Brewers' Ron Roenicke rips umpire

Milwaukee Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said he might as well have thrown in the towel in the second inning Wednesday of a 10-inning, 3-2 loss to the San Diego Padres.

Thanks to plate umpire Mark Ripperger, who "we've had before, and he is terrible behind home plate," Roenicke's efforts were apparently futile.

Roenicke was able to keep his cool until the ninth inning, however, when Padres catcher Rene Rivera tied the game 2-2 with a solo home run.

With at least seven teams standing within striking distance of five playoff spots in the National League -- where the Brewers and Roenicke lead the Central by 1½ games with a month to play -- each game counts.

But Roenicke was tossed for arguing about the first two pitches in Rivera's at-bat, which Ripperger had called balls.

"He calls pitches that aren't even close," Roenicke said. "The catcher sets up 6 inches off the plate and he calls them strikes."

Roenicke's postgame candor may be ample fodder to draw a fine or other discipline by MLB.

But his emotion wasn't enough to spark a Brewers rally.

An inning after tying it, Rivera laced a single that made the Padres walk-off winners at home, and sent the Brewers into their clubhouse, where their manager was waiting.

For his part, Rivera didn't seem to have a problem with Ripperger's calls.

"I just try to get something up in the strike zone," Rivera said. "And then I just try to hit it,"

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.