GENARO C. ARMAS
AP Sports Writer
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jean Segura smiled in his first game at Miller Park since returning to the Milwaukee Brewers following the death of his 9-month-old son.
The shortstop still grieves, but it will be nights like the one Segura had in a 5-2 victory Monday over the Cincinnati Reds that will provide some distraction.
Segura went 2 for 3 with a triple and scored two runs, and Milwaukee took advantage of two misjudged balls in the outfield by Chris Heisey to hand Cincinnati its fourth straight loss.
“It was a tough week for me, and for my family, too,” Segura said. “I (came) here, worked, trying to do the best I can to help the team.”
The 24-year-old Segura took bereavement leave after learning of son Janniel’s death following a 7-6 loss on July 11 to the St. Louis Cardinals. He went home to the Dominican Republic before returning to the club after the All-Star break for the weekend series in Washington.
Segura said he wasn’t nervous coming back to play before his hometown fans. Manager Ron Roenicke said he thought Segura was back mentally into the game.
“He’s still going to have those times when he thinks about it, but I liked when he first came back,” Roenicke said. “I thought it was really important for him to know that the team was behind him.”
Wily Peralta (11-6) allowed three hits, including Billy Hamilton’s solo homer, in seven innings. Francisco Rodriguez threw a 1-2-3 ninth for his 29th save.
Cincinnati’s Mat Latos (2-2) gave up four earned runs and eight hits in seven innings.
It could have been a much closer game had Heisey made those two plays in left. The lights were on at Miller Park for an evening game that started under overcast skies, though Heisey seemed to be most bothered by the conditions.
“Tonight was just one of those nights where I didn’t have a very good day,” Heisey said.
Three runs scored on the two plays. In the third, Ryan Braun hit a two-run double that Heisey took a couple of steps in on before retreating as the high liner went over his head.
The four-year veteran with 134 career starts in left field lost Carlos Gomez’s high fly ball to the warning track in the fourth inning that turned into an RBI ground-rule double that made it 4-0.
Arms turned upward near his waist, Heisey looked lost as the ball bounced a couple of feet away. Heisey tried to reach for the ball as it caromed over the wall, and Segura scored from second on a play that could have gotten Latos out of the inning.
“I ended up running to a perfect spot, just couldn’t pick the ball back up when I turned my head,” Heisey said. “It just disappeared into the bluish-white sky. I couldn’t find the ball.”
Gomez then scored on an error by Donald Lutz, subbing for the injured Joey Votto at first base. An errant relay throw by second baseman Ramon Santiago in the third inning allowed Segura, who had tripled, to score.
Segura, who has been struggling all season at the plate, has his average back up to .236. He has been driving the ball more of late.
“I’ve been working at it all year long. It’s going to come,” he said.
The Reds lost again after resuming the season with a three-game sweep by the New York Yankees. Manager Bryan Price was ejected Monday in the sixth inning by home plate umpire David Rackley after Devin Mesoraco got into a heated argument over a called third strike on a checked swing.
NOTES: Reds OF Jay Bruce, in an 0-for-15 slump, got the night off. … The last four homers hit by Hamilton have come against the Brewers. … A kitchen fire at a Miller Park restaurant early Monday morning left the restaurant, escalators, elevators and a few other areas in left field unusable because of water damage. … Cincinnati’s Homer Bailey (8-5) opposes Milwaukee’s Jimmy Nelson (1-1) on Tuesday night.
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