MILWAUKEE _ Eric Sogard's return to the major leagues on Friday night was a memorable one.
The bespectacled utility man, fresh off his call-up from Class AAA Colorado Springs earlier in the day, homered and reached base three times to help lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 7-3 victory over the New York Mets at Miller Park.
Hernan Perez, Orlando Arcia and Jett Bandy also went deep for the Brewers, who homered a season-high four times and wrested the major league lead back from the Washington Nationals with 59.
It was Sogard's shot to right that turned the tide in this one.
With the score tied, 2-2, in the sixth, Keon Broxton singled off Matt Harvey's heel to bring Sogard to the plate. He'd drawn walks from Harvey each of his first two times up, and after getting ahead in the count, 2-0, launched a two-run homer deep to right to make it 4-2.
Sogard, who'd had his contract selected by the Brewers after Ryan Braun was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a strained left calf, was hitting .330 with three homers and 17 runs batted in for the Sky Sox.
Manager Craig Counsell wasted no time getting Sogard into the lineup, as he started him at shortstop ahead of Orlando Arcia. Sogard then rewarded his skipper's faith with a pair of walks followed his first major-league homer since Sept. 23, 2015, when he was still a stalwart with the Oakland A's.
Sogard missed all of 2016 due to various injuries, and Oakland cut him loose in the offseason. He signed a minor league deal with Milwaukee, and played well in the spring to get himself into the picture.
"I really like when we call guys up to get them in there," Counsell said before the game. "The matchup kind of worked today, where I thought it was a good spot with adding a left-handed hitter to the lineup.
"I do like getting those guys right into the action. I think it helps them and gets a lot of stuff out of the way for them. He's very well-equipped to handle this."
Arcia, pinch-hitting for pitcher Matt Garza, followed Sogard with a homer of his own that also ended Harvey's night.
The Brewers added a fourth run in the inning when they pulled off a double steal with Josh Edgin on the mound. Bandy's homer in the seventh off Rafael Montero closed out their scoring.
New York scored twice off Jacob Barnes in the ninth before Jared Hughes put out the fire, recording his fourth career save in the process.
While the Brewers produced plenty of news before the game, the Mets had no shortage of their own with closer Jeurys Familia undergoing potentially season-ending surgery for a blood clot in his pitching arm and first baseman Lucas Duda being reinstated from the disabled list.
Then there was Harvey, who was making his first start since making headlines for being suspended for three games for missing a game last weekend after he'd been clubbing and golfing.
Bandy's RBI double opened the scoring in the second, an inning in which Harvey threw 34 pitches, and Perez opened the third with a homer just over the wall in right that made it 2-0.
Garza, coming off the best of his three starts since being reinstated from the disabled list on April 24, used a pair of 4-6-3 double plays to mostly cruise through the first three innings before Neil Walker crushed a two-out homer into the second deck in right to cut the Brewers' lead to 2-1.
Walker struck again in the fifth. After Garza gave up a two-out double to Asdrubel Cabrera and walked Jay Bruce, Walker followed with a bloop single to right to knot the score at 2-2.
Then, Bandy got Garza out of the jam by picking Bruce off second.
Garza (2-0) went six innings in all, allowing five hits, two runs (earned) and two walks to go along with four strikeouts in a 93-pitch outing. It was the third consecutive quality start for the right-hander, the first time he has accomplished the feat since Aug. 1-12, 2015.
