Brad Nelson would be the first person to tell you not to expect to see him taking a wide turn around second base and legging out a triple. But on a night when he fell a three-bagger short of the cycle, he took comfort in homering for the fourth consecutive day instead.

The first baseman went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, two runs scored and a walk in Triple-A Round Rock's 9-8 loss to Memphis on Tuesday.

"I'm not going to lie, I wanted a triple," the 6-foot-2 260-pound slugger laughed. "But if you know my profile, a triple is hard to come by unless somebody falls down. I don't know if I've had one this year. I knew it was out there, but realistically was it ever going to happen?"

Nelson led off the second inning with a walk and he smacked a two-run homer to right field off John Gast in the fourth. The 29-year-old then pulled a double down the first-base line to plate Yangervis Solarte with one out in the fifth before singling in the seventh.

Nelson came to the plate against Fernando Salas in the ninth with Ryan Spilborghs -- representing the potential tying run on first base and nobody out. But he flew out to center field and Joey Butler then grounded into a game-ending 4-6-3 double play.

"It was a good one tonight," said Nelson, selected by the Brewers in the fourth round of the 2001 Draft. "I was thinking about another [home run] earlier today because my home run totals had been down. Everybody knows hits come in bunches, so when things are going well, you hope to keep it going and ride it as long as possible.

"I had two strikes on me and I had been struggling against lefties this year, so I had to figure something out. I kept being late so I made sure I got out in front of it and pulled it to left field. I think it was my first homer off a leftie this year."

Despite hitting .328 with six homers, 10 doubles and 23 RBIs against right-handed pitchers this year, Nelson entered Tuesday's contest batting just .186 with three extra-base hits and three RBIs against southpaws.

"I'm starting to swing better against lefties," the Iowa native said. "I'm swinging earlier and getting my hands going. Tonight, I was just trying to be more relaxed and keep my routine.

"I've been DHing basically the whole year. Maybe I've been a little stiff, maybe I've been overanalyzing it. But tonight we were down by a big chunk, so I knew I didn't have anything to lose. After 12 seasons, I know I can hit for power. I'm not sure if it's my biggest asset, but it is a part of my game."

Over the past four games, Nelson has raised his average 16 points from .277 to .293 and increased his RBI tally from 18 to 29. He hit a solo homer against Nashville on Saturday and he added a three-run blast the following day. Nelson then went yard for the third straight game in an 8-5 win over the Sounds on Memorial Day.

Nelson made his Major League debut with the Brewers on Sept. 1, 2008. In 28 big league games, he is 2-for-28 with a pair of doubles.

On Tuesday, Memphis starter John Gast (1-0) earned his first Triple-A win of the year, despite allowing five runs on seven hits and five walks over five innings. He fanned two batters.

Right fielder Eugenio Velez plated four runs in the win, designated hitter Mark Hamilton reached base safely three times and had two RBIs and left fielder Lou Montanez was 2-for-3 with two walks.

Round Rock starter Neil Ramirez (5-5) yielded eight runs on six hits and four walks while striking out two batters over 2 1/3 frames.

Express right fielder Joey Butler reached base three times, recorded three RBIs and scored twice.