Both the Milwaukee Brewers and Oakland Athletics know the importance of hitting two home runs on Saturday afternoon when the clubs meet in an interleague rematch.

The Brewers out-homered the hosts 2-1 and used their hitting power to score the first four runs in an 11-3 win over the A’s in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night.

Rhys Hoskins and Joey Ortiz hit a five-run home run in the second inning to clinch the win and give Milwaukee a 27-6 record this season when hitting two or more home runs.

“It was nice to get out there and strike first,” said Hoskins, whose team was beaten 3-0 in St. Louis on Thursday, its second straight loss. “We need to win a series here before we go home, so a big win on day one is a good way to start that.”

The Athletics’ scheduled starter on Saturday, right-hander Joe Boyle (3-5, 6.21 ERA), has been stingy when it comes to allowing home runs, allowing just four in his 12 career starts, including three in his nine appearances this season.

He never allowed more than one home run in a game and did not allow a single one in his last two starts before his first career duel with the Brewers.

The 25-year-old is coming off the best performance of his career, throwing six scoreless innings in a 3-0 home win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.

Oakland’s only home run in Friday’s loss came on the second pitch of the first at-bat. Lawrence Butler did the damage.

With 27 more outs, the A’s were unable to score again. The last eight times they hit a home run twice, they won each time.

The final score may not suggest it, but with one or two shots the A’s could have made the opening game much more exciting and perhaps even taken the lead in the second half.

Leading 1-0, they had loaded all bases in the first inning against the struggling Aaron Civale when Zack Gelof broke his bat on a medium-deep fly to left.

Three innings later, with the score at 7-3, they saw a chance to get back in the game and landed in the glove of Milwaukee right fielder Sal Frelick when Brent Rooker, the A’s best home run hitter, attempted to gain extra bases.

After Milwaukee put the lead in the hands of its bullpen, the relievers did their job.

“Their bullpen is pretty good. We saw that tonight,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said of a group that threw five scoreless innings. “It’s important to keep the games (against the Brewers) close. It’s important to get the lead. We didn’t do that tonight.”

On the plus side for Oakland, the Brewers’ scheduled starter on Saturday, right-hander Colin Rea (11-4, 3.42 ERA), has been vulnerable to the longball. He has allowed 20 home runs this season and has allowed multiple home runs in a game five times. He hasn’t earned a win in those starts.

Still, Rea hasn’t allowed a run in his last three road games, contributing 19 innings to shutout wins over the Colorado Rockies, Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves. He also threw seven scoreless innings in his last game overall, Sunday against the Cleveland Guardians.

The 34-year-old has never played against the A’s.

–Field level media