Weeks caps Brewers' improbable rally, ending skid at six
MILWAUKEE -- They were nose to nose with a seventh straight loss, one that would have been that much more demoralizing considering what they could have done to avoid it.
But then everything opened up for the slumping Milwaukee Brewers, and they pounded their way to a critical victory.
Rickie Weeks was the fourth straight Brewers batter to reach base with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday, and his single brought home the tying and winning runs in a 4-3 Milwaukee victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in front of a sellout crowd of 42,705 at Miller Park.
"It could have been really demoralizing and we turned it into a huge positive," said Brewers starter Manny Parra, who recovered from a rough start to hold the Cardinals down. "Two pitches, two outs (in the ninth) and just to keep battling and battling and score those two runs, that says a lot. A team that's lost six games in a row, they very well could have just laid down and said, 'Here we go.' But there's a lot to be said about the hitters right now."
There was a lot to be said about Weeks in the aftermath of Friday's rally.
The embattled leadoff hitter -- he walked to the plate with a .190 batting average in the ninth inning -- drove a 1-0 pitch from Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen to left field, lifting the Brewers out of the depths of a losing streak and a 2-7 road trip and into talk of a motivational victory.
"It was a long road trip and it wasn't the greatest road trip, either," Weeks said, "so it was good to get that win today."
Brewers manager Ned Yost said Weeks had nothing to show for the times he has hit the ball well, only to have the play end in an out.
"He's gotten some big hits for us, but I believe tonight's hit had to be special for him," said Gabe Kapler, who came home from second with the winning run. "I think guys in this clubhouse are as excited for Rickie to have that experience as winning the game."
A loss to the division-leading Cardinals would have been another link in a chain of defeats, but a prominent one because of what the Brewers would have left on the table.
The Brewers squandered a great setup in the sixth inning, missing a chance to tie the game or take the lead.
After singles by Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder put runners on first and third with no outs, Braun broke for home on a Corey Hart grounder to short and was retired in a rundown.
Cardinals starter Todd Wellemeyer then got Bill Hall to ground into a double play on his 102nd and final pitch of the game.
Surely, it was a bad sign for a team doing everything just to score some runs.
"You don't think like that during the game," Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy said, "but that's just kind of the way it's been going for this team right now."
Hart and Hall opened the ninth with a ground out and a fly out, respectively. Hardy lined a single up the middle and Kapler, a pinch-hitter, followed with a single to right.
Jason Kendall worked Isringhausen (1-4) to a 3-0 count before walking on five pitches to load the bases for Weeks, who sent the pitcher to his fourth blown save in his last seven opportunities.
Parra gave up a monstrous home run to Albert Pujols in the first inning -- it was estimated at 450 feet, tied for ninth longest in Miller Park history -- before nearly seeing his night end in the second.
A hit batsman, a single and a walk to open the inning loaded the bases for Wellemeyer, who slapped a single to right for his first RBI of the season. A walk to Cesar Izturis, the ninth batter, made it 3-0 and put Parra on the ropes.
"We were real close" to pulling Parra, Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "We knew that we couldn't afford to give up too many."
But Parra avoided further trouble when Skip Schumaker lined to Fielder at first for an unassisted double play and Aaron Miles popped to Weeks at second.
"It's one of those things where you start feeling like everything's going against you and then something like that happens," Parra said of the double play. "That was huge. That was a huge, huge play."
Parra retired the final nine batters he faced before exiting after five innings, and David Riske, Salomon Torres and Brian Shouse (3-0) held the Cardinals to three hits the rest of the way.
"They've really, really been awesome," Yost said of the Brewers' relievers.
The Brewers could scarcely get the ball out of the infield early against Wellemeyer, but they used St. Louis miscues in the fourth to scrape together a pair of runs to cut into the 3-0 deficit.
Braun led off the inning by getting to second on a throwing error on third baseman Brendan Ryan, and he scored on a double by Hart.
Hart went to third on a Hall ground out and scored when Wellemeyer's first pitch to Hardy bounced past catcher Yadier Molina.
Under the circumstances, any victory would have been important for the Brewers. But to do it all with two outs in the ninth against a respected closer meant more.
"Especially after losing six in a row and not feeling too great about ourselves," Hardy said, "to come back and win like that should hopefully be a little spark to do something good."
Weeks was mobbed by teammates near second base after the winning hit, and even the prospect of seeing 270-pound Fielder racing after him didn't faze him.
"The way I felt, I could have (taken) Mike Tyson three rounds," Weeks said.
Associated Press
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Rickie Weeks strokes the game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth, a two-run single to left field to cap a two-out rally.
