MILWAUKEE _ Manager Craig Counsell warned beforehand that the Toronto Blue Jays were not the same struggling team the Milwaukee Brewers swept in a two-game road series in early April.
And he was right.
The Blue Jays returned the favor Wednesday afternoon by pummeling the Brewers with a long-ball barrage to win 8-4 at Miller Park and sweep the two-game interleague series.
By losing twice to Toronto within a 21-hour span, the first-place Brewers (25-21) have dropped three games in a row for the first time since St. Louis came to Miller Park in the third week of April and took the final three of a four-game series.
"The first time we faced them, they had some guys struggling," Counsell said. "They pitched well. Their two starters pitched very well. (Marcus) Stroman is a tough customer."
It had the makings of a strong pitching day for the Brewers when starter Matt Garza put down the first nine hitters. But then the home runs started coming and didn't stop. Leadoff hitter Kevin Pillar led off the fourth by banging an 0-1 slider out to left and two batters later Jose Bautista crushed a 2-0- fastball off the bottom of the scoreboard in center.
Already leading, 3-1, the Blue Jays blew open the game with two more homers in the fifth inning. Devon Travis led off by driving a 1-2 pitch from Garza out to center for his third home run of the season.
Garza exited with two on and one out in favor of Oliver Drake, who walked Chris Coghlan to load the bases before serving up a grand slam to light-hitting infielder Ryan Goins that made it 8-1. Goins entered the series in a 1-for-26 drought and batting .191 for the season but collected four hits in the series, including two doubles and the slam, with five RBIs.
"He had a good series," Counsell said. "The grand slam was in a spot where we're trying to get out of the inning and keep it close. They kind of put the nail in the coffin there."
Thanks to the grand slam, Garza was charged with six runs in 51/3 innings. By comparison, he had allowed only eight earned runs previously in five starts, covering 292/3 innings.
Garza had been particularly sharp in three previous starts in May, posting a 1-0 record and 1.89 earned run average. He had been the most consistent starter in the Brewers' inconsistent starting rotation since returning from a season-opening stint on the DL with a groin strain.
"It was one of those days where it caught up to me at the end," Garza said. "I played with fire and tried to pitch up (in the zone) to these guys, and got burned. It was dumb on my part. You never want to leave guys on. You want to finish your inning. I couldn't get the ball down later in the game.
"They are a great team. But if you make your pitches and hit your spots, you can get them out, just like anybody else. I showed that in the first three innings. I don't have the (velocity) to go up top anymore. I got ahead of myself and lost a battle I usually win."
