Ryan Braun hits first three home runs of season as Brewers top Phillies

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The Brewers opened up a three-game set in Philadelphia on Tuesday, with the Phillies' home opener doubling as Ryan Braun's 2014 coming-out party in a 10-4 Milwaukee win.

Braun stepped to the plate amidst a chorus of boos with two men on in the third inning. He offered at a pitch down and out of the zone, and deposited it over the shrubbery into left-center field for his first home run of the season. (Be sure to catch the fan in the video above, with almost perfect timing, call Braun a "cheater" just before he connects with the pitch from Kyle Kendrick.)

What better way to answer an opposing fan calling you a cheater than by giving your team a 4-1 lead with a three-run bomb? How about by hitting your second homer of the season in your next at-bat? That's exactly what Braun did, coming to the plate in the fourth and blasting a solo homer to right-center. He wasn't done though, crushing his third homer in the eighth inning to give the Brewers a 10-4 lead.

It was quite the game for Braun after a bad opening week of the 2014 season. Yes, the hometown fans in Milwaukee welcomed him with a rousing ovation on Opening Day, but that didn't stop him from going 1-for-11 in the three-game series with the Braves. The Brewers then hit the road, traveling to Boston and giving Braun a taste of what the reaction would be like every time they visit another city. He went 0-for-5 in that first game against the Red Sox, then got a day off in the middle game of the series. Adding injury to insult, he admitted his thumb still bothered him and that it would remain at least a slight issue without surgery.

The thumb may end up being a problem all season, but on Tuesday, Braun proved it won't completely sap his power.