Milwaukee @ San Diego preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 22, 2013 ) Milwaukee 7, San Diego 1

Ryan Braun has never found Petco Park to be a tough place to hit as the Milwaukee Brewers seek their ninth consecutive victory when they visit the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. Braun homered and had three RBIs as the Brewers took the opener 7-1 to raise his batting average to .328 in 61 career at-bats in the ballpark. Braun has five career homers at Petco and is the only player to hit three in one game at the park.

San Diego has lost four consecutive games and hopes the return of outfielder Carlos Quentin will give its feeble attack a boost. Quentin finished serving an eight-game suspension Monday for the recent altercation that left Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke with a broken collarbone and San Diego went 25 innings without scoring a run until a groundout by reliever Anthony Bass plated its lone tally Monday. Milwaukee is having no such problems on offense and has smashed 15 homers in its last eight games. Braun is tied for fourth with Gorman Thomas (208) for most homers in franchise history after his latest strong outing at Petco. “Every ballpark is a little bit different and for whatever reason, I’ve just felt comfortable here,” Braun said after Monday’s game.

TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Wisconsin (Milwaukee), Fox Sports San Diego

PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Yovani Gallardo (1-1, 5.24 ERA) vs. Padres LH Clayton Richard (0-1, 5.28)

Gallardo earned his first victory in his last outing when he allowed one run and five hits in six innings against San Francisco. He allowed 26 hits in 16 1/3 innings over his first three starts before turning things around against the Giants. Gallardo has 15 strikeouts against four walks in 22 1/3 innings. He is 3-2 with a 4.19 ERA in six career starts against San Diego.

Richard is pitching for the first time in nine days because an illness caused a scheduled start in San Francisco to be pushed back. He tossed six shutout innings of two-hit ball while taking a no-decision against the Colorado Rockies in his last start on April 14. That marked a swift turnaround from giving up 15 hits in 9 1/3 innings over his first two outings. Richard is 2-2 with a 4.64 ERA in three career starts against the Brewers.

WALK-OFFS

1. Milwaukee’s winning streak is its longest since also winning eight straight in 2008.

2. Brewers SS Alex Gutierrez is hitting .137, but is 4-for-5 against Richard.

3. Padres 3B Chase Headley is batting .417 with a homer in 12 career at-bats against Gallardo.

PREDICTION: Brewers 7, Padres 4