MILWAUKEE -- Aaron Hill, Chris Carter and Domingo Santana rescued Jimmy Nelson and the Milwaukee Brewers.
Those three each hit a home run to help Nelson and the Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins 10-5 on Wednesday night.
Nelson, who had never faced the Twins, allowed four runs on 10 hits. He struck out six and walked one to keep the Twins winless in seven games on the road.
"Bottom line is we got the win," Nelson said. "That is huge. That is definitely our offense's game there. They came out big."
The Brewers staked Nelson to a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth, but Nelson squandered it when the Twins tied it at 4 in the sixth on Oswaldo Arcia's two-run homer and Eddie Rosario's home run.
"I've been giving up way too many home runs this entire season," Nelson said. He's allowed at least one in each of his four starts.
Hill led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo shot off Ryan Pressly (1-1). It was enough of a cushion for Brewers manager Craig Counsell to trust Nelson with the seventh.
"We sent Jimmy back out there, and he did a really nice job that inning," Counsell said. "Got the first two guys out and then (Brian) Dozier hits a little check swing down the line."
Dozier chased Nelson (3-1) with a double down the first base line. Carlos Torres walked the next two batters, but escaped the jam when he struck out Arcia.
"We kept the foot to gas there at the end," Nelson said. "That is huge."
The Brewers tacked on four more runs in the seventh. After a run scored on Arcia's fielding error, Carter hit his fourth of the season, a two-run drive over the wall in center.
Twins manager Paul Molitor didn't like how the game turned on his team.
"The loss is frustrating because we had chances," he said. "You're battling to find a way to get even with a few innings to play."
Santana led off the eighth with his second home run of the season.
Joe Mauer drove in a run off Tyler Cravy in the top of the ninth.
Twins starter Tommy Milone exited with two outs in the fifth, leaving the bases loaded on a hit and two walks and the score tied at 1. Michael Tonkin took over and walked Ryan Braun to force in a run. Jonathan Lucroy followed with a two-run double that pushed the lead to 4-1.
"It's never good to give free passes just in case something like that happens," Milone said. "Just kind of got away."
Kurt Suzuki doubled with two out and took third when Milone slapped an 0-2 pitch to deep short and beat a strong, accurate throw to first from shortstop Jonathan Villar. Eduardo Nunez's grounder foiled a Brewers' defensive shift, sailed through a gap between second and first as Suzuki scored.
Milone allowed four runs on five hits over 4 2/3 innings in his third career start against the Brewers, and all of them have been at Miller Park. He came in 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA with three walks and 11 strikeouts
SEASON HIGHS
The Brewers recorded a season high in runs (10) and hits (13) and matched their season high of three home runs in a game for the second time. April 8 against Houston was the first.
WELCOME BACK
Fans welcomed Twins manager Paul Molitor with a nice round of applause during pregame introductions. He played 15 seasons for the Brewers from 1978-1992, hitting .303 with 405 doubles, 86 triples, 160 home runs, 790 RBIs, 1,275 runs scored and 412 stolen bases. The team retired his No. 4 in a ceremony at Milwaukee County Stadium on June 11, 1999.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Twins: C Kurt Suzuki took a foul ball off his face mask in the fifth. He needed a few minutes to regroup, but stayed in the game. ... The Twins pitching staff came in batting 54 for 372 (.145) since interleague play started in 1997. Molitor worries more about his staff getting hurt than hitting. "You're always a little bit fearful when you're asking guys to do things they don't normally do," he said. "You just hope nobody does anything too crazy, either get carried away with their swings or if they do get a chance to run the bases. You hate to lose somebody because of a rare opportunity to get into the game offensively as a pitcher."
Brewers: Team physician Dr. William Raasch examines RHP Matt Garza (right lat strain), RHP Corey Knebel (left oblique strain) and LHP Will Smith (sprained right knee) on Thursday. All three are on the 15-day disabled list. ... Nelson threw 67 of his 95 pitches for strikes.
MILONE GETS TWO HITS
Twins pitchers aren't known for hitting during interleague play, but Milone did his part. Looking to improve on the staff's 3-for-20 performance last season, he went 2 for 2 with two singles. His first at-bat extended the second inning and helped set up a run. He came in with four hits in 25 at bats (.160).
UP NEXT
Twins: RHP Ricky Nolasco (0-0, 3.21 ERA) makes his 10th career start against Milwaukee. He is 3-3 with a 7.20 ERA over that stretch.
Brewers: RHP Taylor Jungmann (0-2, 2.90 ERA) makes his fourth start and first career appearance against the Twins.
