Brewers Overcome Rough Start From Randy Wolf, Lose 10-8 To Braves Anyway

W: Jonny Venters (1-0)
L: Francisco Rodriguez (0-1)
S: Craig Kimbrel (3)

HR: Alex Gonzalez (2), George Kottaras (3), Corey Hart (4), Brian McCann (2), Matt Diaz (1)

MVP: Corey Hart (+.269)
LVP: Randy Wolf (-.597 pitching, -.078 hitting for -.675 total)

Entering the day the Braves were hitting just .212/.271/.340 as a team but Randy Wolf made them look like an offensive juggernaut tonight. He had already allowed two runs in the game when he let the Braves tack on five more in the fifth, with Brian McCann's three run homer serving as the exclamation point. All told Wolf allowed eight runs on nine hits over just 4.1 innings tonight, walking three and striking out just one. He's only two games into the season, but Wolf is now dragging a 10.61 ERA and a 2.36 WHIP. He's allowed eighteen base hits over just more than nine innings.

The Brewers saved him from an ugly loss, though, plating two runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh to tie the game at eight. Corey Hart's double in the sixth brought that frame's runs home, and a Ryan Braun two-run single and Hart solo homer tied the game the next inning. The Brewers also got back-to-back home runs from Alex Gonzalez and George Kottaras in the second inning. At the time those shots gave the Brewers a 3-1 lead, but it was short-lived.

The winning run scored for the Braves in the eighth inning, when Francisco Rodriguez allowed the first two batters he faced to reach on a single and a walk. A groundout advanced the runners to second and third and Ron Roenicke elected to pitch to Dan Uggla instead of walking the bases loaded with one out. Uggla muscled a broken-bat single through the drawn in infield and both runners scored.

It's worth noting that, even with this loss, the Brewers are still only 4-4. The two teams continue this series tomorrow, when Shaun Marcum takes on Mike Minor at 6:05.