Notes: Lorenzo Cain sets example of good things that happen when putting ball in play

SAN DIEGO - The Milwaukee Brewers signed outfielder Lorenzo Cain to a five-year, $80 million contract, the biggest free-agent deal in franchise history, because they thought he'd be a tone-setter for an offense that relied too much on the home run.

If early returns mean anything, the Brewers made exactly the right move, combined with the addition of another on-base specialist, Christian Yelich.

Continuing the momentum he generated with a strong spring camp (.419 batting average, .479 on-base percentage), Cain went 5 for 10 in the first two games against San Diego, with two doubles, two runs scored and two stolen bases. He became the eighth player in franchise history to produce at least five hits in the first two games of the season.

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To show that was no fluke, Cain went out Saturday evening and put together another impressive performance in a 7-3 victory that gave the Brewers an opening sweep of the Padres. Cain reached base in four of five plate appearances, with a double, two singles and walk. 

Overall, Cain was 8-for-14 (.571) in the series with a .600 on-base percentage and 1.386 OPS.

"You could see it in spring training; it's pretty remarkable how hard he hits the ball," cleanup hitter Travis Shaw said. "His bat-to-ball skills are remarkable. That's what you want at the top of the order. It's a great start for him, and a good start for the top of the order, in general.

"We knew those guys (Cain and Yelich) would be on base a lot. They don't strike out a lot; they put the ball in play. I think that's going to help the entire lineup because of the example they set."

Brewers hitting coach Darnell Coles first saw Cain when he was coming through the farm system, before he was traded to Kansas City in the Zack Greinke blockbuster in December 2010. And, as the assistant hitting coach for Detroit in 2014, Coles saw a lot of Cain during AL Central competition.

"He's got some special skills, and it's fun to watch," Coles said. "He gives you a consistent, professional at-bat, every time he steps up there. He understands situations, and pays attention to details. He stays disciplined and understands what to do and when to do it.

"That consistency is going help the lineup stay connected. 'Lo' has played in the World Series, won a World Series. He doesn't have to say anything. It's just going about your business and being a professional. It's good for the young guys to see that."

Cain, who batted third Saturday night with Ryan Braun out of the lineup, said he and Yelich are merely trying to set the table for the middle of the lineup.

"We’re just trying to get on for the guys behind us," he said. "We’ve got really good hitters behind us, so you want to put the ball in play as much as possible."

Killing rumors: Brewer general manager David Stearns has a personal policy of not reporting on trade rumors, no matter where they come from or how specific they are. But he felt compelled to immediately shut down a couple of tweets out of Los Angeles purporting to have information about talks between the Brewers and Dodgers about a possible trade of veteran outfielders Braun and Matt Kemp.

“You guys know my policy, I don’t like commenting on this type of stuff," Stearns told beat writers in the dugout before the game against San Diego. "But given that I don’t want this to be any sort of distraction I’ll say when I first read it, I thought maybe someone was making an early April fool’s joke. 

"There’s nothing to it. You have discussions all the time over the course of the off-season, with various crazy concepts. Given the little I’ve read, it sounds like this may be a manifestation of something like that. But there’s nothing clearly relevant.”

Ron Cervenka of the web site "Think Blue LA" was the first person to report a possible Brewers-Dodgers trade involving Kemp but did not mention Ryan Braun:

A bit later, Michael Duarte of NBC LA went harder with the rumor, adding Braun's name and saying the Dodgers were including prospects but wouldn't move a particular player.

Stearns reiterated that he hated commenting "on stuff like this." And he quickly noted that he wasn't changing policy and had no plans to comment on trade rumors in the future.

"But there's no need for this to fester," Stearns added. 

The timing of the rumors was interesting, coming the day after Braun capped a five-run, ninth-inning rally with a two-out, two-strike, three-run home run that beat San Diego, 8-6.

Ready, set, duck: No one could remember a pitcher being hit by liners in consecutive at-bats but that’s exactly what happened to right-hander Brandon Woodruff in the seventh inning Friday night in the Brewers’ 8-6 comeback victory.

“And they were both hit very hard,” said Braun. “That’s scary. Fortunately, he’s OK.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen two in a row, especially when they were both hit hard. And (Woodruff) was throwing 97 (mph). Crazy.”

With a run in, two down and a man on second, San Diego’s Carlos Asuaje hit a liner off the back of Woodruff’s upper right arm. Somehow, he shook that off and stayed in the game, only to have Cory Spangenberg rip a shot that smoked Woodruff in the butt/hip area and rolled right to Braun at first base for the third out, saving another run.

“It’s definitely never happened to me before,” Woodruff said. “They were barreled up. I think it was a little bit of karma for making fun of Chase (Anderson) on his slide (Thursday).”

Woodruff referred to the crash-and-burn slide home by the Brewers’ starter on opening day in the third inning. Anderson managed to do a face plant as he scored, and Woodruff was among the many teammates who gave him grief for it.

“That’s what I’m going to chalk it up to,” Woodruff said. “The baseball gods got me back.”

Woodruff was named the No. 5 starter in the rotation but isn’t needed in that role until Friday at home against the Cubs. So, after an early exit by starter Jhoulys Chacín, Woodruff was needed to cover two innings, allowing three hits and one run with no walks and one strikeout.

Wilkerson injured: Right-hander Aaron Wilkerson, slated to be in the starting rotation at Class AAA Colorado Springs, instead will open the season on the disabled list and could spend at least a month there.

Wilkerson, who vied for a spot in the Brewers' rotation, suffered a partial dislocation of his left shoulder swinging a bat in minor-league camp.