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Home runs lift Brewers

PHOENIX — There’s one thing the Milwaukee Brewers can count on: the home run.

Casey McGehee hit a grand slam and J.J. Hardy also homered to spark a six-run fourth inning, and the Brewers beat Australia’s World Baseball Classic team 10-5 Thursday.

Milwaukee scored all eight of its runs against Colorado on Tuesday on homers.

“It feels like that’s the way we’ve been the last couple of years,” Hardy said. “We definitely have a team that can hit some homers, and that makes it to where we’re never out of a game.”

Right-hander Seth McClung, who has temporarily replaced the injured Braden Looper in the Brewers’ rotation, gave up a two-run homer to Justin Huber in the first. He allowed two runs, four hits and two walks in three innings. He struck out three.

“Every hit I gave up was on a straight two-seamer,” said McClung, who allowed four runs on three hits and three walks in his first outing. “I take from it that it’s good because I was getting closer to where I need to be. It tells me I’m holding the ball too long and that’s an easy adjustment to make.”

Brewers manager Ken Macha said he had spoken to McClung early in the spring about being ready in case he was thrust into the rotation.

“We’re going to go through more than just the five starters,” Macha said. “That’s going to happen.”

The Australians extended their lead to 4-0 in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Trent Oeltjen and an RBI single by Luke Hughes. But the Brewers scored six in the bottom of the fourth and added two more in the seventh.

Mike Lamb hit a two-run double in the eighth and Trevor Hoffman struck out two in a one-inning stint for Milwaukee.

Australia starter Damian Moss allowed six runs on five hits and two walks in four innings. Moss has pitched for Atlanta, Tampa Bay, San Francisco and Baltimore and took 2007 off from baseball in the states before returning to Triple-A Richmond last season.