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MILWAUKEE -- After struggling to score runs in the last four games, Carlos Gomez knew his team needed a spark. . The Milwaukee Brewers outfielder provided one. Immediately. Gomez hit the first pitch he saw from Mike Bolsinger leading off the bottom of the first inning for his eighth home run of the season to propel the Brewers to an 8-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night. "I really wanted to get something going tonight," said Gomez, who also had a two-run single and walked three times. "I knew he likes to throw the ball close to the zone on his first pitch, so I was ready for it." Gomez was just 3-for-16 in the Brewers four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend, while Milwaukee lost three of the games. He said he thought about making sure he was swinging at good pitches while coming to Miller Park on Monday. "I continued that through batting practice and right into the game," Gomez said. Martin Maldonado and Jean Segura also homered for Milwaukee, which had lost four of its last five entering the game. The Brewers still have the best record in baseball at 22-11. Milwaukee remained the only team in baseball to not lose when scoring at least four runs, improving to 18-0 in those games. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said he was pleased to see his teams offence come to life. The Brewers had been struggling offensively, scoring only 10 runs in the Reds series. "Weve been talking about somewhere in there getting, six, seven, eight runs and we did," Roenicke said. "It sets up a lot of things when you get people on base. The guys did a great job." Matt Garza (2-3) allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings for Milwaukee. It was only the third time in seven starts this season that Garza has not given up at least four runs. Garza said it was satisfying to win the game, despite struggling through the first few innings. "I really wanted to attack tonight and not shy away from contact," he said. "My teammates really backed me up tonight until I got it together." Bolsinger (1-2) took the loss after giving up four runs and seven hits in five innings. "We didnt execute pitches from the first pitch of the game," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. "We walked seven on the night and we needed to make pitches and we couldnt make them. We couldnt keep the ball down." Arizona grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Gerardo Parra led off the game with a single and moved to second on a walk to Miguel Montero. With two outs, Aaron Hill lined a hit to right that Brewers outfielder Caleb Gindl dived for, but could not hang on to as Parra scored. Gomez tied the score in the bottom of the inning with homer. The Brewers grabbed a 3-1 lead in the second as Maldonado hit a two-run homer. Arizona tied it at 3 in the third inning on RBI singles by Montero and Hill, who had four singles in the game. The Diamondbacks loaded the bases with one out, but Garza struck out Alfredo Marte and Ender Inciarte to get out of the inning. Khris Davis sacrifice fly in the fifth inning scored Scooter Gennett, who had doubled, to give Milwaukee a 4-3 lead. Gomezs bloop single in the sixth scored two runs. Segura then followed with a long home run to left field, his second of the season, to boost the lead to 8-3. The Brewers won a challenge in the fourth when Bolsinger was called safe at first after Segura bobbled his grounder. However, the call was overturned after replays showed he was out. NOTES: Diamondbacks SS Chris Owings was voted the National League Rookie of the Month for April. Owings paced N.L. rookies in hitting through the first month of the season, posting a .313 average. He also led rookies with five doubles, six extra-base hits and 26 hits in 28 games. ... Arizona OF A.J. Pollack didnt start for the fifth straight game due to a groin injury. He pinch hit in the sixth inning and grounded out. ... RHP Marco Estrada (2-1) will start in the second game of the series for Milwaukee against Josh Collmenter (1-2) for Arizona. .A. Dickey earned an American League Gold Glove on Tuesday to become the first Toronto Blue Jays pitcher to win the award. . The Grizzlies erased most of a 25-point deficit before Durant, the leagues scoring champion, got hot.TORONTO - The once-red hot Toronto Raptors have suddenly gone cold.And while Kyle Lowry said a four-game losing streak is nothing to fret over, his chilly demeanour in the post-game dressing room Thursday night said otherwise.The Raptors dropped a 103-95 decision to the Charlotte Hornets, spoiling the teams homecoming after a disappointing road trip. And Lowry, who led the way with 24 points, was positively terse with reporters after the lacklustre loss.Tonight we sucked as a team, and weve got to figure it out soon, Lowry said. Weve got a game on Saturday, and tonight we sucked as a team, but we had a bad game, and Im sure well be fine.Lou Williams finished with 15 points on just 4-for-15 shooting for Toronto (24-11), while Greivis Vasquez had 11 points and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 10. Charlottes starters also outscored Torontos by a whopping 89-46 margin.Raptors coach Dwane Casey, who was longer than normal in the post-game dressing room, was angry at the teams lack of intensity, especially in the first and third quarters — in each of which the Raptors were badly outhustled and outscored.I dont know what it is. But weve got to find seven or eight guys that are interested in competing at a high level, Casey said. I thought the second unit came in and competed.For whatever reason, were not getting that energy at the start of the game, the start of the third quarter. Those were backbreakers. Whether its a lineup change or whatever it is, weve got to find an answer for it.Asked if he could expand on Caseys comments, Lowry replied: No, I cannot.When asked why Casey would say that, Lowry said I dont know.The game was the Raptors first back at the Air Canada Centre after a disappointing road trip that saw them win just two of six, and fall out of the Eastern Conference lead. It was also the first of a welcome six straight games at home, where the Raptors had been riding a five-game winning streak — until Thursday.But as Casey said prior to tipoff, Home wont take care of you, youve got to take care of home, and it was the Hornets that led for most of the night in front of another ACC sellout crowd of 19,800.Just frustration, disappointment, anger, said Patrick Patterson. Everyones just frustrated with the way were playing right now. Its not like were not trying. Its not like were giving up. As you see, no matter what the score is were going to continue to battle and play hard but it just seems like things just arent working for us.It seems like were in a hole and were trying to climb out right now. Hopefully we climb out sooner rather than later.Gerald Henderson scored 31 points to top the Hornets (14-24) in their fourth straight victory. Kemba Walker added 29 for Charlotte, which led by as much as 15 points before taking a 75-66 advantage into the fourth quarter.The Raptors, whove now lost five in a row to the Hornets, opened the fourth with a 7-0 run to pull within two points. But that was as close as they would come, as Charlotte answered virtually every Toronto basket the rest of the way.A three-pointer by Walker 1:555 left to play put the Hornets up by 10 and sent many fans for the exits. . The Raptors fought back one last time, and a Patterson basket with 42 seconds to play pulled the Raptors to within four points, breathing some life into Torontos hopes for a victory.But Walker snuffed that out with a long jumper that put Charlotte back up by six with 19 seconds to play, and sealed Torontos fate.We knew this team was going to come in hungry, Casey said, Theyre athletic and aggressive. We had to meet that. Youre going to have nights when the shots arent going to fall. But the focus and the defensive energy need to be there. It wasnt there.This is the first real slump for the Raptors since the Rudy Gay trade just over a year ago that turned their fortunes around.It happens, its a long season. I dont know how many games weve played, Lowry said. Its a long season, so we can possibly run out 10 in a row, and this four-game losing streak will be forgotten about.The Hornets shot 48 per cent on the night to Torontos 40 per cent, and outrebounded the Raptors 46-42.Henderson was asked why the Hornets have had so much success against the Raptors.I dont know, I think we get up to play them, he said. They are a really good team, second in the East. They have been playing great this year, so we just know that we have to bring our best game to compete against them.Toronto played its 19th game without DeMar DeRozan, who had hoped to play Thursday, but instead is now targeting next week for his return. They could sorely use their leading scorer back in the lineup — theyve also dropped from ninth in the NBA defensively, to 28th since DeRozans injury — but they are playing it safe with their all-star, who is out with a torn groin tendon.When the medical people say he can come back, hell come back, Casey said prior to tipoff. His career is more important. . . Ive seen two or three players in my time in the NBA lose their careers on a similar injury, by rushing back too quick. Its going to be up to the medical people and up to DeMar when he does come back.Despite a warning by Casey to come out with a sense of urgency, the Raptors got off to an abysmal first quarter that saw the Hornets go up by 10 points. The Hornets doubled Toronto on the boards 16-8 and beat them 7-0 on second-chance points. Charlotte took a 31-23 lead into the second.Tyler Hansbrough drained the first three-pointer of his NBA career to pull the Raptors to within a point early in the second. They finally took the lead on a driving layup by Lowry with just under a minute left in the quarter, and went into the dressing room leading 52-50 at halftime.Toronto didnt get its first field goal of the third until five-and-a-half minutes in, while the Hornets went on a 21-3 run to take a 71-56 lead. Charlotte outscored the Raptors 25-14 in the third and took a nine-point lead into the fourth.Toronto is home to the Boston Celtics on Sunday, then hosts Detroit, Philadelphia, and Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta, before capping its homestand Jan. 18 versus New Orleans. ' ' '