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Uecker happy to be back at ballpark
MILWAUKEE — A familiar face and voice has returned to the Brewers’ broadcast booth.
Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Uecker, who had been gone since April after having heart surgery, was back Friday in his familiar role alongside Cory Provus as Milwaukee’s play-by-play announcer.
Before the series opener with the Nationals on Friday, Uecker was his usual self.
“I’m ready to rock and roll,” Uecker said to open his news conference. “The doctors kind of said, ‘OK.’ They knew I was coming back anyway, so there was nothing they could do.”
Uecker announced that he would work every home game through the end of the season while also covering select road trips.
As for where he might travel, Uecker suggested close cities such as Chicago and Cincinnati, as well as San Francisco because he “likes it there.”
“I’m really looking forward to coming back and working,” Uecker said. “Depending on how I feel, and I think I’m going to feel OK, I’m going to go back to work.”
Surgeons replaced Uecker’s aortic valve, a portion of his aortic root and performed a coronary bypass on one vessel on April 30. He was expected to return within 10-12 weeks, but a staph infection slowed his progress.
Uecker said the infection, his inability to put the weight back on — he’s still 10 pounds down from before the surgery — as well as getting the right mix of medications have been the biggest struggles since he’s been away.
Even with the setback of the staph infection, however, Uecker’s return Friday came exactly 12 weeks to the date of the surgery.
“It’s been a long haul,” Uecker said. “Not from the surgery. I got that staph infection right after we had the last [news conference]. That was the thing that really put me down. I don’t know if it ever goes away. I’m still on a lot of medication for that.
“It something that attacks new things in your body.”
Uecker said he had an 80 percent blockage in his aorta, though he “never had a pain, never had a problem.”
“I noticed the first night I was breathing better,” Uecker said. “I was breathing easier, not that I ever had a problem. … Now I feel stronger. I really do feel better.”
While he was away, Uecker joked that he was renting people to come stay with him due to the boredom of being away from Miller Park for so long.
That, he said, was what he missed most during his time off: being in the clubhouse, around the guys and being with Provus and producer Kent Sommerfeld in the radio booth.
“Every day at a certain time, you’re supposed to be at the ballpark. When you can’t go to the ballpark, it’s terribly boring,” Uecker said. “When you’re around here as long as I’ve been here and you make friendships, you miss that stuff.”
Uecker’s doctors, Aldred C. Nicolosi and Jim Kleczka, in recognition of the work they did on the Brewers broadcaster, were given the opportunity to throw out the ceremonial first pitches before Friday’s game.
After mentioning it, Uecker — right on cue — shared his thoughts about how they might do.
“I hope they do better than they did on my incision,” Uecker joked. “I hope they throw a good pitch tonight. They’re all fired up about that.”
Provus said earlier in the week that Uecker would have his usual pregame show with Brewers manager Ken Macha while doing play-by-play for six innings to Provus’ three.
So how would Uecker make his return to the broadcast booth even better?
“I’d like to win, I’d like to win all the time,” Uecker said. “I don’t worry about what I say or do. I could make stuff up. In my mind, we’ll win. But I want them to win. I always want them to win.
“Winning is a lot more fun in the broadcast booth.”
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’ 1992 club highlighted tough decade
MILWAUKEE — Some of the great moments in Milwaukee Brewers history occurred in the 1990s, the third decade in franchise history. But for all those moments, there were not many wins to go along with them, and even fewer winning seasons.
After finishing second in the American League East and posting just the fifth 90-win season in club history in 1992, the rest of the decade did not go nearly as well for the Brewers. In fact, the Brewers did not have another winning season, or even a .500 record, through the rest of the 90s.
This weekend, as a part of the 40th anniversary of the move from Seattle, the Brewers are celebrating and reflecting on the club’s third decade in Milwaukee. On Friday, the Brewers will wear reproductions of the club’s 1997-99 uniforms, featuring “BREWERS” in block letters on the front, while the cap features an “M” logo.
On Sunday, all fans in attendance will receive a collectible bobble head doll featuring Hall of Famer and Brewers legend Robin Yount recording his 3,000th career hit on Sept. 9, 1992, a sharp single to right field at County Stadium.
The Garner Era
Despite a winning 1991 season, the Brewers introduced a new general manager, Sal Bando, and a new manager, three-time All-Star infielder Phil Garner, before the next season. Much like the club’s first year under previous manager Tom Trebelhorn in 1987, the Brewers’ 1992 season was among the best in club history.
With just over a month remaining in the season, they put together one of the best offensive displays in club history. On August 28, the Brewers scored a franchise-record 22 runs, while setting an American League record with 31 hits in a 22-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
But while that certainly was a memorable moment in one of the greatest seasons ever for the Brewers, three other aspects of the 1992 season stand out as the true highlights.
One of those was 24-year-old rookie shortstop Pat Listach, whose arrival with the big league club came due to an injury to Bill Spiers.
After spending the previous four seasons in the Minor Leagues, Listach was perhaps the biggest surprise of the season for the Crew.
“Pat had his bags packed for Denver,” said Garner in the book “True Blue,” referring to the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate at the time. “Then he went out and had a Rookie-of-the-Year-type season. He was a consistent, solid player from Day 1.”
Listach batted .290 in his rookie season while driving in 47 runs and recording 54 stolen bases, becoming the first Brewers player to swipe more than 50 bases in a single season.
That performance earned Listach the American League Rookie of the Year Award as well as a handful of votes for AL MVP in 1992.
“Rookie of the Year. That’s a pretty good first season,” Yount said of Listach. “He was an exciting player. What I remember specifically about him was that he seemed to deliver a large amount of big hits that season, which is unusual for a rookie.
“He was able to deliver in key situations numerous times, which impressed me quite a bit because he was such a young player coming up so big for us so often.”
As great as Listach’s individual season was, the Brewers as a whole put together their best campaign since the club’s AL-pennant-winning season of 1982.
As the Brewers’ leadoff hitter, Listach led an offense that featured Yount in center field, B.J. Surhoff behind the plate, Greg Vaughn in left field and designated hitter Paul Molitor, playing his final season with the Brewers.
Milwaukee finished 92-70 in Garner’s first year at the helm, good for the fourth-best record in franchise history. The Brewers ended the season four games out of first place in the AL East, behind the Toronto Blue Jays, who went on to win the World Series.
Though they came up short in the end, the Brewers thrilled fans in the season’s final month, posting a 20-7 record in September. In the club’s home finale, the Brewers beat the Oakland A’s, 5-3, on Sept. 27, to complete the sweep and cut the Blue Jays’ lead to just 2 1/2 games with six games remaining in the regular season.
“The players need to take a curtain call,” Garner told reporters that day after a standing-room-only crowd of nearly 55,000 gave the Brewers a standing ovation. “They could not have played more inspiring ball than they have the last five or six homestands.
“There was an air of excitement all around today.”
3,000 hits
Of course, Yount had a handful of highlights of his own in the 1990s.
Along with the pennant race and Listach’s impressive rookie campaign, the 1992 season was highlighted by Yount’s push for 3,000 career hits.
The moment finally came in early September. With a seventh-inning single to right field off Cleveland pitcher Jose Mesa on Sept. 9, 1992, at County Stadium, Yount became the third-youngest member of the 3,000-hit club at 36 years, 11 months and 24 days old.
After collecting the hit, Yount was mobbed by teammates and lifted onto their shoulders in a celebration that lasted nearly 10 minutes.
“Obviously it was an exciting moment,” Yount said. “But it was more about the pennant race than the 3,000th hit for me. It was September and every game meant something.
“Certainly, the 3,000th hit was a highlight from an individual standpoint, but more importantly, we were in a pennant race, so that made it doubly exciting.”
Yount retired after the 1993 season with 3,142 career hits.
A year later, on May 29, 1994, Yount had his No. 19 retired by the Brewers in a ceremony at County Stadium. As a part of the festivities, the Brewers and Harley Davidson gave Yount a new motorcycle, which he rode a lap on around the stadium, recalling memories of his famous ride following the 1982 World Series.
“That was always fun,” Yount said of the motorcycle ride. “It kind of ended up to be a circus a little bit, but I’ll ride a motorcycle any time somebody gives me a chance.”
Five years later, Yount was honored again, this time by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Included on 77.5 percent of ballots in 1999, Yount was a first-ballot Hall of Famer, the first player to ever enter Cooperstown wearing a Brewers cap.
During his speech, Yount borrowed from Lou Gehrig’s famous farewell address.
“Now’s the time where I’m supposed to wake up from all of this. I mean, it’s OK, it’s been a great dream,” Yount said. “But if in fact this is reality, then with all due respect Mr. Gehrig, today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.”
We’re taking this thing National
In the years between Yount’s retirement and his induction into the Hall of Fame, a number of changes were introduced by Major League Baseball.
First, in 1994, the Central Divisions were added in the AL and NL. The Brewers, along with the White Sox, Twins, Indians and Royals, formed the AL Central Division.
The Brewers would spend just four seasons in the AL Central, however. In 1998, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks joined the AL East and NL West, respectively. Their addition forced the move of one club from the American League to the National League, in order to preserve an even number of teams in each league.
After the Royals opted not to switch leagues, the Brewers decided to make the move.
“I think it’s a wonderful thing for baseball,” former home run king Hank Aaron said at the time. “It’s a great day for Milwaukee. Milwaukee’s first identification was with the National League.
“Nothing against the AL. They won a championship there [in 1982]. But we won a World Series [in 1957].”
Thanks to a pair of home runs by Jeromy Burnitz, including a grand slam in the top of the 11th inning, the Brewers secured their first National League victory on April 2, 1998.
Fittingly, they defeated the Atlanta Braves, 8-6, at Turner Field.
“I was ready to get out of here,” Burnitz told reporters after the game. “I hope all our National League games aren’t this tough.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Hart’s walk-off HR lifts Brewers to sweep
MILWAUKEE — It was the perfect ending to a great week for Corey Hart.
A week after being named to his second All-Star Game, the Brewers right fielder capped the first half of the season with his second walk-off home run on Sunday.
Hart, who had struggled through his first four at-bats of the game, crushed a 1-0 slider out to left off Pirates closer Octavio Dotel, giving the Brewers the 6-5 victory at Miller Park.
“I was trying to see something and get a hit,” Hart said. “When I hit it, I didn’t want to be one of those guys that put my hand way up in the air, so I gave it the half finger because I thought I got it.
“I knew it was going to be over his head, so I knew the run would score.”
Hart’s blast put an exclamation point on what is sure to be a memorable day for him, as he was named to the starting lineup of the National League All-Star squad as a replacement for injured Braves outfielder Jason Heyward.
Afterward, Hart was all smiles after his team-leading 21st home run saved the day for Milwaukee and sent the Brewers into the All-Star break on a positive note.
“They were giving Corey a lot of breaking balls,” Brewers manager Ken Macha said. “He finally got one up and didn’t miss it. That’s a nice ending to the first half.
“The climate in [the clubhouse] is a 180 [degrees different] from the end of the [previous] series.”
Not only did Hart give the Brewers the win, but the two-time All-Star also picked up the slack of closer John Axford.
With the Brewers having tied the score at 4 in the eighth on a pair of singles by Ryan Braun and Carlos Gomez, the game was placed in Axford’s hands with the expectation that he would give the home team a chance to win in the bottom half of the ninth.
Axford (5-1), who was pitching for the third straight game, gave up a pair of singles to open the inning, which was followed by a sacrifice fly to right, putting the Pirates ahead by a run.
The first single, which came on a bunt by Ronny Cedeno in which he narrowly avoided a tag by first baseman Prince Fielder, was a call which Axford did not agree with afterward.
“I thought Prince got him right on the heel, so did Prince,” Axford said. “I’m sure if you ask the umpires, they’ll say, ‘No,’ but if you ask them without a paper and pen and maybe a recorder, they might say that he was tagged.
“It was right there. I was standing right in front of it, and it looked pretty good. I even thought I heard it.”
Axford escaped the inning when he snagged a ball hit back through the middle and started a crucial inning-ending double play.
Though he was frustrated when he returned to the dugout, Axford reminded himself that his club was certainly capable of coming back again.
Three batters later, he was right.
Lefty starter Randy Wolf was not as sharp as he might have liked to have been, but he did just enough to keep the Brewers in the game. Wolf allowed four runs on seven hits over six innings while walking three and recording five strikeouts.
For the second straight outing, Wolf had a solid start except for one bad inning — a three-run second frame. The only other blemish was a solo homer in the sixth by rookie third baseman Pedro Alvarez.
“One rough inning,” Wolf said. “I left some balls over the plate, and they had a three-run inning. That last run. … I was successful all day with fastballs to Alvarez and he just finally caught up to one and he barreled it.
“I’m not happy with it, but I’m glad we ended up winning in the end.”
Despite his lack of success early on — Alvarez was 0-for-2 with two strikeouts going into the at-bat — he stuck with it and gave his team the 4-3 lead.
“You never know when you can get a big hit,” he said. “It’s a matter of not giving up, and I just kept with it. I was fortunate enough to put a good swing on the ball.”
Along with Hart’s big blast, the Brewers got two more homers, solo shots by Braun and George Kottaras.
For Braun, who continues to break out of a prolonged slump, the home run was his second in as many games as he went 5-for-8 with two home runs, five runs and three RBIs in the three-game sweep.
After dropping five straight with some of their worst performances of the season, the Brewers head into the All-Star break riding a wave of momentum.
“We feel better about ourselves, that’s a good thing,” Braun said. “It’s irrelevant to think about whether we’ve won four or five games in a row or lost four or five in a row.
“We just need to focus on the task at hand, go inning to inning, at-bat to at-bat, pitch to pitch and try to put ourselves in the best position to be successful.”
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 7/11
Hart joins Braun as All-Start starter
MILWAUKEE — What a week it has been for Corey Hart.
A week ago, Hart was named to the All-Star Game for the second time as a reserve outfielder for the National League.
One week later, he has been added to the starting lineup.
Hart, who will participate in Monday’s Home Run Derby, was announced Sunday as the replacement for injured Braves outfielder Jason Heyward, joining teammate Ryan Braun in the starting outfield for the NL.
“I was excited, then I got really excited when Brauny came in and kind of like jumped on me,” said Hart, who hit a two-run walk-off homer, his 21st, to cap the Brewers’ 6-5 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday. “We haven’t had two position players in the starting lineup for I don’t know how long. So it’s a pretty good moment for us.”
It’s the first time in 27 years that the Brewers will have two position players in the starting lineup as Braun and Hart share the outfield in Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Anaheim.
The last pair of Brewers position players to start together in the All-Star Game were catcher Ted Simmons and shortstop Robin Yount for the American League in 1983.
Braun, who is the first Brewers player to start in the All-Star Game three straight years, joined Ben Sheets in the starting lineup in 2008, as Sheets was the starting pitcher for the NL.
For Hart, the starting nod just adds to an already impressive first half of the season.
After struggling for much of the 2009 season, Hart had a poor Spring Training, leading to his benching on Opening Day.
Hart expressed his displeasure with being taken out of the Opening Day starting lineup but used that move as the motivation behind his surprising resurgence.
It has paid off so far as he has moved from the No. 7 spot in the batting order to No. 2, becoming one of manager Ken Macha’s most reliable hitters.
More importantly, though, Hart earned the respect of the rest of the league, as he was voted into the All-Star Game by his peers.
“It’s pretty nice,” Hart said of being added to the starting lineup after all he has been through this season. “It’s an extra stamp on the, ‘I told you so,’ I guess. I love it here, and I wanted to prove to them that I could be the guy again.
“I’ve always told them I wanted to be here and I want to stay here as long as they’ll let me. Obviously they were down on me, so I wanted to prove them wrong so they could get a good feeling about me again.”
Hawkins’ rehab stint starts Thursday
MILWAUKEE — After two months on the disabled list, LaTroy Hawkins finally will return to game action on Thursday, for the Brewers’ rookie league team in Arizona.
Hawkins is scheduled to pitch one inning in Arizona against the Cubs’ rookie league squad. If all goes according to plan in that outing for Hawkins, the veteran reliever will go to Nashville to continue his rehab with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate.
“I don’t know exactly what the schedule is, but he’s going to get back-to-back days and he’s going to get a two-inning stint also,” Brewers manager Ken Macha said. “Hopes are that he may be back around the Cincinnati series [on July 26-28].”
The true test over the next two weeks for Hawkins will be the back-to-back days he pitches with Nashville, Macha said based on his conversation with pitching coach Rick Peterson.
“It’s broken up into back-to-back days and then a two-inning stint, and I think the back-to-back days are right before the Cincinnati series,” Macha said. “Rick’s feeling is if he’s fine after the back-to-back days he should be ready to join us.”
No slowing Axford’s surprising rise
MILWAUKEE — If anyone said they saw this coming from John Axford, they’d be lying.
Since being called up on May 15, Axford has emerged as the Brewers’ closer, something no one would have expected in Spring Training with the all-time saves leader, Trevor Hoffman, on the roster.
Axford, a 27-year-old native of Ontario, Canada, hasn’t just taken hold of the closer’s role for the Brewers either. He’s been consistently dominant in the late innings for the Crew.
“Who knew he was going to come and do this?” manager Ken Macha said of Axford.
With his save in Saturday’s win over the Pirates, Axford maintained his perfect mark, having converted 10-of-10 save opportunities. Along with that impressive streak, Axford is 4-1 with a 2.88 ERA.
Axford made his 22nd appearance of the season Saturday, and finally surrendered the first home run — a solo shot by catcher Ryan Doumit — of his Major League career.
“We got the win, we got the save, that’s all that matters,” Axford said. “Obviously I don’t want to give up that home run, the first one of my career. It was going to happen at some point or another if I want to keep going in this game, obviously.
“It’d probably be a miracle if I didn’t give up one if I kept playing.”
Axford has quickly become a fan favorite, due in large part to his facial hair.
When first called up, Axford sported a handlebar mustache, the ends of which he occasionally curled, giving him a look reminiscent of former Brewers closer and Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers.
He has since switched to a different look with the mustache, but remains a favorite among Brewers fans as he continues to impress in the ninth. After being called up in September 2009, Axford’s goal was to return to the big leagues in 2010 out of Spring Training.
He had to wait until May, but his first two months in the big leagues this season have been better than anyone could have predicted.
“It’s been great, it’s been fun,” Axford said. “Coming out of that ‘pen, obviously the emotions are going and everything like that. But on the mound, I try to calm it.
“Outside those lines, everything’s been fantastic, it’s been great. I’m feeling happy all the time no matter what’s really going on. I’m happy to be here, especially in the situation I’ve been put in to have the confidence and the trust of the staff. It’s been a blessing.”
Braddock becomes reliable source of relief
MILWAUKEE — Three rough outings aside, Zach Braddock has been as reliable as any Brewers reliever since being called up in late May.
Braddock surrendered four runs in the ninth inning of a 10-4 loss to the Mets on May 30, one run in an inning against the Cubs on June 9 and three runs to the Rockies in just two-thirds of an inning on June 19.
In his other 16 appearances through Saturday, Braddock had not allowed a run.
It adds up to a 1-1 record with a 4.32 ERA in those 19 appearances for Braddock, who also had allowed five of 13 inherited runners to score.
“I’ve had my struggles, but I’ve also had my successes,” Braddock said. “Learning this road is keeping those as evenly keeled as possible. You never want to have those bad days, but it’s how you pick up off them and how you come out the next day and get right back at it.”
Since giving up three runs in Colorado on June 19, Braddock entered Sunday having pitched 6 2/3 innings over eight appearances without allowing a run. He also has given up just six hits and one walk over the same stretch while recording seven strikeouts.
In his time with the big league club, Braddock has been fortunate to spend every game in the bullpen alongside all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman. The experience has been invaluable for Braddock.
“A lot of the older guys have helped me, but obviously, the no-brainer is Trevor Hoffman,” Braddock said. “His experience speaks volumes over my time here. And I don’t even have to seek out help. Sometimes all it takes is to observe his daily routine.”
In addition to the veterans on the club, though, Braddock has benefited from playing alongside a couple young players like himself in catcher Jonathan Lucroy and closer John Axford.
For Braddock, the familiarity with Lucroy and Axford has only made his experience in the Majors that much better.
“It’s always great to have friends with you, and it’s always great to have guys who you can bounce the experience off,” Braddock said. “We’re all going through this together.
“With the bond that Jonathan and I have, it can only strengthen that between us as a battery. And with Ax and I, it can only make us better to share our experiences out there with each other.”
Manager Ken Macha named fellow relievers Kameron Loe and Axford as “pleasant surprises” before Sunday’s game.
As for Braddock, however, his performance has been about what Macha and the Brewers had expected out of the lefty.
“He’s been in some games where he’s done extremely well,” Macha said. “He’s gotten hit hard here, too. Kameron Loe, he’s an invitee to Major League camp and then he comes in and has the impact he’s had. I’d say that’s a bigger surprise.
“We all knew Braddock had great stuff.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Big game has Braun turning corner
MILWAUKEE — It’s safe to say Ryan Braun’s recent slump is a thing of the past.
Before the game against the Pirates on Saturday, manager Ken Macha said he didn’t think Braun had ever experienced such a slump in his life at any level.
From the looks of this series, he won’t have to worry about that anymore.
After a game-winning single in the 10th inning on Friday, Braun broke out in a big way on Saturday night, homering, doubling and scoring three runs to lead the Brewers past the Pirates, 4-3, at Miller Park.
Macha said that players are judged based on the way they respond to adversity, which Braun has had quite a bit of over the past month.
“Hopefully he’s working his way out of it,” said Macha.
Braun belted his 12th home run of the season and his first since June 28, a solo shot to left-center field in the third. Prince Fielder followed with a shot to right, giving the Brewers their fifth set of back-to-back homers this season.
“On 3-2, I challenged Prince, and he made me pay, and Braun hit a fat slider out,” said Pirates starter Jeff Karstens, who was tagged with his fourth loss of the season. “[Braun] has kind of hit me well, so I have to figure that out.”
Braun added a double in the fifth as he went 2-for-4 and scored three of the Brewers’ four runs.
Going back to his final at-bat on Friday night, Braun is 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored. Before singling in the sixth inning on Friday, he had been 0-for-19.
“I wouldn’t say I’m locked in, [but] I feel better than I did a couple days ago,” Braun said. “It’s a gradual process. You’ve got to walk before you can run I guess. I’m headed in the right direction and starting to feel better.”
Braun wasn’t the only Brewers starter with an impressive performance.
Right-handed starter Dave Bush delivered his fifth consecutive quality start, giving up just two runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings while walking one and striking out five.
Bush (4-6) picked up the win, his third in his past four decisions. In 18 appearances and 17 starts this season, Bush has 11 quality starts with a 4.14 ERA.
Since getting roughed up for seven runs in just one-third inning in Minnesota on May 21, Bush has gone 3-1 with a 3.37 ERA, with six quality starts. Bush’s performance lately has been as good as it has been since suffering a triceps injury in June 2009 after being struck on the arm with a line drive in Florida.
“The last month or so, I’ve had good command and quite honestly, I’m just feeling stronger,” Bush said. “I feel like I’ve kind of gotten back to the point where I was before I got hurt.
“At the beginning of the year, I was still struggling a little bit with arm strength. It was just a process to getting back to where I felt comfortable. I feel like I have a little more life on the ball now and that sets up my pitches better.”
If not for two bad outings — April 25 vs. Chicago and May 21 at Minnesota — Bush would have a 2.95 ERA with just 30 runs allowed in 91 2/3 innings outside of those two starts.
“The other thing is we really haven’t scored a whole lot of runs for him,” said Macha, whose club is 6-11 when Bush starts. “He’s been a little bit of a tough-luck guy. He came out of a game the other day [with the score] 1-1, pitched very well.
“What’s that [17] starts now? He’s probably given us a chance [to win] in 14 of them.”
Bush allowed two baserunners with just one out in the first, but he settled down nicely the rest of the way, retiring nine of the next 10 batters and 14 of the next 18 before finally giving up a run in the sixth on a Garrett Jones homer to lead off the inning.
Behind Bush, the Brewers got another strong performance from the bullpen as reliever Kameron Loe and Zach Braddock combined for 1 2/3 scoreless innings before handing it off to John Axford.
The closer gave up a home run to lead off the ninth — the first he has allowed in his Brewers career — and proceeded to retire the next three hitters, recording his 10th save in as many chances
With the victory, the Brewers won consecutive games for the first time since winning five in a row from June 20-25.
“The back-to-back wins for the team were more important than the back-to-back homers,” Braun said. “Obviously yesterday was a good win for us, today’s a good win, and it’d be real nice to come out and win tomorrow and go into the All-Star break with some momentum.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Bucs blow lead, lose on walk-off in 10th
MILWAUKEE — Even All-Stars have an off night once in a while.
If there was one thing Pirates manager John Russell thought he could count on, it was the performance of relievers Joel Hanrahan, Octavio Dotel and Evan Meek.
Unfortunately for Russell and the Pirates, those three were the ones that surrendered the lead over the final three innings on Friday night as the Pirates lost, 5-4, to the Brewers at Miller Park.
“The three guys that we bring in in the eighth, ninth and 10th are guys that have done that job for us all year long and each one of them gave up runs,” Russell said. “It’s not something we see very often. Unfortunately, it happened. It’s a shame.”
With a 4-2 lead in the eighth, Hanrahan came on in relief of left-handed starter Paul Maholm, carrying an 11-inning scoreless streak with him. Brewers slugger Prince Fielder ended that streak with one swing of the bat, crushing a 1-2 slider deep into the second deck in right field.
In the ninth, closer Octavio Dotel came on looking to end it and snap the Pirates’ four-game losing skid. Dotel had converted seven consecutive saves since June 13, but he struggled after starting the inning with a groundout to third base.
Despite a bunt single, stolen base, throwing error, triple and wild pitch — all with one out — Dotel escaped with the game tied, leaving the contest in the hands of Meek, who entered the game with just a 0.94 ERA.
Meek (4-3) battled for two outs through the first three hitters, including an impressive strikeout of fellow All-Star Corey Hart. With that, it looked like Meek would escape unscathed.
But Meek was bested by fellow All-Star Ryan Braun, who drove a first-pitch slider to the wall in right, plating Rickie Weeks and giving the Brewers the walk-off win.
“To put it simply, the No. 1 priority with Braun was just to keep the ball down, and it was a bad pitch,” Meek said. “It was a breaking ball and it was up right where he was looking to hit it, and that’s really it.
“It was just a poor pitch. You’ve got to keep the ball down with all these guys, especially Braun, and the ball was up. And he did what he should’ve done to it.”
Braun got the opportunity to deliver the game-winning hit after the Pirates chose to walk Fielder with first base open.
“Of course, you always want to make the team pay when they walk Prince,” Braun said. “I’m just glad to contribute.”
Perhaps most disappointing about the bullpen’s performance on the night were the good performances that it wasted.
Before Friday’s game, Russell talked about the need for good pitching and extra-base hits to change the Pirates’ fortunes on the road.
They got some of each in the series opener against the Brewers, but unfortunately, the hitting faltered after the fifth as did the pitching following the seventh.
Maholm overcame early struggles to toss seven strong innings, allowing just two runs on three hits while giving up two walks, hitting three batters and recording four strikeouts.
After walking Weeks to lead off the game, Maholm surrendered a two-run opposite-field blast to Corey Hart, his 20th of the season. Aside from some issues with hit batters, Maholm effectively limited the Brewers the rest of the way, giving up just two hits.
“I just got [upset] and started throwing, that’s what it boils down to,” Maholm said. “It wasn’t any mechanical change. I’ve had a couple bad outings, but I just told myself that was going to be it. It was going to stop there and I was going to get deep into the game.”
Maholm had plenty of support early, as the Pirates picked up five extra-base hits — three doubles and two home runs — the first four of which contributed to the club’s four runs on the night.
They couldn’t score after the fifth inning, though, as the Brewers’ bullpen combined to toss five scoreless innings to pick up lefty starter Doug Davis, who struggled in his return from a nearly two-month stay on the disabled list.
The Brewers may have caught a break in the eighth inning, when Lastings Milledge’s single struck second-base umpire Chris Guccione in the foot on its way to center field. Garrett Jones might have tried to score from second on the play had it not struck the ump and been moving fast enough to elude second baseman Weeks, but Jones instead had to return to his base and was stranded there.
Brewers closer John Axford (4-1) picked up the win, throwing a scoreless 10th.
As the home team walked off to victory, snapping a five-game losing streak, the Pirates added a fourth game to their losing skid, and Pittsburgh came out on the losing end for the 22nd time in its last 24 road games.
“It’s just frustrating to play well and not be able to close it out,” Maholm said. “But you give those guys the ball every night and they’re going to have an off night. But you come back tomorrow and expect them to do well.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs
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