MILWAUKEE — If the Milwaukee Brewers are going to be able to bring their sometimes-lost offense to the ballpark every day, it appears that left fielder Ryan Braun and right fielder Corey Hart are going to have to carry it there.

While the Brewers appear to be experiencing somewhat of a rejuvenated offense after three victories over St. Louis, it is Braun and Hart who have been doing the bulk of the damage.

Hart (.304) was the only .300 hitter in manager Ned Yost's lineup Tuesday night for the first of the three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Braun had raised his average 31 points to .288 by going 9-for-16 against the Cardinals.

Otherwise, the Brewers featured three regulars below .200 — Rickie Weeks (.188), Mike Cameron (.180) and Bill Hall (.199) — as well as slumping slugger Prince Fielder. The Brewers first baseman had seen his average drop to .241 before breaking a 3-for-20 slide with a leadoff single in the second inning off Dodgers starter Brad Penny.

"He's struggling a little bit like everyone's struggling now," Yost said of Fielder. "But he's just a tick away from getting like Braunie."

Yost remains more impressed with a walk Braun took in the third inning Monday night than the two home runs he hit in each of the past two games.

"That was a tell-tale sign to see where we were," Yost said, praising Braun's patience, an attribute often lacking. "He's had some tremendous success but he still has so much room to grow as a hitter. That's what's mind boggling."

Hart, who has just one home run, hasn't demonstrated the power he flashed last year when he hit 24 in his first full season.

But he remains the Brewers' most consistent hitter with runners in scoring position, leading the National League with a .419 mark.

From the infirmary

The news on right-hander Yovani Gallardo was much more positive than the latest update on left-hander Chris Capuano.

Gallardo underwent a 45-minute surgery to repair the torn ACL in his right knee, an operation assistant general manager Gord Ash termed as "very successful."

Ash emphasized the Brewers have no expectation on Gallardo being able to return to the mound this season.

That also appears to be the case for Capuano, who strained a ligament in his pitching elbow midway through spring training.

Capuano, who had been rehabbing at extended spring training in Arizona, will undergo an exam today in Birmingham, Ala., to see if ligament transplant surgery is necessary.

Capuano, who underwent the same surgery in 2002, experienced some problems while throwing Monday. If surgery is needed, Capuano will be out for at least a year.

Same old story

Reliever Derrick Turnbow's road back to the Brewers seemed to get a little longer after his very shaky debut Monday night with the Class AAA Nashville Sounds. Turnbow managed to throw just nine strikes out of 26 pitches, as he walked three gave up a hit and allowed two runs in just a third of an inning.