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Brewers recap 5/29
Hart pumps two more homers to beat Mets
MILWAUKEE — Less than 24 hours removed from his first career walk-off home run, Corey Hart picked up right where he left off on Saturday night.
With two home runs and six RBIs on the night, Hart carried the Brewers to an 8-6 victory over the Mets at Miller Park.
Hart crushed a 1-1 slider in the first from Mets starter Fernando Nieve (1-3), a no-doubter over the bullpen in left for his first career grand slam. Two innings later, Hart drove an 0-1 pitch from Oliver Perez out to left, a two-run shot, for his third homer in as many at-bats.
After hitting just three home runs over the first six weeks of the season, Hart has nine blasts and 19 RBIs in his last 14 games.
“I didn’t even want to sit down next to him, these uniforms are hot enough,” Brewers manager Ken Macha joked. “Guys kept telling me when he gets hot, he can carry the club. Well, he’s been doing that as of late.”
On Negro League Tribute Night at Miller Park, with the Brewers wearing the uniforms of the Milwaukee Bears and the Mets dressed as the New York Cubans, Hart became the 15th hitter in franchise history to belt homers in three consecutive at-bats and the first to do so since Geoff Jenkins’ three-homer game on May 21, 2003.
His six RBIs tied a career high for Hart, who leads the team with 12 home runs on the season. It was also his eighth career multi-homer game and second during his current hot streak.
“It’s all Dale,” said Hart, referring to Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum. “Dale’s worked really hard to change some things around for me and help my mindset. What he did is help me get the ball in the air.
“I’ve had stretches where I’ve hit balls hard, but now the ones I’m hitting are getting good backspin and they’re carrying. I keep doing what he’s telling me, and so far it’s working.”
Nieve (1-3) took the loss for the Mets, as he lasted just two innings, surrendering five runs on three hits with three walks and five strikeouts.
But after Hart put the Brewers up, 7-3, with his second homer in the third inning, the Brewers, too, had to go the rest of the way with the bullpen on the mound.
Starter Manny Parra lasted just three innings for the Brewers, giving up three runs on six hits with three walks — one intentional — and two strikeouts.
“I was just out of sync,” Parra said. “It made it really hard to command my fastball. … For me, my game is commanding my fastball. I do that and I’ll be just fine. But the days like today where I’m out of sync and struggling with the fastball command, it’s going to make for a tough day.”
Fortunately for the Brewers, three members of their bullpen delivered excellent performances on the night.
After Marco Estrada relieved Parra and proceeded to allow three runs on one hit and one walk in just 1 2/3 innings, Todd Coffey (2-1) came in and shut the Mets down. But things didn’t start so smoothly for the reliever.
Before he threw his first pitch, Coffey was forced to switch gloves because the color of the glove — which he’s been using all season — was too light, clashing with the Bears uniform. After being tipped off by Mets manager Jerry Manuel, the umpires approached Coffey and asked him to make the switch.
“It was light, a little bit too close to the colors of the uniform,” Manuel said. “I told [the umpires] before he came in. I saw him warming up in the ‘pen with it and thought it was a little light. I should have let him keep the other one though, right?”
As Manuel joked, the glove didn’t matter, as Coffey (2-1) threw 2 1/3 scoreless, striking out three while keeping the Mets off the basepaths.
Coffey entered with the bases loaded in the fifth. Upon getting Jason Bay to ground out to second to end the inning, Coffey started a string of 13 straight batters retired by Brewers relievers to close out the game.
Carlos Villanueva pitched a clean eighth with two strikeouts as the setup man on the night, and John Axford needed just 14 pitches in the ninth for his second save of the season.
“It’s huge,” Parra said of the bullpen’s performance. “It’s great to win this ballgame. We came out firing, scoring a lot of runs. So it was just great that we were able to win that game [and] put a lot of confidence in this clubhouse. I think we’re starting to play a lot better.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Brewers beat 5/29
No worries about Gallardo’s pitch count
MILWAUKEE — A day after he pitched his first career shutout, Yovani Gallardo remained a topic of conversation in manager Ken Macha’s pregame media session.
Gallardo, who kept the Mets off the board all night while scattering eight hits, impressed all those in attendance on Friday night, including his manager.
“Last night, that’s as good as I’ve seen him throw, ever,” Macha said.
One of the concerns brought up about Gallardo, though, was the high pitch total in the game. Gallardo threw 121 pitches over nine innings, marking his third game in May that he’s thrown 120 or more pitches.
It was the first of the three in which Gallardo has gone nine innings, however, with the other two outings being 121 pitches over seven innings in a win at San Diego and 120 deliveries over six innings in a no-decision at Cincinnati.
With the length of the outing in mind, and the fact that Gallardo had a chance at his first career shutout, Macha was not worried about letting his pitch count go over 120 for the third time in less than a month.
“If I’d have taken him out of the game, there were probably 31,000 people here that would have had me on the rail, tarred and feathered,” Macha said. “The 120 pitches, that was over nine innings, instead of being like seven. Those other ones were shorter.”
Kottaras moved up to second in order
MILWAUKEE — Upon learning he had been moved up to the No. 2 spot in the Brewers’ lineup, even George Kottaras was surprised by the decision.
“I did? They changed the lineup?” Kottaras asked. “I came in and they had me batting eighth.”
Kottaras, who has become the team’s No. 1 catcher since Gregg Zaun went on the disabled list a week ago, has just a .224 batting average. But his on-base percentage is more than 200 points higher, at an impressive .425.
Despite originally listing him eighth, manager Ken Macha, after further consideration, swapped Kottaras with center fielder Carlos Gomez, who batted seventh.
“His on-base percentage is .425,” Macha said, referring to Kottaras. “I think he’s done a great job in the eighth spot getting a lot of walks and turning the lineup over quite a bit. … So we’ll see how this works out. George’s got some power, maybe he’ll get some balls to hit and hit some home runs too.”
Kottaras hit a solo home run in the second inning on Saturday.
When asked about the last time he had batted as high as second in the lineup, Kottaras recalled the exact game.
“I had just gotten traded from San Diego to Boston [in September 2006],” Kottaras said. “We went to the Double-A playoffs and they batted me second. I went 2-for-4, I had a home run and I stole a base.”
Vargas designated for assignment
MILWAUKEE — While much of the pregame discussion centered around his replacement, right-handed reliever Claudio Vargas received some well wishes from Brewers manager Ken Macha.
Vargas, who re-signed with the Brewers during the offseason after being traded from the Dodgers before last year’s deadline, was designated for assignment on Saturday as the Brewers needed to make room on the roster for lefty Chris Capuano.
Through 17 appearances on the season, Vargas is 1-0 with a 7.32 ERA in 19 2/3 innings. Vargas struggled to keep opposing hitters off base, sporting a 1.932 WHIP.
With Vargas likely headed elsewhere, Macha was hopeful for his future.
“He’s a terrific person,” Macha said. “It’s a little bit of a sad day. If he wants to continue playing, I hope he winds up catching on with somebody.”
Worth noting
The Brewers and Mets honored the Negro Leagues on Saturday night by wearing uniforms worn by the Milwaukee Bears and New York Cubans. … The Brewers have won consecutive games in walk-off fashion for the first time since June 17-18, 2006, vs. Cleveland. … The last Brewers walk-off home run that resulted in a shutout victory also came that season when Geoff Jenkins hit a solo home run to to give the Brewers a 1-0 win over St. Louis on Sept. 20, 2006. … The shutout Friday by Yovani Gallardo was the Brewers’ first since Ben Sheets shut out San Diego on Sept 6, 2008, and the first complete game since Gallardo’s on April 24, 2009, at Houston. … Brewers pitchers tied a franchise record Friday with their ninth consecutive game without allowing a home run. The starting pitchers also tied a record for 12 games without allowing a homer in a season. Both records were established in 1976. … The Brewers are the only team in the Majors to have not given up a home run since May 19.
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Brewers recap 5/28
Walk-off homer caps Gallardo’s shutout
MILWAUKEE — If ever there were a game that could turn the Brewers’ season around, Yovani Gallardo pitched it Friday night against the Mets.
But it wouldn’t have happened without right fielder Corey Hart, who crushed a 1-1 offering from Ryota Igarashi into the bullpen in left for the 2-0 victory and the Brewers’ second walk-off win in two nights at Miller Park.
Gallardo (5-2) delivered an absolute gem of a performance, pitching his first career shutout and second career complete game. As he scattered eight hits and struck out seven while walking one, Gallardo outlasted one of the best lefties in the game in Johan Santana.
Gallardo dialed up the velocity as high as 94 mph in the ninth, but he credited his ability to stay relaxed on the mound for getting him through a 121-pitch complete game.
“Not trying to overthrow is the main thing for me,” Gallardo said. “We all know I have that tendency to try to do a little bit too much in certain situations. But I was able to stay under control and make pitches whenever I needed.”
In his last three outings, Gallardo settled for no-decisions, despite going six innings in each and giving up an average of just over two runs per game.
But Gallardo was not the only one who pitched well on the night. Santana threw eight scoreless innings for the Mets, giving up just three hits and two walks while walking five.
After throwing 105 pitches, Santana was pulled in the ninth in favor of the Mets’ bullpen.
“Once he had doubled, [and] fought through the eighth, I didn’t think it would be a good move,” Mets manager Jerry Manuel said of leaving Santana in for the ninth, with Prince Fielder up to bat. “Fielder, I thought he was seeing it pretty good, anyway. I didn’t want to chance him losing that ballgame after the way he had performed.”
For the Brewers’ hitters, the end of Santana’s night was a welcome sight.
“Obviously he’s been known to throw upwards of 120 pitches, and I don’t think he was that high,” Hart said. “For us, it was a little comforting to get a few new guys in there to see if we could handle those guys.”
Hart’s home run was his team-leading 10th of the season, but much like Gallardo would not have gotten the shutout victory without his homer, Hart wouldn’t have even batted in the ninth had it not been for the hustle of Ryan Braun two batters earlier.
Braun grounded a ball up the middle and beat it out for a one-out infield single. Following him was third baseman Casey McGehee, who popped out to the first baseman for the second out of the inning.
“Give Brauny some credit,” Brewers manager Ken Macha said. “He hits that ball up the middle and runs it out. Otherwise, it’d have been our third out [and] it would’ve turned the inning over. [But] then Corey gets a pitch to win the game.”
Gallardo’s last complete game, a 5-2 win for the Brewers over the Astros, came on April 24, 2009. Its significance is much higher, however, when considering no Brewers pitcher had gone the distance since.
According to Macha, it was Gallardo’s command of his fastball that helped him last all nine innings, as it got him out of several tough situations.
In the fourth, sixth, eighth and ninth innings, Gallardo ended the inning with a strikeout, with the last three looking. Each time, Gallardo ended the inning with a fastball.
“He was throwing everything for strikes,” catcher George Kottaras said. “Throwing that velocity in the late innings is impressive as well, but … it’s also how he got to those pitches in those sequences. He was throwing his breaking ball and his changeup for strikes … and just kept them guessing.”
A few times in the Brewers’ recent slump, Macha has talked about not being able to get over the hump. In doing so, he referenced that when one thing went right, another went wrong.
Friday night, despite the lack of offense, the Brewers played as well as they have all season.
As great as Gallardo’s pitching was, the defense behind him bailed him out in a few tough spots, turning double plays in the third and the eighth innings. The first, which started with second baseman Rickie Weeks, ended the inning after the Mets had the bases loaded with none out one batter earlier.
In the eighth, the Brewers went around the horn to get the first two outs of the inning and save a run, as Santana batted next and crushed a double to the gap in right.
With so much going right in a thrilling win, they may have finally gotten over the hump.
“Those guys are pretty excited in there,” Macha said, referring to his players in the clubhouse. “It should do a lot of things as far as getting people over the hump.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Brewers beat 5/28
Brewers players, staff S.C.O.R.E. at local schools
MILWAUKEE — Brewers players, coaches and front office staff visited 26 schools in the five-county area on Friday to talk to students about their community outreach program on S.C.O.R.E. for Excellence Day.
The S.C.O.R.E. (School, Community, Opportunities, Role Models and Excellence) program is in its fifth season, and it provides messages about character education through each of the five elements of the initiative.
As part of the program, left fielder Ryan Braun, broadcaster Brian Anderson, former All-Star Larry Hisle and the Brewers’ racing sausages visited Roosevelt Middle School of the Arts in Milwaukee.
“It’s important to have good life skills,” Anderson told the students. “We want to encourage you to learn that, take it home to your brothers and sisters, your parents, reach out into your community and take this S.C.O.R.E. program and keep it with you. We come out and we want to give you the message, but really the message dies unless you take it out there with you.”
Hisle, who played for the Brewers from 1978-82, talked about how much his community meant to him when growing up.
“I credit that city for as much of my success as I do myself,” Hisle said, referring to his hometown of Portsmouth, Ohio. “It afforded me every opportunity and all the resources necessary for success. The only thing missing was how badly I wanted to play baseball.”
During the presentation, Anderson and Braun presented five baseballs — one with each of the letters of the acronym on it — to five students who participated and talked about why each of the program’s elements is important.
Braun, who attended the University of Miami on an academic scholarship, told the students that he always hoped to play baseball professionally, but his studies came first.
The program finished with a question and answer session between the students and Braun, who was noticeably impressed by the students.
“Really impressive,” Braun said of the questions. “I think they really paid attention, and they really believe in this program, and I think the Brewers do, too. So it was a good day all around. I had a good time, and I was thoroughly impressed.”
Stern finds himself on callup express
MILWAUKEE — As the Brewers’ injuries continue to pile up, so, too, do the frequent flier miles for outfielder Adam Stern, who was recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Friday.
Stern received a phone call from Nashville manager Don Money, who gave him the news Thursday morning. With that, Stern headed to the ballpark to pack up his things, then caught a flight from Sacramento, Calif., to Milwaukee by way of Minneapolis.
It was the third time in less than three weeks that Stern has been called up from the Minors. As a result, he has spent only two days at home in Nashville this month: May 1-2.
“I haven’t started my car in about three weeks,” Stern said. “So who knows if that’ll start.”
Stern’s journey began with an eight-day Minor League road trip, which included stops in Round Rock, Texas, and Albuquerque, N.M. The series in Albuquerque wrapped up on May 10, and the next day Stern was recalled in place of center fielder Carlos Gomez.
He joined the Brewers in Milwaukee for a few days, but with the bullpen needing another arm, Stern was optioned May 15 in favor of right-handed reliever John Axford. Stern never left, however, and was recalled the next day as left-hander Doug Davis went on the disabled list.
Stern made the trip with the club to Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Minneapolis, but was optioned before the first game against the Twins.
With that, Stern flew to Sacramento, meeting the Sounds there and playing the team’s first three games against the River Cats. But with outfielder Jody Gerut going on the disabled list Thursday, Stern was on the move again.
All told, Stern has traveled more than 8,000 miles in May.
“Flying doesn’t bother me,” Stern said. “I’m getting to check out the country, I guess. Plus, I’m racking some good frequent flier miles.”
Stern did admit, though, that some flights are more enjoyable than others.
“The flights are a lot better coming here than they are going away from here,” he said. “It’s a lot better when you’re coming up to the big leagues. On the way out, it’s a little bit worse.”
Although he’s happy to be back, Stern knows he shouldn’t settle in or get too comfortable in Milwaukee.
With center fielder Jim Edmonds set to return Monday from the DL, Stern is the most likely candidate to be sent down to the Minors.
“They’ll keep me posted when they need to make another move,” Stern said. “That’s fine. You just do whatever they ask you to do and go with the flow.”
Fielder, Braun swap spots vs. left-hander
MILWAUKEE — With a tough lefty in Johan Santana on the mound for Friday’s series opener with the Mets, Brewers manager Ken Macha opted to switch the order of his three and four hitters for the second time in two weeks.
First baseman Prince Fielder moved up a spot to the No. 3 hole, while right fielder Ryan Braun dropped down from that spot to bat cleanup against the Mets. The only other time this season Fielder has hit anywhere but fourth was May 20 against the Pirates.
The Brewers won that game, 4-3, snapping a nine-game losing streak.
“I did it in Pittsburgh when their lefty pitched,” Macha said. “I kind of like it that way with a lefty. I think with Braun sitting on deck that they have to get the ball closer to the strike zone for Prince. Because if they end up walking him, then you’ve got somebody that has a reputation for hitting left-handers very well.”
Worth noting
Entering Friday’s game Brewers pitchers had not allowed a home run in their last eight games since May 19, one game shy of tying the nine-game franchise record, set from Aug. 17-25, 1976. … The starting pitchers had not allowed a home run in 11 straight games, also one game shy of tying the 12-game franchise record, set earlier in 1976, from May 7-21. … The New York Mets entered Friday’s game having not allowed a home run over the same eight-game stretch since May 19. … The Brewers recorded their first extra-innings win of the season on Thursday as well as their first win when trailing after seven or eight innings. They now own a 1-3 record in extra innings, 1-22 when trailing after seven and 1-24 when trailing after eight. … Milwaukee has hit 18 home runs off left-handed pitchers this season, the most in the National League.
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Brewers beat 5/27
Hart quietly heating up at the plate
MILWAUKEE — After batting .172 with a .221 on-base percentage and 18 strikeouts in Spring Training, right fielder Corey Hart did not start for the Brewers on Opening Day. Seven weeks later, Hart has quietly become one of the Brewers’ hottest hitters.
Over the past 11 games, Hart is batting .295 (13-for-44) with six home runs, 11 RBIs, eight runs scored, two doubles and a triple. With less than a week remaining in the month, Hart’s numbers in May have already eclipsed those of April in nearly every offensive category.
With six home runs this month, Hart has already doubled his April home run output.
“I’ve been trying to stay consistent, but for some reason lately the ball’s been getting in the air for me,” Hart said. “Sometimes I’ll find a swing that makes me hit the ball in the air a little farther than other times, but it kind of comes and goes. Right now the ones I hit good are going in the air, so I’ve been fortunate to have that streak go a bit longer than normal.”
For the season, Hart is batting .263 with nine home runs — which ties him with Casey McGehee for the team lead — and 23 RBIs, which puts him fourth on the team.
Last weekend in Minneapolis, he hit home runs in each of the Brewers’ last two games against the Twins at Target Field, a ballpark that is near the bottom of the league in terms of home runs per game.
But with the way Hart was swinging the bat, his home runs would have been out of any park. His second homer, which came in the Brewers’ 4-3 win on Sunday, was the first to ever reach the third deck at Target Field.
At an estimated 440 feet, it was the longest home run hit in the short history of the ballpark.
Since sitting out the series opener against the Braves on May 10, Hart has started 13 straight games for the Brewers.
“Looking back at it, he didn’t start Opening Day,” manager Ken Macha said of Hart. “A big deal was made about that and that he didn’t have a very good Spring Training. He’s come out here and worked with [hitting coach] Dale [Sveum] pretty hard and it’s nice to see the work paying off.”
To begin the season, Hart split time with veteran outfielder Jim Edmonds at right field in what, for the most part, amounted to a platoon. While Macha never wanted to call it such, Edmonds typically got the call against right-handed starters, while Hart mostly faced lefties.
The most surprising instance, though, was on Opening Day, when Edmonds got the start over Hart with righty Ubaldo Jimenez on the mound for the Rockies.
While Macha said Edmonds was starting because Jimenez fell into the category of “tough righty,” it was a surprising move with it being Opening Day and with Hart expected to be the club’s everyday right fielder.
Though he credits some of his success to the swing he’s had of late, Hart sees his more consistent playing time as the most important factor in his recent hot streak. Due to a handful of injuries to other outfielders, Hart has started far more of late than he had been early in the season.
“That was stupid, Spring Training doesn’t matter, but they decided it mattered this year for some reason,” Hart said of his preseason slump. “I’m just working to try to turn their minds around. Hopefully I can keep playing well so I can stay in the lineup.
“Coming into this season I think there was a question mark about how long I’d be in Milwaukee. But I want to be here, so hopefully they see me as an everyday guy again.”
Edmonds expected to return on Monday
MILWAUKEE — After speaking with Jim Edmonds before Thursday’s series finale, Brewers manager Ken Macha was optimistic about his veteran outfielder’s chances of returning on Monday when he is eligible to come off the disabled list.
Edmonds, who has been on the DL since May 18 with a left oblique strain, did some soft toss and took some swings in the batting cage before Thursday’s game. Macha also noted Edmonds will be out for early batting practice on Friday.
Edmonds’ return will likely mean the departure of a member of the bullpen, but Macha was not ready to speculate about the move just yet.
“We’ll wait for that when it gets there,” Macha said.
The news of Edmonds’ progress was particularly good for the Brewers considering the uncertainty regarding his return just a few days ago.
When asked about Edmonds during the Minnesota series over the past weekend, Macha said he thought there may be a chance Edmonds would not be back when he was eligible to return on May 31.
“That’s encouraging,” said Macha, referring to Edmonds’ progress. “He’s feeling optimistic, so I trust Jimmy because he let me know at the beginning of the year. He said, ‘I’ll be ready.'”
Inglett available; Gerut remains out
MILWAUKEE — Brewers manager Ken Macha expected to have just two pinch-hitters available for Thursday’s series finale against the Astros: Joe Inglett and Craig Counsell.
Inglett, who had been limited since Saturday with a sprained left ankle, will likely be the Brewers’ top option off the bench Thursday in an injury or pinch-hit situation. Macha said he wanted to get Counsell in the starting lineup, but did not want to lose a valuable bat off the bench.
“I talked to Inglett, he’s been getting a little bit better,” Macha said. “If we had a problem, [Inglett would] go out there and play.”
The other two members of his bench, outfielder Jody Gerut and catcher Jonathan Lucroy, were unavailable. Gerut for injury reasons and Lucroy in case of injury to starting catcher George Kottaras.
Gerut, like Inglett, has been limited since Saturday with a bruised right heel. Unlike Inglett, however, Gerut had not made enough progress to be available against the Astros.
“He’s still moving a little bit slow, it looks like,” Macha said of Gerut.
But Macha remains hesitant to move Gerut to the disabled list, in part due to Jim Edmonds’ recent progress.
“I tried to explain [Wednesday] that you [don’t] want to lose him for all those days,” Macha said. “Edmonds’ feeling was he probably could’ve been back by now, so now we’ve got to wait until a few more days.”
Worth noting
Brewers pitchers have not allowed a home run in the past seven games, their longest streak since August 11-18, 2000. The starting pitchers have not allowed a home run in 10 straight games, their longest streak since May 19-30, 1998. … Corey Hart leads the Majors in home runs since May 15 with six and is second in RBIs with 11. … Ryan Braun entered the day tied for the National League lead in hits with 59. … Casey McGehee ranks first or tied for first among third basemen in eight offensive categories, including batting average, hits and RBIs. … A win Thursday would give the Brewers their first series victory at home since taking two of three against Colorado to open the season.
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Fielder note 5/26
Fielder showing patience at the plate
MILWAUKEE — Prince Fielder has been more selective at the plate recently, which has helped the Brewers’ first baseman raise his on-base percentage 34 points from .367 to .401 over the past three games.
Entering Wednesday’s game, Fielder had walked eight times — including four in one game against the Twins — in the Brewers’ past three games and 15 times in the month of May.
Though his power numbers remain down from this point a year ago, Fielder’s patience may be an indicator that power is on its way.
“If you continue to swing at balls out of the strike zone, you may get hits here and there, but you’re not going to do what you’re capable of doing,” manager Ken Macha said. “Enlarge the strike zone and your production goes down and the amount of runs that the team scores goes down, because you’re not going to score unless you get guys on base.”
On the season, Fielder has a team-leading 27 walks. The eight he has drawn over the past three games represents about 30 percent of his total for the year. With 27 walks, Fielder ranks 10th in the National League and is just six behind the leader.
Fielder walked three times on Tuesday night, including one that extended a four-run seventh inning. Though he remains just fourth and fifth on the team in home runs and RBIs, respectively, Macha likes the direction in which his first baseman is heading.
“I’m very encouraged by what Prince is doing,” Macha said. “His patience is improving. He’s going to start making them get it in the strike zone, and I think it’s going to be very beneficial for him.”
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