MILWAUKEE - Kyle Lohse turned in a strong performance in his first start for the Milwaukee Brewers. It just wasn't good enough.
Lohse and Wade Miley were locked into a pitching duel through six innings before the Arizona Diamondbacks spoiled Lohse's debut with Milwaukee by scoring two runs on a wild pitch off reliever Michael Gonzalez in the seventh for a 3-1 win over the Brewers on Friday night.
Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought Lohse did well considering he made only one spring training start with Milwaukee.
"Kyle was really good," Roenicke said. "Located his pitches well, had good life on his ball."
The Brewers were 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position and left six on base.
"The offensive part of it, some of that has to do with Miley," Roenicke said. "He is pretty good. We need to swing it better, but we faced a good pitcher tonight."
Lohse allowed five hits and struck out six. Miley gave up five hits and struck out eight, one shy of his career high, as the starters battled almost pitch for pitch.
"I was locating the fastball and working the changeup off of it," Lohse said. "When my changeup is working like that and I'm spotting it pretty well, it is usually going to be a good outing more times than not for me."
Lohse is coming off his best major league season, going 16-3 with a 2.86 ERA in 33 starts with the St. Louis Cardinals last year. He made one start in spring training after signing with the Brewers just before the end of March.
"It felt like all my stuff was working pretty good from the first inning on," he said. "It was fun to get back out there and get my season started."
His start may have ended differently if Ryan Braun had played, Aramis Ramirez didn't get hurt and a wild pitch didn't happen.
Braun took batting practice before he was scratched from the lineup because of spasms on the right side of his neck.
"I felt it a little bit earlier while I was working out, and then I had the trainers work on it," Braun said. "Second round of BP, I took a swing and it just locked up."
Khris Davis made his major league debut in place of Braun.
Ramirez got hurt in the fourth when it looked like the Brewers might get to Miley (1-0), who had cruised through the first three innings, including a span of five straight strikeouts before Jean Segura hit a solo homer, his career first, with one out in the bottom of the fourth.
Rickie Weeks followed with a single up the middle and went to third on Ramirez's single to left. He slid awkwardly into second trying to beat left fielder Jason Kubel's strong throw. Ramirez, who was an easy out, sprained his left knee. He lay behind the bag in pain before walking off the field.
"Me being a middle of the order guy, it is not the right time to be out," he said. "We know more tomorrow. I'll get an MRI tomorrow. We go from there. I don't want to assume anything."
Burke Badenhop (0-1) relieved Lohse to start the seventh. Paul Goldschmidt walked, advanced on Jason Kubel's single and moved to third on A.J. Pollock's sacrifice to chase Badenhop.
Gonzalez came in and walked Cliff Pennington. Alfredo Marte pinch hit for Miley and struck out. Goldschmidt and Kubel scored when Gonzalez threw a wild pitch that hit off catcher Jonathan Lucroy's glove and rolled toward the Brewers' dugout. First baseman Yuniesky Betancourt, who has never played first until this season, was late backing up the play as Lucroy raced after the ball.
Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said that Gonzalez and Lucroy made a mistake.
"We got crossed up a little bit there with the pitch getting by (Lucroy)," Roenicke said.
J.J. Putz pitched the ninth for his first save.
The Diamondbacks are off to a 3-1 start for the third time in franchise history.
NOTES: Lohse is without a decision in any of his five debut games. ... Brewers INF Alex Gonzalez moved to third after Ramirez left the game in the bottom of the fourth. Gonzalez played shortstop for 1,536 games coming into his 15th season. He moved to first for the first three games of this season. He had never played third in his career. ... After Segura homered, he rounded first and held his helmet above his head, smiling, before putting it back on. ... The Diamondbacks are off to a 3-1 start for the third time in franchise history.
