All-Stars Gomez, Segura found time for rest

MILWAUKEE -- Jean Segura and Carlos Gomez each said they put aside enough time for rest over the All-Star break despite spending the first two days caught up in the week's festivities.

The Brewers' two All-Star representatives left New York after the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday night and took most of Wednesday and Thursday to catch up on rest -- Gomez spent much of Wednesday with family at the Wisconsin Dells water parks.

It seems the rest did Gomez good, as he hit his 15th homer of the year, a solo shot, in the fifth inning of the Brewers' 2-0 win over the Marlins on Friday night.

Gomez said he looks forward to the end of the season -- when he typically plays his best. Segura was just ready to get back in the swing of things.

"It was fun, I enjoyed the time [in New York] and I feel pretty good," Segura said. "I'll be ready to continue to play my game and to try and get better and everything."

Segura and Gomez -- who were both retired by Mariano Rivera as pinch-hitters in the eighth inning of the All-Star Game -- each battled slumps toward the end of the first half.

After going 4-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs against the Mets on July 5, Gomez ended the first half on a 2-for-32 skid. He struck out 12 times with four walks and his slash line was .063/.162/.156. during the span.

But Gomez pointed out his career numbers in July compared to the final two months of the season.

"In my career, in this month, I hit like .170," said Gomez, who was off a bit on his .227 career average in July. "But I'm really happy and excited, because August and September is when I have the best numbers of my career. August and September is when I'm exploding everything. If you are up and down this month, you get it back in August and September."

The center fielder has hit .251 in August and .267 in September/October in his career.

"Before the All-Star Game, it's just a slump. Back up again, it's normal," said Gomez, who entered Friday's game against the Marlins hitting .295 with 14 homers and 45 RBIs. "Basically it's up and down, but we play to keep it as consistent as you can. My confidence is there and the hard part is over, the first half."

Segura is in his first full season as a Major Leaguer, but he's not too worried about his mini hitting slump that stretched from the end of June to the beginning of July. The shortstop hit .167 from June 29-July 7, but ended the first half with 11 hits in his final seven games.

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said he was not worried about his two All-Stars to start the second half.

"They're going to have energy, I thought they had energy at the end," Roenicke said. "Sometimes you just go into a slump, whether you're worn down or whether you have an injury -- which both of them have some small injuries. So hopefully they're a little healthier. They both enjoyed the All-Star Game and they got a couple days off after that."