Roenicke urges Gomez to be cautious with knee

CINCINNATI -- Before Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez took the field on Friday for the first time since he sprained his right knee on Aug. 15, manager Ron Roenicke talked to him about taking it easy while easing his way back into things.

Gomez was happy to oblige -- for the most part.

In the top of the sixth inning in Milwaukee's 6-4 win, Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips hit a drive to deep center field. Gomez, as he's accustomed to doing, tried to climb the wall and rob Phillips of a homer. Not only did the ball make it over the wall, it also marked the only point on Friday that Gomez's knee bothered him, as he came down on his right leg.

"Anything else, it's fine," Gomez said of the knee. "But it's that stupid [stuff] that I did."

In the lineup again on Saturday, Gomez said he was surprised at how little soreness he felt. He also said he felt good at the plate Friday, but added that defense is a slightly bigger challenge. Roenicke mentioned Friday night that a completely healthy Gomez likely would have prevented two runs from scoring on Zack Cozart's single in the fourth inning, and the 27-year-old center fielder agreed.

Entering Saturday, Gomez had stolen 30 bases to go with 18 home runs and 55 RBIs. He admitted that he needs to be smart about what he tries to do with the knee, and Roenicke said that includes being aggressive on the basepaths, but Gomez said that shouldn't be an issue going forward.

"If I'm playing, I should be stealing," Gomez said. "If I get on base, and I get an opportunity to steal a base, I'm going to do it."