeback hopes.

“You love seeing it,” said Lauer. “He has the ability to just mash baseballs. When he’s hot, when he’s on and he’s seeing the ball well, he’s a really, really dangerous hitter. We love when he gets on streaks like that and we hope it continues.”

Tellez wasn’t the only Brewers hitter filling up the boxscore against Padres starter Michael Wacha, who entered the night 2-0 this season, 10-1 in his last 17 starts dating back to last June and 6-0 with a 3.38 ERA in 15 career games against the Brewers, mostly with the Cardinals. This time, Wacha faced a 4-0 deficit in the first frame after the Brewers hit four doubles in one inning, more than they had in any of their first 13 games this season.

Christian Yelich doubled, homered and scored twice before the end of the second inning for his first game with multiple extra-base hits in 2023. Brian Anderson doubled twice and scored twice. Luke Voit had three hits and scored the Brewers’ fourth run of the opening inning with a scamper from first to home that finished with a perfectly executed slide. By the fifth, Milwaukee already had its season-high for extra-base hits.

All of that offense made it a relatively stress-free night for Lauer, who held the Padres to one run over six innings on 94 pitches.

“They wouldn’t stop,” said Lauer of his offensive support. “That’s a great feeling as a pitcher, when you’re going out there and you’re like, ‘All I have to do is attack these guys, make them uncomfortable and try to maybe work their pitcher a little bit harder by having quick innings.’ It all worked out.”

It’s been working out for the Brewers, who at 10-4 are one of four teams with double-digit victories so far -- alongside the Rays (13-1), the Twins (10-4) and the Braves (10-4). Tampa Bay matched a modern record held by the 1987 Brewers and '82 Braves with its 13-0 start before finally absorbing a loss on Friday. With that chase at an end, might other quick starters like the Brewers get some more notice?

Milwaukee, after all, owns the NL’s best ERA at 2.76 and the NL’s third-best OPS at .793.

“I don’t think anybody cares, 14 games in,” Tellez said. “That was pretty cool for [the Rays], but we still have 148 games left. I think we’re in a good spot.”

So is the first baseman.

“[Tellez] is a player that’s going to hit home runs, so when he’s locked in, it’s going to be homers,” said Brewers manager Craig Counsell. “Those are quick runs on the board. He put three on the board with one swing and that kind of put the game out of reach a little bit.”

Tellez led the Brewers last season with 35 home runs in his first opportunity to start against left-handed pitchers in addition to righties. This spring, he picked up competitive at-bats while playing for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic, but that experience didn’t translate to a hot start in Milwaukee’s initial games.

That’s beginning to change now.

“I think I’m putting together better at-bats,” Tellez said. “I’m more consistent. It’s still a long season and anything can happen, but guys are getting on base, we’re pitching really well and playing really good ball. I think that lightens the load. The Brewers are playing good baseball and that’s all we can ask for.”