Homers stinging Crew staff, including 3 in rout

MILWAUKEE -- Brewers pitchers continued a trend Thursday by allowing three home runs in a 14-4 loss to the Dodgers, keeping Milwaukee on a pace to challenge a dubious Major League record.

The Brewers have surrendered 42 home runs in their first 29 games, on pace for 234 home runs over a 162-game season. That would break a franchise record set in 2003, when the Brewers allowed 219 home runs under first-year manager Ned Yost, and would challenge the all-time record held by the 1996 Tigers, who allowed 241 homers. The National League record is 239 home runs, by the '01 Rockies.

"Home runs by the other team are not good," said new Brewers manager Craig Counsell. "It is execution for me. That's something we have to get better at. It is as simple as that."

In Thursday's loss, three different Brewers pitchers were victimized. Mike Fiers allowed a solo home run to Dodgers infielder Alex Guerrero, and Rob Wooten and Jonathan Broxton each surrendered a three-run homer to catcher Yasmani Grandal.

Grandal finished with eight RBIs, the most in the Majors this season.

"You can't really think about it too much; you've just got to go out there and pitch," Fiers said. "That might be in peoples' heads -- you don't want to give up the long ball. But it's part of the game. You've got to challenge guys and pitch in the zone and get outs in the zone."

The challenge for Counsell and pitching coach Rick Kranitz is what to do about it. It's not as if coaches can call a meeting to tell pitchers to stop surrendering home runs.

"That's not going to come up in a meeting. I think that's pretty common sense," Wooten said. "Nobody is out there trying to give up homers. It's just bad pitches. They get paid over there, too, to hit your mistakes. You make pitches, it doesn't happen."