SAN DIEGO _ "Nerd Power" strikes again.
Eric Sogard collected four hits for the second time in three games, with his a two-run double to center in the seventh the big blow, to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 4-2 victory over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Thursday afternoon.
Sogard reached base all five times in the game after drawing a ninth-inning walk, and drove in three of Milwaukee's four runs on the day. He left San Diego having gone 9 for 15 (.600) with three doubles, a home run, five RBIs and four runs scored.
The Brewers, meanwhile, took three of four from the Padres and won for the ninth time in their last 11 games while remaining in first place in the National League Central.
The game turned in the seventh, and not surprisingly Sogard was in the middle of the action.
Keon Broxton led off with a single to left and Orlando Arcia followed with a bunt single, sliding safely into first base. That brought up Davies' spot in the lineup, and manager Craig Counsell elected to lift him at 82 pitches in favor of pinch-hitter Eric Thames.
Hitting for the first time since Sunday after being struck with a bout of strep throat, and facing left-handed reliever Ryan Buchter, he delivered a fly ball to center that allowed Broxton and Arcia to tag and move to third and second base, respectively.
Already with three singles and an RBI to his credit on the day, the left-handed-hitting Sogard stepped to the plate and fell behind in the count, 0-2.
He battled back to 2-2, then fouled off six of the next seven pitches before drilling a 94-mph fastball over Manuel Margot's head in center to score Broxton and Arcia.
The final count? A monster 12-pitch at-bat and a 3-2 Brewers lead.
Milwaukee added an insurance run in the ninth. Broxton singled to lead off, stole second, moved to third on a throwing error by catcher Luis Torrens and scored on a groundout by pinch-hitter Jonathan Villar.
Carlos Torres, Jacob Barnes and Corey Knebel each threw an inning of hitless relief. Knebel, though, pitched out of trouble in the ninth after issuing a pair of walks while picking up his third save.
The Brewers were all over the bases in the first three innings but wound up with nothing to show for it against right-hander Jarred Cosart, who was filling in for the injured Trevor Cahill.
San Diego got to Davies first, with Hunter Renfroe hitting a solo homer in the second to give the Padres the early 1-0 lead.
Milwaukee tied it up in the fifth when Arcia singled, moved to second on a passed ball, was bunted to third by Davies and scored on Sogard's third consecutive single.
The Padres grabbed the lead back in the bottom half, with consecutive singles by Cory Spangenberg and Ryan Schimpf leading to a run-scoring double play by Torrens.
Davies worked around two walks in the next inning to complete the sixth for the first time on the season. He allowed five hits, two runs (earned) and two walks to go along with three strikeouts.
