After the Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies combined to score five runs in the first inning Friday, Ron Roenicke knew it was going to be one of those nights where it was going to take a crooked number to win.
It was one of those nights at Coors Field.
The Brewers tied a season-high with 19 hits, as five players had at least three hits to help Milwaukee to a 13-10 slugfest of a victory over the Rockies in the series opener. At 45-30, the Brewers now hold the best record in the National League and the second-best record in all of baseball.
"It's unbelievable," Milwaukee's manager, Roenicke, said of Friday's game. "I know the ball carries well, but there were balls squared up all night long. It's amazing how many balls are hit hard.
"The offense, you can't get any better than that. That's great. To score in that many different innings, everybody swung the bat well."
The 13 runs scored by the Brewers are their most in a game since Aug. 27, 2012 when they plated 15 in a victory over the Chicago Cubs. Scooter Gennett, Ryan Braun, Carlos Gomez, Aramis Ramirez and Jean Segura all had three hits, tying a franchise record for the most members of the lineup with at least three hits.
An RBI double from Jonathan Lucroy and a two-run double by Ramirez pushed the Brewers to a 3-0 lead, but Colorado responded with a pair of first-inning runs off Brewers right-hander Marco Estrada. After Jean Segura homered in the second inning to make it 4-2, the Rockies scored four times in the bottom of the second, including a three-run home run from Justin Morneau.
The Brewers quickly took the lead back, as Khris Davis hit a two-run shot and Segura hit his second solo home run of the night to put Milwaukee in front, 7-6.
There was no such thing as a comfortbale lead Friday, even when the Brewers scored three times in the sixth inning to lead 11-6. Colorado answered back with a Charlie Blackmon two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth and answered Milwaukee's seventh-inning run with a Brandon Barnes two-run shot.
Braun's RBI single in the top of the ninth plated Milwaukee's 13th run of the day, usually meaning the game is out of hand. However, run No. 13 on Friday was an important insurance run to give closer Francisco Rodriguez a three-run lead.
"I think every run in this ballpark is a big run," Braun said. "Up and down the lineup, we put together a lot of good at-bats today and we needed every single one of them. It's a good way to start the series for us with a quick turnaround tomorrow.
"It's probably the best place to hit in baseball. It's very encouraging. Everybody gets excited to come here. We only get to come here once a year, so we try to make the most of it."
Estrada's final line shows yet another rough outing, but the right-hander did record three scoreless innings from the third through the fifth, an important stretch considering how the ball was flying around Coors Field on Friday.
Still, Estrada allowed yet another home run and was charged with seven runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings, raising his ERA to 5.22.
"He really threw the ball well for those three innings," Roenicke said of the third through the fifth for Estrada. "It looked like his fastball was commanded better after awhile and he got his changeup down. Early, the balls they hit were all up in the zone. Once he started getting the ball down, he did a nice job."
A couple of defensive plays the Brewers didn't make cost Estrada as well, as the official scorer at Coors Field gave Justin Morneau a double on a play in which the Rockies scored two runs in the first inning. Gomez and Davis converged together and the ball hit off Gomez's glove and got by him.
"We should have made plays behind Marco, and it probably cost him," Roenicke said. "Him too, though. He didn't cover first base and that hurt him. Not doing a better job of holding runners hurt him.
"It was just a rough day on the mound. I'm sure they feel the same way."
Follow Andrew Gruman on Twitter
