The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE â€" The negative numbers are piling up for the San Diego Padres, especially on the road.
Everth Cabrera hit an inside-the-park homer, but Edinson Volquez struggled in a 9-5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night.
The last-place Padres (19-40) have lost five of six and 14 of 17. They are a major league-worst 5-20 on the road.
"There's no carryover from one game to the next. Every game is a new canvas," San Diego manager Bud Black said. "We're seeing some good swings from our hitters, but we need more consistency."
The Padres also need Volquez (2-6) to snap out of his slide. He allowed six runs and six hits in five innings while falling to 0-4 with a 5.86 ERA in his last five starts.
Volquez yielded a key three-run homer to rookie catcher Martin Maldonado in the fourth inning that turned San Diego's 2-1 lead into a two-run deficit.
"It was 0-1 and I threw him a fastball and that was the whole game," he said. "They gave me a lead and I gave it right back."
Corey Hart hit two solo home runs and pinch-hitter Taylor Green added a two-run homer as Milwaukee earned its third consecutive victory after losing three of four at the beginning of its nine-game homestand.
Brewers manager Ron Roenicke was thrilled with Hart's night and the production from Maldonado, who hit his second home run in the past week. He was called up from Triple-A Nashville on May 29 when Jonathon Lucroy broke his hand.
"His power does not surprise me, but you don't necessarily think he's going to do that," Roenicke said. "He's been very good for us so far."
Hart lined Volquez's third pitch over the wall in right for his 12th homer, but the Padres tied in the third on Cabrera's second of the year.
Cabrera hit a one-out liner to center and Carlos Gomez tried to make a diving catch, but the ball got by him. It rolled all the way to the wall and Cabrera scored standing up.
Cabrera put the Padres in front with a bases-loaded walk in the fourth, but Marcum escaped further damage by getting Volquez to ground out.
Milwaukee grabbed the lead for good in the bottom half. With two out and two on, Maldonado hit a drive to the second deck in left field to make it 4-2. Hart led off the fifth with another shot and Aramis Ramirez's run-scoring groundout later in the inning extended the lead to 6-2.
Cameron Maybin homered in the sixth inning for the Padres, and Logan Forsythe added a two-run triple in the ninth.
Milwaukee's Shaun Marcum (5-3) allowed three runs and six hits in 5 2-3 innings while improving to 3-0 with a 2.29 ERA in his last three starts. But Marcum threw 115 pitches and admitted he struggled.
"I battled all night, but it was tough," he said. "I had good defense behind me and the team scored a lot of runs tonight which really helped. I made the pitches when I had to."
NOTES: Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers attended the game. Rodgers filmed several television commercials for the Brewers during spring training with his good friend Milwaukee outfielder Ryan Braun. ... Ramirez was back in the lineup after missing four games with a left quad strain.
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June 09, 2012 01:06 AM EDT
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