Brewers lose SS Gonzalez in 5-2 loss to Giants
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Alex Gonzalez moved through a quiet clubhouse with crutches and a brace on his right leg, leaving the Milwaukee Brewers to figure out how to deal with yet another injury.
Gonzalez left Saturday, May 5th's 5-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants with what appears to be a serious right knee injury in the latest blow of what is turning into a cursed trip to California.
"It's bad, man," Gonzalez said. "It's kind of sad for me. I was playing every day. I was playing hard and playing pretty good. But you can't control that type of injury. If it's going to happen, it happens."
The injury to Gonzalez marks the fourth straight game the Brewers have lost a player early to injury. First baseman Mat Gamel tore the ACL in his right knee on Tuesday in San Diego, Ryan Braun left early the next day and missed Friday's series opener against the Giants with a sore right Achilles and outfielder Carlos Gomez went down Friday with a strained left hamstring.
Gonzalez will have an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of the injury. But from all appearances, he could be out for a while. Gomez and Gonzalez will be placed on the disabled list Sunday when the Brewers call up infielders Taylor Green and Edwin Maysonet from Triple-A Nashville.
"We have to keep playing and get through these tough injuries," manager Ron Roenicke said. "We still have a good club."
But they didn't have enough to beat the Giants on a day Madison Bumgarner was sharp for seven innings and added an RBI double to win his eighth straight home start and help San Francisco snap a four-game losing streak.
Buster Posey and Brett Pill added RBI hits in a three-run sixth inning against Randy Wolf (2-3) to support Bumgarner (5-1).
"He gave us what we needed," manager Bruce Bochy said. "When you have a losing streak like this, you need someone to go out there and have a game like he did. He has a lot of confidence going right now."
Braun homered in his return to the lineup but it was not enough for the Brewers.
Bumgarner finally helped them break through in the fifth inning after Hector Sanchez led off the inning with a double. Bumgarner then tied the game at 1 when he lined a one-out double into the left-field corner.
San Francisco broke it open with three runs in the sixth. Melky Cabrera started the rally by tripling for the second straight day and Posey followed with a single through a drawn-in infield. Pill then doubled into right-center with Posey scoring when Norichika Aoki took a bad angle on the ball. Pill later scored on Conor Gillaspie's groundout to make it 4-1.
Bumgarner left after a scoreless seventh, allowing one run and six hits to lower his home ERA to 1.00 during his current winning streak. Guillermo Mota allowed Braun's eighth homer in the eighth before Sanchez added an RBI double in the bottom half for San Francisco.
Santiago Casilla closed for his fifth save in as many chances.
Gonzalez drove in Aramis Ramirez with the first run of the game on an RBI single off Bumgarner but got hurt later in the second when he stole second base. Gonzalez's leg buckled as he slid into second and he immediately called for a trainer. He was helped off the field and went for an MRI.
"He slid and then it looked like he turned a little more sideways because of the throw, trying to get out of the way of the guy and then that left his foot planted sideways," Roenicke said. "He's been a great player for us this far. We all were really happy and looking forward to seeing what he was going to do this year."
After the Giants tied the game in the fifth inning, the Brewers missed a golden chance to regain the lead in the sixth. Ramirez reached on a two-base error by center fielder Angel Pagan to lead off the inning. No. 5 hitter Corey Hart sacrificed Ramirez to third base, but Cesar Izturis and Brooks Conrad followed with shallow fly balls to right field, keeping the score tied at 1.